I knew it was coming. I had received a questionnaire in late April. The subpoena came in late May. I had to report to jury duty. I had to perform my “civic duty” for a system I simply do not believe in. It burned me once, and I will never forget – or forgive – it.
I reported on time. Anxious and desperately hoping to be dismissed right away. I spent my morning talking with a nice older man, with whom I was certain would never be picked for duty, as it was apparent he had a cognitive disability (but proud to be there, nonetheless). He was sweet and nice to talk to, as I had really nothing better to do. Around 10:00am, a large group called got in. Later, I found out, they were selected to serve on a grand jury for murder. Whew! Dodged that one.
Later in the afternoon, another group was called up. As they read off 20 random numbers, I was relieved mine was not called. However, instead of reporting to a courtroom, they were promptly dismissed with their paperwork. Luckily, ten minutes later, my number was called with another large group, and I was handed my walking papers. Relieved. I did not want to have to tell a lawyer that I believe our system, the jury system, sucks.
Why do I feel this way? Well, I was a defendent in a case. I was accused of operating a vehicle while impaired in 2000. Not drunk driving, but an alcohol-related driving offense nonetheless. One that would stay on my record for my entire life if I did not fight it. I didn’t fight it to just get it off my record, I fought it because I was simply not guilty of what I was being accused of.
I was pulled over one night while driving home from visiting with a friend at a local bar. I had less than two beers in nearly five hours. I was perfectly fine to drive. I would have driven any one of my family members that night, that is how fine I was. However, my eyes were burning from the smoke in the room and I was tired. The cop, who I later found out liked to sit outside that bar nearly every night, made up a weak reason to pull me over. He questioned my eyes and gave me sobriety tests. I know I passed them. His report stated I reversed two numbers, but on the side of the road that night, he said I did fine. I thought he was driving me to the station to call for a ride home. I had no handcuffs on. I was not read any rights. I was allowed to make cell phone calls from the backseat. I didn’t know I was under arrest until I was being fingerprinted. I heard another cop at the station say to another, “Why is she here? Why didn’t he just take her home if he was worried? She has no business being here.” All things that made my lawyer feel strongly that I was just a victim of an overzealous cop and a new, stricter drinking and driving law.
Long story short…bad timing (a judge retired and a new one, dreadfully afraid of MAD harassing him for dismissing alcohol cases) made it difficult for me to get this dismissed. My lawyer, who happens to be quite well-known, believed so strongly in my case, eventually reduced his charges to me (although my defense still cost me thousands of dollars), because he felt I was being unfairly treated.
When the new judge refused to throw away my charge (due to political reasons), I had no choice to go in front of a jury. I lost. Honestly, the case was weak. There was no breathalyzer tests admitted (they had been tossed out because of the cop’s questionable way he handled mine). Honestly, these people likely felt that a day of jury duty would be wasted if they didn’t find someone guilty…a common feeling inside the jury room I waited in on Wednesday. Scary.
There is nothing worse than having random strangers judge you, and misjudge you. The district judge was asked to reverse the decision. He teetered, but ultimately refused (again, he later shared with my attorney that he simply couldn’t upset the groups that watch these types of cases so early in his tenure). I lost my license for six months, lost some dignity, and lost faith in a system that failed me. I can remember, after the trial, turning to the prosecutor and the officer and saying, “You should be ashamed of yourselves. You (to the officer) have no memory of me or that night. You couldn’t even remember if I was alone in the car or with another person! You sat up there and lied to make her (pointing to the prosecutor) case, so she can feel like she finally won one against the “big boys.” You have no shame. How could you?” After that, my attorneys walked me out of the room.
One year later, a circuit judge reversed the verdict and dismissed my charge. My record was immediately cleared. In her written decision (the case was never heard, only a written appeal was submitted), she strongly admonished both the officer for violating my rights and pulling me over for no apparent reason, and the prosecutor who wasted tax payer money to pursue this case. The district judge also received criticism for not throwing out the verdict immediately, as it was baseless and clearly the wrong decision. I was vindicated. I could hold my head up once again. I still have that written decision by the circuit court judge. I pulled it out and read it again yesterday, remembering one of the worst times in my life.
So, you may say that it would have made me a better juror…more diligent. Nope. I wanted no part of jury duty. I know that I would have completely lost it with another juror if I felt they were being biased or looking for a guilty verdict for the sake of convicting someone.
As I walked out of the courthouse on Wednesday, I swear I saw the back of the bald head of the officer who arrested me. The man that made two years of my life (yes, that is how long it took from beginning to end) so stressful. I fought the urge to run up to him and ask him if he still is in the business of violating people’s rights. Instead, I quietly got into my car and drove home…thankful that I was not asked to pretend to be proud of serving as a juror in a severely flawed system.
I realize that there are a lot of systems out there that are horrible. I know that ours tries to be the fairest. However, once you get burned, you are forever scarred and forever jaded. I learned a lot about myself, our system, and the love and support of family and friends during this period in my life. I have no shame in sharing what happened to me. As a matter of fact, I will share this story with my children when they are older. I just hope, for all of you believers in our system, that you never experience what I did not so very long ago. There is nothing scarier than a system working against you and trying to make an example out of you. It stays with you forever.
