Jury Duty
Yesterday evening I finished up nearly a week of jury duty during which I served as Juror #3 on a DC Courts trial. I have to admit I was not only dreading the interruption in my routine and my work, but I think I must have developed a bit of a phobia about the whole thing at some point since the closer I got to my one-day or one-trial service the more anxious I got. As it turned out, I was selected for the jury, I got over my phobia, and the whole thing was utterly fascinating. The hardest part of service was being forbidden from talking about anything related to the case while it was ongoing -- leaving me with a head full of thoughts and observations and no way to discuss them. But the gag order is off so now I'm overwhelming my friends with my pent up conversation (sorry about that!).
The trial I was on was a fairly serious one with a total of 9 criminal charges against the defendant, the most serious being First Degree Sexual Assault (rape) and First Degree Assault with Intent to Kill. I think I was probably the juror most sympathetic to the government's case which put me in an awkward mental position as I had to confront my preconceptions about what a woman's claims of violence and rape mean. I was really leaning strongly toward guilty on most counts but the rest of the jury's opinions reminded me that the burden of proof is with the government and that her word, in the absence of real physical evidence, is open to serious doubt. That is the way things should work -- innocent until proven guilty -- but years of reading about violence against women, the difficulty of getting rape convictions, and the dynamics of abusive relationships actually prejudiced me in a way I didn't expect. In the end, we voted "not guilty" on 7 of the 9 charges with the only guilty ones being ridiculously obvious ones related to Contempt of Court and Obstruction of Justice. For my part, I am undecided as to whether or not a rape took place, but I do think she was battered... just not in any way that could be proven with the evidence we had. Does it bother me that he will likely be let off with time served? Not really: this was a horribly messed up relationship with both people doing horrible things to each other, the jury followed the law precisely and fairly (and we worked very hard in our deliberations), and he has been in jail for nearly a year waiting for the trial. I honestly believe he won't do this again just so long as he stays away from that particularly destructive relationship... and his letter from jail (part of the evidence in a different matter) suggests that might finally be the case. I wish both of them and the poor kids caught in the middle the best of luck.
Just a couple of observations: a) the jury system really works; if any one of us was asked to make a determination alone, he or she would have done a horrible job, but as a group, I think it somehow all sorts itself out and totally appropriate decisions are made. b) There are lots and lots of people in law enforcement who work really hard under trying circumstances.
One specific thing I learned about DC is that Howard University Hospital has the only sexual assault center in the whole city and all cases have to go there. That is horrible, but even worse is that their equipment is terrible and the government's case was actually hurt by the bad quality of the photos taken. I think we got the right verdict anyway, but I can imagine this lack of proper investigative tools easily leading to a miscarriage of justice.
The trial I was on was a fairly serious one with a total of 9 criminal charges against the defendant, the most serious being First Degree Sexual Assault (rape) and First Degree Assault with Intent to Kill. I think I was probably the juror most sympathetic to the government's case which put me in an awkward mental position as I had to confront my preconceptions about what a woman's claims of violence and rape mean. I was really leaning strongly toward guilty on most counts but the rest of the jury's opinions reminded me that the burden of proof is with the government and that her word, in the absence of real physical evidence, is open to serious doubt. That is the way things should work -- innocent until proven guilty -- but years of reading about violence against women, the difficulty of getting rape convictions, and the dynamics of abusive relationships actually prejudiced me in a way I didn't expect. In the end, we voted "not guilty" on 7 of the 9 charges with the only guilty ones being ridiculously obvious ones related to Contempt of Court and Obstruction of Justice. For my part, I am undecided as to whether or not a rape took place, but I do think she was battered... just not in any way that could be proven with the evidence we had. Does it bother me that he will likely be let off with time served? Not really: this was a horribly messed up relationship with both people doing horrible things to each other, the jury followed the law precisely and fairly (and we worked very hard in our deliberations), and he has been in jail for nearly a year waiting for the trial. I honestly believe he won't do this again just so long as he stays away from that particularly destructive relationship... and his letter from jail (part of the evidence in a different matter) suggests that might finally be the case. I wish both of them and the poor kids caught in the middle the best of luck.
Just a couple of observations: a) the jury system really works; if any one of us was asked to make a determination alone, he or she would have done a horrible job, but as a group, I think it somehow all sorts itself out and totally appropriate decisions are made. b) There are lots and lots of people in law enforcement who work really hard under trying circumstances.
One specific thing I learned about DC is that Howard University Hospital has the only sexual assault center in the whole city and all cases have to go there. That is horrible, but even worse is that their equipment is terrible and the government's case was actually hurt by the bad quality of the photos taken. I think we got the right verdict anyway, but I can imagine this lack of proper investigative tools easily leading to a miscarriage of justice.