Jury Duty. Again.

I think I figured why I always get called to Jury Duty. From all my years in foodservice, I know how to operate the coffeemaker in the jury room….

Anyway, I just finished up another stint as a juror. It was my fifth time. I don’t mind at all. In fact I look forward to it (especially since my current employer pays me for it, too). In Washington state, employers are not required to pay employees for time missed due to jury duty. They’re just required not to fire you for taking time off for it (historically, the courts have taken a rather dim view of employers who retaliate against jurors who served….).

So, I reported my first day. All my previous terms of jury service have been for two weeks, or dismissed by the court. This time it was for only one week (or dismissed by the court). Within two hours, I was in a pool for jury selection. It started out as a questionaire. Some of the questions were rather sensetive in nature, so there was an option to answer those in private. I didn’t have to answer them, so I filled it out and handed it in. An hour later, they called some candidate jurors to come back at 1:30, and the rest of us were excused for the day. So I went to work for half a day. The next day, I came in and waited for 2 hours. They called some more back for personalized questioning. And the rest of us were sent home again for the day. So I worked another half day.

Thursday, the third day, we finally got into the court room for voir dire. And there was a reason for the questionaire and having more than a few jurors answer their questions in private. It was a criminal trial. Somebody was charged with second degree rape. Or inital term of jury service was for only 1 week, but this trial was projected to go all the way through next week. That was irrelevant to me since my aforementioned employer was paying me for this. Anyway all day Thursday, the court and the attorneys were questioning the jury pool. And finally at 4 o’clock Thursday, they finally had the jury. Everyone else who didn’t get picked was thanked and sent home, their service obligations fulfilled. Not me. 13 other jurors and myself were seated on the panel. We were sworn in as jurors. And then we were sent home for the weekend. I then told my employer that I was going to be day-to-day for the next week, and I wasn’t able to say anymore (the courts really take an even dimmer view of jurors discussing the case. Every time we were excused for lunch or recess, we were warned by the judge not to discuss the case).

So, the following Monday, the actual trial started. We heard testimony for three days. What basically happened was that a 19 year-old boy took out a 16 year old girl on a date. She had a midnight curfew. At the end of the date, they went to his house. And into his room. And they had sex. Sometime during the encounter Mr. Happy went into the wrong opening. She told him to stop he did. She left. She got home. It was after her curfew. She had hickies. She had to explain them both. So she said the “R” word. 911 got called. And once a 16 year old getting raped is reported to the authorities, it’s a genie that’s not going back in to the bottle. It didn’t help the defendant’s case that he changed his story 8 times during questioning and on the stand.

The prosecutor in his case said that the defendant just took her and forced himself upon her. The defense said it was consensual, and he stopped when she told him to. Evidence was admitted (pictures of her supposed injuries, and the clothes that she was wearing at the time). The ‘victim’ and her best friend were the first to testify. And there testimony had several holes in it. For example, they couldn’t remember a lot it (it was 9 months ago). You would think that if it really happened, you’d remember it clearly). And then there were the photos. The prosecutor said that they were bruises. No, those were hickies. And she said she was bleeding from her anus during the initial report, yet there was no evidence of it during the forensic exam (in fact, she didn’t mention it at all during the exam).

So on Thursday, the attorneys gave their closing arguments, and the case was given to us for deliberation. Within in an hour, we had a verdict. Each juror had there own reasoning for it, but we each all had our reasonable doubts. Among other reasons was the fact that he stopped. If he was really going to rape her, he would have finished it (this is a 19 year old). So we returned the only logical verdict: not guilty. I just couldn’t see this being a rape, let alone the defendant commiting one.

The sad part about this is how easily this could’ve been prevented. There were at least two sets of parents involved here. And if at least one of them had grown a pair, and laid down the law… If the boy had not brought the girl home to his room late at night (what will happen every time is Mr. Happy is going to try to make an appearance, and despite his name, he can make you sad). If the girl’s parents had insisted on meeting him beforehand. I remember when I was his age, and I dated a girl, I had to meet her parents, be vetted and approved. If he had not dated a 16 year old (again if her parents actually met him first). There were so many points of failure in this case where it could’ve been prevented it before it got to Superior Court, District 3.

I said earlier that she had to explain why she was late, and had hickies, and so she said the ‘R’ word. Once she said that, and her father called the police, the Genie was out of the bottle. First the responding deputy had to take the clothes she was wearing at the time. All of them. And they were admitted into evidence in the case. Even the hot pink thong. And then she had to go to Tacoma General for a forensic exam (the so-called ‘rape kit’). Pictures of all her ‘injuries’ were taken, and again admitted into evidence and published (even on certain body parts that you’d generally be embarassed to see). As for the defendant I’m pretty sure that the past nine months have been a pure hell for him. I’m pretty sure he’s going to excersize better judgement form now on. Next time he brings home a 16 year old girl, there’s a very good chance that he’s not going to find another jury as fair and impartial as we are.

Lessons to be learned from this: Don’t date 16 year-old girls. If you do, don’t bring them home, and into your room. If you do, Mr. Happy is going to come out, and it may not be pleasant. Parents, now is the time to lay down the law. Now is the time to be complete bitches to them about who they date. Insist on meeting their dates, and if you don’t approve don’t be afraid to lay your foot down. They may think that they’re ready for more rights and responsibilities, but they’re still your kids, and they don’t yet really understand the potential consequences…

This was my fifth jury service, and my sixth trial. I think one the reasons why I get picked for trials is that given all my previous years in foodservice, I can operate the jury room coffeemaker. But I still look forward to it. There are only two ways the average American can directly takde part in the government process: voting and jury service. If you (or I) were charged with crime we didin’t commit, then we’d want a jury trial. The system does have it’s flaws (think OJ Simpson, for example), but it’s the best of what’s around….