THE JURY

THE JURY'S VERDICT

The jury has been out for over two hours; I almost begin to
hope again. We gave them something to think about at least. Then
the bailiff arrives.

"We have a verdict."

The bailiff tries to speak in a matter of fact tone,
but his eyes betray him. He has formed his opinion already.

"Thank you," I say as pleasantly as possible, but my
eyes probably betray me as well. They say, "go to hell". Great,
curse the messenger.

I climb the stairs to the third floor courtroom not
making eye contact with those I pass. They know. Everyone knows
the outcome, but still we have to finish the dance. In the
courtroom, the few spectators sit on the side of the courtroom
from which the State has presented its case. Another bad omen,
as if I need another one. The bench is empty, as is the clerks'
section, however, the court reporter is already seated. She
glances at me and smiles. A smile of sympathy? Before I really
begin to examine my paranoia, the other clerks enter and take up
their positions, essentially ringing the raised platform
reserved for the Judge. An impressive fortress for his honor.

The bailiff enters and everyone stands before he can
bark the order, "All rise!"

The players in this charade are getting ahead of the
script. Routine establishes habit. The Judge enters and stands,
glancing expectantly in the direction of the Door. Now the clerk
directly in front of the Judge says her lines,

"Remain standing for the jury."

The Door opens and the jury files in. Every juror
enters with his or her head down, eyes averted from the defense
table. A very bad sign indeed. What went wrong with this jury?
We started the case with such enthusiasm. The young, clean cut
civil engineer was supposed to relate to me, another clean cut
professional. The priest, he was supposed to be the voice of
reason, conveying the message of redemption to the others.

The first something that had gone terribly wrong was
during the first lunch break. We were feeling exuberant after
exposing gaping flaws in the State's key young witness until I
overheard two jurors, in violation of the court's order,
discussing the case,

"Poor little guy, he did well though."

"If I had been through all that, I doubt I could
remember as much as he did."

Of course, I went screaming to the Judge about what I
overheard. All the jurors were questioned and, of course, all
denied any knowledge of inappropriate discussions and readily
affirmed their allegiance to the Judge's order of silence until
the close of evidence. The Judge's order sealed our fate; the
trial would proceed.

Nervous laughter follows one juror who trips and
nearly falls on the raised platform at the front of the jury
box. That juror had appeared sympathetic to my cause at first. I
spied her nodding in agreement with points scored by the defense
and maybe, just maybe, shedding a tear at closing argument. For
a moment, hope had returned. Then I observed her when the
prosecutor stood to speak. She was a nodder; swung by every
argument like a flag in the breeze. Even if she were on my side
when she entered the jury room, she would not stand her ground.
I catch the irony of her trip and almost smile. The knot in my
stomach prevents me from doing so. The clerk is speaking and her
voice shakes me from my musing,

"All but the jury may be seated."

I fall heavily to my chair, a hard wooden one. Nothing
about this courtroom shows any signs of comfort.

"Foreman, has the jury reached a verdict," the clerk
queries to the civil engineer selected by the Judge to fill that
coveted position.

"We have," comes the reply, and my stomach unknots to
do flips, despite the facade of calm on my face.

"What say you to the charge contained in count I of
the indictment, is the Defendant guilty or not guilty," the
clerk asks, reading from the printed form, with her head down,
even though she has asked the very same question hundreds of
times to hundreds of different juries. The courtroom is silent.

This is it. Count II and beyond does not matter. The
answer to Count I will determine the outcome of the others. For
a moment, while the foreman remains silent, there is hope,
again. How can they send a man to jail on what they heard? They
can.

"Guilty," comes the answer, in a crisp, clear civil
engineer's voice.

The tone is unmistakable. We have reached a decision
and I am prepared to defend it if need be. The Count II query
seems to come in a rush, not allowing me time to dwell on my
fate. And again,

"Guilty," is the response.

In a flash it seems, I poll the jurors. All repeat the
word,

"Guilty," and just as quickly are gone.

Had I detected a hint of hesitation in two or three
voices before saying that dreaded word? But it didn't matter,
they said it and now we are left with the consequences. I want
to yell, wait, stop, we want another chance to present this
witness or show you this evidence. Can't you see you're wrong?
It is too late and probably wouldn't do any good anyway. The
jurors file out of the courtroom, again without a glance toward
our table.

The Judge addresses me now and I quickly rise to
attention.

"I'm sorry your honor, could you repeat that?"

"Yes," the Judge states in a matter of fact tone, but
his eyes betray him, "we need to

deal with sentencing, when will you be prepared to proceed?"

Never.

"Your honor, if I could have two weeks that would be
greatly appreciated."

"So ordered, bond will remain with the addition of no
contact with any of the state's witnesses. Court is adjourned."

The sun stings my eyes as I emerge from the darkened
courtroom. My client who had been silent while the verdict was
read, finally speaks,

"Where do we go from here?"

"We'll talk tomorrow okay?"

I have to get the hell out of here now. I am not the
one going to prison, but it seems the prison is coming to me. I
scramble to my car, hurrying to avoid contact with any juror. My
current disposition may well result in a violation of the
Court's, " no discussion with the jury", order. I allow I have
much to say. This jury has handed me the dreaded first loss.
Will they all hurt this much?

Table of contents

Use the back button on your brower to get back to the main page