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THE BROWNS BOARD

Jury Duty


The Gipper

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I have been called for Jury Duty here in my County  (Medina County Common Pleas Court)  for the week of Thanksgiving. 

I have been through this before. No, not having served on a Jury, but getting the Call to Duty.  You have to call in the night before to determine if you even have to show up.  A couple of times I went the whole week and never had to appear.  

Another time....when, once upon a time lawyers were exempt from jury duty (that is no longer the case)  it was in the local  Municipal Court (in which I had actually served from time to time as Acting Judge).  Judge Kimbler saw me sitting there with the other prospective jurors, and asked what I was doing there.  I said "I am here to do my duty". He told me to go on...go home.  Again, now he would not be able to excuse me like that.    So, I have never made it to a Voir Dire.  But, I suspect, if I were to make it that far, that after questioning by each side I would probably be exemptorily dismissed, as having been an attorney for nearly 40 years and a judge/magistrate for nearly 30 no lawyer really wants me to be on their jury.  Not saying it couldn't happen. Just saying that it likely would not.  Even If after getting called, and after being seated (slim chance), at the conclusion of the trial and prior to deliberations, a jury appoints a foreman.  I feel that I would have to politely decline that position, because I believe a number of the jurors could look to me as an authority figure, and I would not really want to have that kind of undue influence on the other jurors nor do I believe it would be appropriate for me to do so.  Not that I wouldn't have my say. I would still have to apply my knowledge and experience and understanding of human nature to the situation, I just don't feel like I could Bigfoot the room with my legal expertise. It would be for the Judge in the matter to give the instructions to the jury, it would not be for me to dispute those. 

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One time I was selected for jury duty. It was a bad case - kidnapping, murder whatever else.

When the prosecution interviewed me, I ended up explaining that I felt that the charges were so serious, they

would never have been made and taken to court, unless the guilt and evidence was obvious, But I assured him I could be

fair and objective, my duty to be that.

ha. he excused me real quick. That was what I wanted. lol

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I always wanted to be called for jury duty and never was until I was in the hospital once and obviously not able to attend.

I guess that the old joke about being tried by a jury of your peers who weren't smart enough to get out of jury duty isn't as easy to do.....or so I've heard.

True or not?

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2 hours ago, calfoxwc said:

One time I was selected for jury duty. It was a bad case - kidnapping, murder whatever else.

When the prosecution interviewed me, I ended up explaining that I felt that the charges were so serious, they

would never have been made and taken to court, unless the guilt and evidence was obvious, But I assured him I could be

fair and objective, my duty to be that.

ha. he excused me real quick. That was what I wanted. lol

So you don't want to do your duty as an american citizen?

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11 hours ago, calfoxwc said:

Sure. I showed up. What part of that didn't you understand? I didn't make the prosecutor not pick me. lol

Of course you did! It was that little invisible miniature noose you showed him with that answer.😂

I on the other hand served on a kidnapping/rape/attempted murder jury. Hung him as high as the law allowed, 40 minimum to life. We wanted the 44 y.o. woman who was very overweight to most likely be already deceased by the time he gets out and gets deported to Mexico. It was the preacher with me on the jury who had to overcome the prejudices of white women against a Mexican/American victim. Between us we had about 12-13 lies he told on the stand. One woman even thought she should have jumped out when he hit the stop sign on I-35 to the road that went to the junk yard where he raped her. I had to point out that not only did he have a loaded pistol aimed at her, but he was also not likely to be inclined to stop at the sign at 130 in the morning. He also tried to say he took her to the junk yard because the electricity had gone out at her place. When another woman tried to buy that one, I had to tell her there were no lights on in that junk yard according to police reports. The victim also said he had a small little silver gun on her. It was not recovered but it was obvious to me and the preacher it was a .25 automatic and low and behold he had a box of .25 cal bullets minus about the right amount for that pistol found sitting in his home. "They were my cousin's who went to Mexico. I was holding them for him." Yeah, right!🙄

I'm pretty sure they picked me and the preacher because they thought we might be soft touches given our professions. Nice try.

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24 minutes ago, TexasAg1969 said:

Of course you did! It was that little invisible miniature noose you showed him with that answer.😂

I on the other hand served on a kidnapping/rape/attempted murder jury. Hung him as high as the law allowed, 40 minimum to life. We wanted the 44 y.o. woman who was very overweight to most likely be already deceased by the time he gets out and gets deported to Mexico. It was the preacher with me on the jury who had to overcome the prejudices of white women against a Mexican/American victim. Between us we had about 12-13 lies he told on the stand. One woman even thought she should have jumped out when he hit the stop sign on I-35 to the road that went to the junk yard where he raped her. I had to point out that not only did he have a loaded pistol aimed at her, but he was also not likely to be inclined to stop at the sign at 130 in the morning. He also tried to say he took her to the junk yard because the electricity had gone out at her place. When another woman tried to buy that one, I had to tell her there were no lights on in that junk yard according to police reports. The victim also said he had a small little silver gun on her. It was not recovered but it was obvious to me and the preacher it was a .25 automatic and low and behold he had a box of .25 cal bullets minus about the right amount for that pistol found sitting in his home. "They were my cousin's who went to Mexico. I was holding them for him." Yeah, right!🙄

I'm pretty sure they picked me and the preacher because they thought we might be soft touches given our professions. Nice try.

One flaw in your tale.....juries generally do NOT decide punishment.  That is left to the judge in a sentencing phase after verdict.  Or, in Texas, do they allow for some kind of recommendation? 

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1 hour ago, The Gipper said:

One flaw in your tale.....juries generally do NOT decide punishment.  That is left to the judge in a sentencing phase after verdict.  Or, in Texas, do they allow for some kind of recommendation? 

Juries decide it here. See #3 in the article. The judge told us after the trail was completed and he was hauled away that he agreed with both the verdict and the just sentence to protect the victim for the rest of her natural life as best we could see it. He said he would have done the same sentence based on all the evidence he had heard.

https://www.dallasjustice.com/10-things-know-jury-trial-texas-john-wiley-price/

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43 minutes ago, TexasAg1969 said:

Juries decide it here. See #3 in the article. The judge told us after the trail was completed and he was hauled away that he agreed with both the verdict and the just sentence to protect the victim for the rest of her natural life as best we could see it. He said he would have done the same sentence based on all the evidence he had heard.

https://www.dallasjustice.com/10-things-know-jury-trial-texas-john-wiley-price/

Well...it seems that Texas may be the only state where a jury decides the sentence, except in some states they do "recommend"  capital punishments. 

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In Ohio the Jury recommends the death sentence, but the Judge is the final decision maker.  I was on a capital case in Cuyahoga Common Pleas Court.  We had to fill out a lengthy questionaire on crime and feelings of the death sentence.  Then we were interviewed one by one with the judge, the accused (and a armed deputy), the prosecuter and the defense lawyer.  After we were chosen the judge told us that although if we found him guilty, he would be the deciding factor on whether or not to impose the death sentence or life imrisonment without parole.  Later that day he plead guilty and we were all released from Jury duty (I was glad because it would have been a lengthy trial).

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3 hours ago, DieHardBrownsFan said:

In Ohio the Jury recommends the death sentence, but the Judge is the final decision maker.  I was on a capital case in Cuyahoga Common Pleas Court.  We had to fill out a lengthy questionaire on crime and feelings of the death sentence.  Then we were interviewed one by one with the judge, the accused (and a armed deputy), the prosecuter and the defense lawyer.  After we were chosen the judge told us that although if we found him guilty, he would be the deciding factor on whether or not to impose the death sentence or life imrisonment without parole.  Later that day he plead guilty and we were all released from Jury duty (I was glad because it would have been a lengthy trial).

In Ohio in capital offenses that is true...the jury "recommends"...but the judge still does the sentencing. In any other case it is strictly up to the judge to sentence.

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8 hours ago, The Gipper said:

Well...it seems that Texas may be the only state where a jury decides the sentence, except in some states they do "recommend"  capital punishments. 

And once we found him guilty the judge went over with us all the options available and what they entailed. We gave him the most possible. Now I am not sure it really means 40 years. The guy who murdered my former senior year roommate got 17 to life and we thought that meant a minimum of 17. But at year 9 (summer 2017) he had a parole hearing. So many people sent in letters objecting to release and the crime was so premeditated without any remorse (tried to claim self defense, but the evidence was overwhelming he went to Mike's house to kill him) with a weapon brought to the scene that the parole board denied him then and gave him maximum time before eligibility for another hearing (5 years). We still could not believe he was eligible for parole because we thought 17 minimum really meant 17.

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On 10/23/2019 at 6:58 AM, Westside Steve said:

I called, showed up was interviewed and sent home with most of the other prospective jurors

WSS

Actually I found it quite enlightening as a juror. I was fortunate in that I had served on a daily screening admissions board to the domiciliary in the VA. I was used to detecting lies vs truth on a several times per morning basis for almost 10 years. Chronic liars got nothin' on some of those pros.😁

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2 hours ago, TexasAg1969 said:

Actually I found it quite enlightening as a juror. I was fortunate in that I had served on a daily screening admissions board to the domiciliary in the VA. I was used to detecting lies vs truth on a several times per morning basis for almost 10 years. Trumpy's got nothin' on some of those pros.😁

How quickly NY Times forgets Obama's lies and frauds | TheHill

https://thehill.com/.../365393-how-quickly-ny-times-forgets-obamas-lies-and-frauds

“Trump’s Lies versus Obama’s” was the headline in a Sunday Review New York Times piece aiming to drive a final coffin nail into Trump’s credibility. The Times claimed Trump has already ...

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4 hours ago, The Gipper said:

Cal....delete all this idiocy off my thread....

 

9 hours ago, TexasAg1969 said:

Actually I found it quite enlightening as a juror. I was fortunate in that I had served on a daily screening admissions board to the domiciliary in the VA. I was used to detecting lies vs truth on a several times per morning basis for almost 10 years. Trumpy's got nothin' on some of those pros.😁

Tex brought up his usual stupid slue against Pres Trump. He loves his obaMao and higgardly.

So, like an entire platoon that had to suffer because one recruit

keeps screwing up...... I'll delete a few of em, and will delete all of them after he deletes his anti-Trump crap.😎

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18 hours ago, calfoxwc said:

 

Tex brought up his usual stupid slue against Pres Trump. He loves his obaMao and higgardly.

So, like an entire platoon that had to suffer because one recruit

keeps screwing up...... I'll delete a few of em, and will delete all of them after he deletes his anti-Trump crap.😎

He made one short reference....one 8 word sentence.  No photos.  I will give you equal time in response thereto:   One 8 word sentence.  No pictures.

I mean...we do want this to be "fair and balanced"....and that would suffice.

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12 hours ago, calfoxwc said:

liar liar pants on fire.

lol

Change didn't take and I had a football game to attend. Got it this time. And removed my other response.

BTW it felt like Cleveland out there. Upper 40's with 20-30 mph winds. Left at halftime with my granddaughter. Just too damn cold for us.🌬️

EDIT: A this point in life I'd rather be accused of lying than what I really did. I edited it, wrote the other response saying I had and then in my hurry to please 

wifey to get to the game to see our grandson play in the band, forgot to push "save" in the original edit.   LOL! Does that give me halfheimers when I forget 

to do half of what you have to do?😂

I'll push "save" for this EDIT now (before it kicks in again)😲 Off to racquetball.

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  • 1 month later...

I'm retired, it wouldn't be a big deal I suppose. Would rather squirrel hunt, or garage sale with my Wife with our time.

or go fishing. Or go to NC again - our friends want us to come down and hang out.

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1 hour ago, calfoxwc said:

I'm retired, it wouldn't be a big deal I suppose. Would rather squirrel hunt, or garage sale with my Wife with our time.

or go fishing. Or go to NC again - our friends want us to come down and hang out.

Well....to my knowledge, Jury Duty isn't something you can go in and volunteer to do.  It doesn't work that way.  You get selected. You can't ask to serve. 

I mean, as far as I know, there is only one way that you can volunteer to sit and hear cases and decide guilt or innocence and punishment:    and that is to become a Judge. 

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22 hours ago, calfoxwc said:

I'm retired, it wouldn't be a big deal I suppose. Would rather squirrel hunt, or garage sale with my Wife with our time.

or go fishing. Or go to NC again - our friends want us to come down and hang out.

Take a miniature hangman's noose in with you and play with it a little. Like pull a pen out of your pocket with it and dangle it a little. Wear a cowboy hat to make it truly effective.🤠😁

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