Overly Positive

Some of you may have noticed that my updates have come a bit less frequently than they should have these past few days. Now that I’m done with what I was up to, I can actually speak to the details. Basically, I was picked and chosen to serve on a jury on a civil trial that ended up lasting a few days – though it could have gone quite a bit longer. I’d have to say that after my experience, that overall I feel really good about the jury system.

Really, part of the reason for this was the selection process, which ended up in my case to be an interesting and variable cross-section of individuals. To give you an idea, some of the people included:

• A former social worker turned full-time mom and at-home artist
• A QA auditor who used to work for a major automotive company
• A care-at-home specialist for the elderly and disabled
• A law enforcement officer and firearms specialist for US Homeland Security
• A young grad student seeking to teach English and Lit. to secondary school students
• An IT professional and geek who plays too many games and writes daily walls of text (wild guess here)

The variance created interesting discussions and points of view about the case, and a reflection of the different people in society that made up a collective voice – one that fairly and accurately judged the facts. Some of these people I would never have crossed paths with otherwise, making for some great social networking and some connections that might persist beyond the jury room.

Perhaps the rest of the reason for my feel-good experience was being given, however briefly, the power to change someone’s life significantly. While I won’t bore you with the details of the case, suffice it to say that something happened to the plaintiff, despite overcoming previous hardship, that threw them so off course with pain and suffering that they had no recourse but the law, and a jury of their peers, to assist. Meanwhile, the defense, while admitting culpability in some respects, disputed the extent of the damages purported.

To be granted the power  to either way steer the course of someone’s life in a particular direction, is something you rarely get as a person. While we the jury were all apprehensive to some level about the ramifications of our decision and its impact, the ability to decide that for someone was, in a word, significant, and was reflected in the ultimate decision we rendered in the case.

A lot of people who’ve seen trials such as celebrity trials go south are cynical of the judicial system and its processes. They often wonder why a jury decided to make a choice that ultimately seemed to fly in the face of common sense. I wonder how many of those people have actually sat on a jury, had to be confronted with the entire facts of the case because making a decision, and deliberated in a jury room. The deliberation process, which took us hours, was not as clear cut as was argued by either plaintiff or defendant, and many times we returned to previous points to hash them out, make an informed decision, and convince each other of the points made. No one knows for sure what goes on behind a jury room’s doors, and I have a greater appreciation of that argument and deliberation of justice because of my experience. In fact, I feel I’m more informed and intelligent about other people, professions, and issues than ever before. This, again, is the power of serving on a jury of your peers.

There aren’t many webpages out there that discuss what to do if you end up on a jury – only how to possibly get out of the service. And while it was taxing, mentally draining, and difficult for all of us, I think we are all ultimately better for having gone through that. With that, here are some jury duty tips if you ever do end up serving for a case to do your civic duty.

• Get to know your fellow jurors – Even if you aren’t much of a social person, from a practical standpoint it makes sense to talk with them, know them, understand where they’re coming from. This makes it easier to discern their point of view during deliberation and better work with them because of it.
• Have an open mind – Inevitably, your personal experiences and pre-conceived notions will influence you, but it is best to not make decisions based upon how competent lawyers are on the first day, on a fraction of the evidence presented, or any other occurrence before lawyers finish their closing statements. When they say you shouldn’t make up your mind prematurely, they mean it so that you can make the right decision.
• Be prepared for long sessions – Wear comfortable clothes and shoes. Be sure you go to the bathroom before sessions and get enough sleep to pay attention accordingly. I used to wonder why some lawyers use Twitter during depositions. I don’t wonder anymore. There will be breaks, but these will be spread out over the course of the trial.
• Understand the power of compromise – Deliberation will bring out heated opinions, points where jurors will refuse to budge, and verbal conflict on a mass scale. You do have to render a unanimous decision and sometimes that may be the result of negotiation and compromise that everyone feels relatively comfortable with. Be ready to give and take, but at the same time, make sure your fellow jurors understand your core values you won’t compromise.
• Create order and efficiency in discussions – They tell you to make someone a foreperson for a reason – to moderate and discuss the case in an organized manner. Create systems for people to participate and not talk over one another, whether it is to raise hands or not interrupt others during deliberation. Shouting and 10 different conversations will not only make things take longer but it will also hurt the ability to make a decision that is unanimous. Establish the ground rules and things will go a lot smoother.

While this is the only jury I served on, I’ve found these jury duty tips and points to be extremely helpful. In the end, I feel mentally drained, but happy to have done my civic duty and changed lives in the process. I hope that anyone else’s experience will be just as significant, and hopefully fulfilling. To my fellow jurors out there – I salute you, and hope to see a few of you in the near future when we’re not sitting in a jury box.