12 Angry Men (Part 1)

The Jury Selection


Once upon a time, I got the notice in the mail for jury duty. I thought it was a registration notice for my car or something. They instructed me that I had to show up for court August 15th at 8am, and I had very little choice about it. I wondered for a minute what would happen if I didn't. And then I scratched the thought from my mind. No matter what it will be an interesting experience, and I'm glad to have the chance to do my civic duty.

I go to the court and fill out 20 page questionnaire. How do you feel about the law? How do you feel about criminals? Do you think a police officer's statements are more valid than someone else's? What are your political persuasions? Have you ever been convicted of a crime? How comfortable do you feel making important decisions? Do you consider yourself a person who jumps to quick conclusions? Do you know any lawyers? Any judges?

And then some more telling questions. Do you know Josie Greathouse Fox? Do you know Roberto Miramontes Roman? Do you know any of these witnesses? Have you heard about this case before? I answered honestly and openly. And had never heard of Josie Greathouse Fox or Roberto Roman before.

There were about 80 people who showed up for selection. The court recorder informed us that for today we were simply filling out the questionnaire. Then on Friday, we would all return to be interviewed by the judge and the lawyers. They instructed us not to do any research on the case, not to Google anything, and not to come to any determinations about the trial on our own time. This was hard to do, as I surely wanted to know who Deputy Josie Greathouse Fox was, and what the term aggravated manslaughter meant.

Friday came and again we walked into the courthouse in Spanish Fork. This time there were news cameras. "Huh. This must be a kind of important trial." They brought us into the court room, and instructed us that we would all be interviewed by the judge and lawyers. Of the 80, only 10 would be chosen, but all would be interviewed. I was juror number 26. I thought for sure, there was no way I would be chosen. Out of 80 possible candidates, why would they choose the girl who had 3 degrees from a religious and conservative university? Wouldn't the defense attorney avoid me like the plague?

The interview only lasted about 2 minutes. I smiled politely at both of the lawyers and the defendant and judge. The judge asked some preliminary questions about my schedule, if it would be an undue hardship to serve. The defense attorney asked if I would have a problem coming to a determination in a trial that involved a murder and guns. And then they dismissed me. And we waited for them to interview the rest of the 80 candidates.

After about 4 hours, the judge, lawyers and defendant returned to the courtroom. They had eliminated many jurors for cause (scheduling problems, hardships, etc) who were dismissed. They then passed the roster of eligible jurors back and forth between the defense attorney and prosecutor, and one by one they eliminated other jurors. Perhaps for potential bias. For looking too grumpy. Or too anxious. For answering questions wrong. For any reason at all. After about an hour, they announced they were done. I could see my name not crossed out on the map from my seat in the front row, and I knew I had been chosen.

The judge read out the numbers of the selected 10 jurors, and the rest were dismissed. We were told we would have a short break, and then the trial would begin. Somewhat in shock from being chosen, I knew I would have to inform my work and reschedule most of my meetings. Although I was surprised I had been chosen, I also felt...privileged in a way. I was glad I would have the chance to do my civic duty and intended to do the best I could to serve justice and do a good job as a juror. I had never had any experience with the criminal justice system or with courts or crime. And certainly not a murder case. It would be exciting, I thought.

*Things I wish I had known then that I know now. Potential jurors are chosen from a pool of those who are registered with the state DMV through drivers' license records. Once you are chosen to serve, you are ineligible for 2 years before your name goes back in the pool again. They over-sample by a large amount to find the best and most impartial jurors. They are looking for smart and thoughtful individuals who will take the trial seriously, so if you don't want to serve, have a bad attitude, or are trying to get out of jury duty, you most likely will not be chosen, as neither the judge or lawyers want to risk the case on a flippant or apathetic juror. They are also looking for individuals who know nothing about the trial or the surrounding events, either by hearsay or by the news. You get paid $49 dollars a day for your service. Your employer is required to let you off and NOT allowed to require you to take PTO for your time off. Although they don't have to pay you for your time on the jury, most businesses do, since $49/day doesn't really do the job for most employed people.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Up Next: Opening Statements