I found a man guilty, and it feels really strange. His life will be different moving forward based on this decision. Whether fortunately or not, we didn't come to a unanimous decision quickly as the case was not black and white. The decision hindered on whether his guilt was proven beyond a reasonable doubt. That word, reasonable, makes a world of difference. Much of our deliberation centered around whether or not something was possible. If it it's possible, then is it probable. If it's probable, is it reasonable. Then, is it unreasonable to come to a different conclusion.
At the beginning of deliberation today, I believed the defendant to be guilty beyond a reasonable doubt of all charges. At the end of the day, I still found him guilty, but it still felt weird. Ultimately, the defendant was found guilty of the following charges (fyi - the controlled substance here is crack cocaine and my description of the charge is in parentheses):
- Count 1 - Criminal sale of a controlled substance in the third degree (sale of crack)
- Count 2 - Criminal possession of a controlled substance in the third degree (possession of crack with intent to sell)
- Count 3 - Criminal possession of a controlled substance in the fifth degree (possession of over 500 mg of crack)
- Count 4 - Criminal possession of a controlled substance in the seventh degree (possession of crack)
When the foreman read the guilty verdict to count 1, the assistant district attorney let out a visible breath as if she had been holding her breath from the time we walked into the courtroom. It's possible that she had been. The defendant put his head in his hands and said, "Oh, shit." He became more visibly upset as each guilty verdict was read. After the verdict was read, we were each polled as to whether or not we believed the defendant guilty. I have no idea what would have happened if one juror suddenly said not guilty, but I am glad than an uncomfortable situation did not become more so.
One of the points the defense attorney made from the first day was that he and the defendant could have sat in the court room and taken a nap. They did not have to prove innocence as the defendant is not guilty until proven otherwise. After we were finished deliberating, I asked the other jurors what their decisions would have been had the defense not brought forth any witnesses. Unanimously, we agreed that we would have found the defendant guilty. (I realize that we were supposed to hear all pieces of the testimony before thinking about guilt or innocence, but do you know how hard that is to do?) The defense witnesses painted a different picture of the events (as they should have) but ultimately their witnesses weren't credible. Their testimonies not only contradicted each other, but also contradicted themselves. The prosecution's case wasn't without fault and contradiction, but ultimately it was strong enough to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
I am glad that I was selected for this experience, but I am extremely glad I won't have to do it again any time soon.
I didn't have a chance to update my observations earlier this week partially because one of the best things happened this past Monday and it was actually a piece of the case (not just an observation in general). For my last entry on jury duty (for the next few years), here are my observations from the last few days:
- A defense witness (not the defendant) testified that he was carrying a python at the time he was arrested. A python! He said it was in a bag in his pocket. In case you're wondering, the police never testified about the presence of a python when the man was arrested. I realize it may be irrelevant, but why didn't the ADA ask what the python's name was?
- The same defense witness has no idea how old he is. Direct examination: How old are you? 42. 42? Wait, 43. Cross examination: On direct, you said you were 42 or 43. Yes. But, weren't you born in 1963? Oh yeah. That makes him 47! If I'm testifying under oath, you better believe I'm not going to forget about five years. (Let's be clear - I sometimes forget how old I am. I have the strange habit, unfortunately, of aging myself a year. I'm sure that I won't forget when I turn 29 and will continue to turn 29 every year thereafter unless asked on a witness stand.)
- On Monday, a juror's cell phone rang in the courtroom. Oops. He happened to be sitting behind me so all eyes came in my direction. On Tuesday, he kept rocking in his squeaky chair (that ree rer ree rer ree rer sound). I turned and gave him the movie theater death eye (Stop that or I will get out of this seat and make you stop making noise!).
- One of the audience members had the most fantastic fur coats I've ever seen on a man. It was full length, dark gray, with lighter gray trim around the collar. It looked a bit like this.
- The court reporter is amazing. There's no other word for it. She typed every single word and intonation made during every second of the trial. And, it was all typed in another language! We had testimony read back to us during our deliberation and she had ums and yeahs and mmhmms. I watched her for long periods of time during the trial.
- The state will buy jurors lunch during deliberations. However, the state will not tip the delivery guy. The court officer came in with an envelope after he took our orders asking us to provide a tip for the delivery guy.
- The fire alarm went off during lunch. We weren't told anything. When we buzzed the courtroom to find out if we should evacuate, an officer came in (his top two shirt buttons unbuttoned and his clip on tie hanging from one side of his collar) and told us it was just a drill. Fire trucks came. We sat.
- John, the GTL court officer, had been with us every day until today. His replacement easily could have been Deputy Dewey.
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