Wow... that's is one of my favorite movies of all time - and maybe the reason why, when I was young and had time off, I'd go to the court house and sit in on a trial - but of course the one thing you don't see is the jury deliberations. I've been called to jury duty several times in my life but have only served on two - and I'm probably one of the few people who love the whole process.
At a point during the deliberations at the first (civil) trial I was involved with, we were 11 to 1 - and it started getting testy. A thought dawned on me about the judge's instructions. I mentioned that we had two questions and if we answered the first question with "no," we didn't have to answer the second question so could we hear the first question again.
My second trial was last year - it was a four week trial - and I ended up getting COVID at the beginning of the fourth week - the day the trial ended, the court clerk called me with the result. I thought that was so considerate because as jurors, we're all strangers and I would never have known - and to me that's one of the things that makes the system work - 12 strangers tasked with one job.
Wonderful. 12 Angry Men is a great story/play/movie. I’m particularly fond of the one from the 50’s with Henry Fonda as the lone no vote. His calmness is key. I’ve been called but never selected to be in a jury. I have no idea how I would respond. But u would do my duty as best as I could. So should us all
My town has a restored, still utilized historic courthouse(1905)complete with balcony(for “Colored” only observers)and prime seats on the main floor. For several years, Flat Rock Theater performed 12 Angry Men in that courthouse. The play always sold out.
I’ve only had the honor of serving on one jury that went into deliberations. We took our oaths very seriously and gave everyone the chance to express their views on why we should vote one way or the other. Being on a jury is serious business where, instead of trying to get excused from duty, one should be asking, “If I were the accused, who would I want to be judging me?”
I was foreman on a jury for a 2nd degree murder trial. Jury duty isn't easy but citizens take it seriously. We were people of diverse education and backgrounds but I am sure we came to a just verdict.
What is fascinating is that we will probably never know the details of how the jury in the trump case came to their conclusion (though they did come to it pretty quickly) because of all the stochastic terrorism directed at them by both trump and others. Did they discuss the evidence and come to a rational conclusion or were they all just anti-trump? It is the right's own attacks that will keep us from finding out. For the record, I think they looked at the evidence because to an outsider following the trial, the evidence seemed, well, convincing.
Jurors bring their own bias to deciding cases. However, as the stakes get higher many are able to take the process more seriously - stick to the facts and follow the judge’s instructions.
For instance —
I served on a jury which heard an insurance case where the plaintiff wanted a larger settlement. I was selected as foreperson, probably by those who wanted to make sure they weren’t selected for that chore. One juror was quite open about his bias. Larger insurance payouts could raise his insurance rates. We were instructed not to use a mathematical formula to arrive at the award. Of course he did. However the evidence presented did not justify a large increase and so the other jurors chose to ignore him.
The next case involved the potential for the defendant to be incarcerated. Same jury. The evidence and instructions to the jury were straight forward. There were no injections of personal opinions or other extraneous comments. So, no discussion of how the DA chose which cases of back child support to prosecute and which ones languished without any action.
My sister recently sat as a juror in NYC in a fight/serious brawl fight. She was in awe of the people she served with but especially with the judge and her instructions to the jury. While she had trepidations about the case, she really felt it was her civic duty to follow the rules set forth regarding the law.
Wow... that's is one of my favorite movies of all time - and maybe the reason why, when I was young and had time off, I'd go to the court house and sit in on a trial - but of course the one thing you don't see is the jury deliberations. I've been called to jury duty several times in my life but have only served on two - and I'm probably one of the few people who love the whole process.
At a point during the deliberations at the first (civil) trial I was involved with, we were 11 to 1 - and it started getting testy. A thought dawned on me about the judge's instructions. I mentioned that we had two questions and if we answered the first question with "no," we didn't have to answer the second question so could we hear the first question again.
My second trial was last year - it was a four week trial - and I ended up getting COVID at the beginning of the fourth week - the day the trial ended, the court clerk called me with the result. I thought that was so considerate because as jurors, we're all strangers and I would never have known - and to me that's one of the things that makes the system work - 12 strangers tasked with one job.
Wonderful. 12 Angry Men is a great story/play/movie. I’m particularly fond of the one from the 50’s with Henry Fonda as the lone no vote. His calmness is key. I’ve been called but never selected to be in a jury. I have no idea how I would respond. But u would do my duty as best as I could. So should us all
My town has a restored, still utilized historic courthouse(1905)complete with balcony(for “Colored” only observers)and prime seats on the main floor. For several years, Flat Rock Theater performed 12 Angry Men in that courthouse. The play always sold out.
I’ve only had the honor of serving on one jury that went into deliberations. We took our oaths very seriously and gave everyone the chance to express their views on why we should vote one way or the other. Being on a jury is serious business where, instead of trying to get excused from duty, one should be asking, “If I were the accused, who would I want to be judging me?”
I was foreman on a jury for a 2nd degree murder trial. Jury duty isn't easy but citizens take it seriously. We were people of diverse education and backgrounds but I am sure we came to a just verdict.
What is fascinating is that we will probably never know the details of how the jury in the trump case came to their conclusion (though they did come to it pretty quickly) because of all the stochastic terrorism directed at them by both trump and others. Did they discuss the evidence and come to a rational conclusion or were they all just anti-trump? It is the right's own attacks that will keep us from finding out. For the record, I think they looked at the evidence because to an outsider following the trial, the evidence seemed, well, convincing.
They could risk writing about it anonymously perhaps. Maybe in the future that can happen.
I read 12 Angry Men today. Thank you for the recommendation. Enjoyed it.
Glad you enjoyed, Carol.
Jurors bring their own bias to deciding cases. However, as the stakes get higher many are able to take the process more seriously - stick to the facts and follow the judge’s instructions.
For instance —
I served on a jury which heard an insurance case where the plaintiff wanted a larger settlement. I was selected as foreperson, probably by those who wanted to make sure they weren’t selected for that chore. One juror was quite open about his bias. Larger insurance payouts could raise his insurance rates. We were instructed not to use a mathematical formula to arrive at the award. Of course he did. However the evidence presented did not justify a large increase and so the other jurors chose to ignore him.
The next case involved the potential for the defendant to be incarcerated. Same jury. The evidence and instructions to the jury were straight forward. There were no injections of personal opinions or other extraneous comments. So, no discussion of how the DA chose which cases of back child support to prosecute and which ones languished without any action.
Excellent Film a must watch once a year
Thanks Steven…Bravo!!! Marsha
My sister recently sat as a juror in NYC in a fight/serious brawl fight. She was in awe of the people she served with but especially with the judge and her instructions to the jury. While she had trepidations about the case, she really felt it was her civic duty to follow the rules set forth regarding the law.