Jury Duty - tell me about the case you judged

[Anonymous]

My friend is a mess, poor thing, after being a juror in a murder case. I'm curious about other's experiences being a juror.
I've seen people making up the weirdest excuses not to be a juror, I understand it can be a pain to re-arrange your routine to be able to serve your jury duty but there's a little more to it I guess...
How involved in the case were you? Does it still touch you to think about it?
Thanks for sharing.

[Anonymous]

Is she a mess because they acquitted, convicted, hung, or just the mere facts of the case? If it is one of the first three, being a juror in DC can be very frustrating--lots of what we lawyers call "jury nullification"--they ignore the law and acquit (or convict), or one crazy person holds out. Lots of jurors expect CSI in criminal cases, which is assinine. If she is sweating having convicted someone, she shouldn't -chances are it is not the first major crime the person committed, perhaps not even the first murder, if the defendant ran in drug circles.

Thank her for serving. And she should move on.

[Anonymous]

Um, the other jurors might be trying to avoid being picked off. Just saying.

[Anonymous]

It is illegal to discuss jury proceedings.

[Anonymous]

I do not believe that it is illegal to discuss proceedings after the verdict is rendered and the jury is dismissed. My judge said that we were free to talk to the attorneys and answer any questions afterward. That was Federal court, District of Columbia.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It is illegal to discuss jury proceedings.

During the case, perhaps....my understanding is that once proceedings are through, jurors are free to speak. Can you clarify or point us to a source for this?

[Anonymous]

Maybe the PP is thinking of grand jury proceedings, or discussing the case during petit jury deliberations. Doesn't apply to a petit jury once it has rendered a verdict.

[Anonymous]

I was on a Domestic Violence Case as well as a 1st degree murder.

For the 1st degree murder case (in DC), the jury convicted on circumstantial evidence. I was very impressed with the jury's ability to see past the crappy lawyers (on both sides) and get to the nuggets that proved the defendant was guilty.

For the Domestic Violence Case (while living in CA) it was a he said / she said and both sides had bruises - we acquitted - and to be honest since CA had the 3 strikes law and this would have been #3 it definitely played into my decision making process.

[Anonymous]

Superior court in DC -- the judge said we could talk about the case once it was over.

I served on a jury in a drug case. Honestly, it was torture. I can absolutely see how it made your friend very stressed out. Taking 12 random people and putting them in that situation is a recipe for stress. What I found the most frustrating is that many of the jurors were simply unable and unwilling to presume the defendant was innocent until proven guilty. It was maddening.

Reading the guilty verdict to a young person in a court is an incredibly intense experience. I continue to wonder if I interpreted the evidence correctly and continue to second guess myself.

I think that watching the trial was fascinating at times, but the deliberations are excruciating. The other jurors can be SUCH morons and people who are arrogant in their ignorance or rush to judgment are very difficult to reason with. Even though I ultimately ended up finding the defendant guilty, it took me forever to get to that point because I spent the majority of the deliberations reminding people that they had to presume the defendant was innocent and not to draw negative inferences from him not taking the stand or choosing not to talk after he'd been arrested (right to remain silent).

[Anonymous]

I was a juror on a fairly complicated civil case of police misconduct...Some of the other jurors were surprisingly indifferent (who cares, let's get it over with). We weren't really given the greatest instructions. And mostly, I felt stressed and guilty about the way it went down in the jury room. I wasn't expected to feel as doubtful as I did. I guess I expected a measure of certainty about our decision.

[Anonymous]

I served in VA on a repeat drug possession charge case - very short trial but it was not thoroughly investigated. We found him guilty and sentenced him to a short jail stint. A lot of jurors expected them to have run fingerprints and other CSI-techniques, so that was frustrating.

[Anonymous]

I was a juror on a case where the defendant was charged with possession of a small amount of crack. He was in the wrong place at the wrong time. The cops were called to a home (where he happened to be crashed out for the night) on a domestic violence complaint. The woman who called told the police that the perp had left before they arrived. The cops searched the house, found the guy and searched him. I was a bit uncomfortable with the search, but the cops needed to check the whole house and its' occupants in case the perp was really still there. We recommended the minimal jail sentence of 12 months in the county jail, as opposed to the max which was 10 years in a state pen. We don't know if he had a prior record.

[Anonymous]

I served on a jury where two men where alleged of murder. We found both guilty. One on first degree murder, the other second degree murder. The trial was in DC. Unlike your friend I have had no problems with serving on such a jury. I am an attorney, however, and although I do not practice crimal law, I found the whole experience incredibly interesting.

[Anonymous]

I never get picked for the jury. No idea why. I am a Fed employee, not a lawyer. I don't have any wacky beliefs or prejudices.

When I lived in DC--it seems like I was called up all of the time. I think they have a hard time getting ppl to come in.

[Anonymous]

We get called all the time in Prince George's County. But I'm not sure why. (ha)