February 12, 2007 - Up in that Justice
When I first got the noticed I was quite irritated as I have many things going on that are requiring constant attention both with my job and in my personal life. I was seriously reluctant to go. Upon the date arriving, it was obvious that I had to go. I figured it was highly unlikely that I would actually be selected to serve on a Jury. It seems that out of around 400 people that show up only a quarter of them actually have to serve.
Closing in on the hour of one o' clock it was apparent that I wasn't going anywhere. Adding to that the trial wasn't just a one day traffic thing it was a 3 day event. Considering the many trials going on in a large metro city, the particular trial I was selected for was one that would make anyone shiver after simply hearing the charges.
In the end was I was left with is a new respect for how America is founded. Its seriously too bad that corporations own so many of our political systems. If left to the choice of average citizens we could really have a better country based on the systems put in place long ago. Shit maybe I’m just romancing this thing, but anything is possible, right?
Anyway, there wasn't anything easy about being a juror in my mind. Beyond getting an hour break for lunch, the entire process required a lot of attention and patience. The jury was comprised of an array of different people from all types of backgrounds. This immediately told me that we have a tested and proven system. When left to its own accord the process seems to work well. Though our media would have you believe differently.
Our media generally portrays this process in a different light, often being broken in many cases. Although when you consider what’s ‘news worthy’, generally high profile cases, of course it will be flawed. How can a court case left to the influence of thousands of people and mass media actually have a fair out come? We have limited rules to help curb this influence, although I don’t think our laws have really compensated for our digitized society.
The case I served on involved the defendant being charged with sexual assault on a minor. Once I got past the social assumptions, it was still difficult to consider all the facts and maintain a non-bias state. I can’t imagine the pressure if the court room was actually filed with a few hundred people and public opinion a high profile case would gather. We can all hope that our justice system might one day catch up to deal with a 21st century culture.
-Hap
"If you don't like it, talk shit about it until fifty other people join in."
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