Tuesday, October 16, 2007
JURY DUTY
Last week I spent 4 days as a jury on a trial in Maricopa County Superior Court. The experience was a good one. I'll be honest, when I got called I was less than thrilled. Like many I have a job, family and not alot of extra time. But I marched into court with hundreds of others, reading material under arm to pass the time. Looking around the room I thought - I'll never get called to serve on a jury. For one look at all the people they have to choose from, and historically news reporters because we cover crime and court cases usually get passed up. There were 60 of us in court, they would pick 14 jurors. Wow, I learned alot about the people around me, some had been arrested for felonies, others had family members murdered, some felt for various reasons they couldn't be fair, and the stories went on and on. After several hours, I'm picked as juror #6. The other 13, wonderful people, from diverse backgrounds, each interesting, educated, a good representation of our community.
The Trial
The defendant was a man facing 5 felony charges. They included, Violation of a protection of order, 2 counts for assault with a deadly weapon, possession of a deadly weapon, and possession of a false I.D. After hearing testimony, we learned the man threatened his estranged wife and her new boyfriend with a gun. There was an order of protection against him and he was not to have contact with her. The man was also a convicted felon, so he wasn't supposed to posses a weapon. To add to the charges police found a false I.D. in his wallet. The defendant told us he used the I.D. to get work in the U.S. We also learned the man an illegal immigrant had been deported after the first felony conviction, and returned about 3 months later. At the end of the testimony, 2 alternate jurors were chosen. I ended up being one of the alternates, so I never got to deliberate on the case. I later learned my fellow jurors found the man GUILTY on all 5 counts. After all was said and done, I was glad and honored to serve on a jury, it's our duty as Americans.
Questions Comments email me:
mpiani@kpho.com
Last week I spent 4 days as a jury on a trial in Maricopa County Superior Court. The experience was a good one. I'll be honest, when I got called I was less than thrilled. Like many I have a job, family and not alot of extra time. But I marched into court with hundreds of others, reading material under arm to pass the time. Looking around the room I thought - I'll never get called to serve on a jury. For one look at all the people they have to choose from, and historically news reporters because we cover crime and court cases usually get passed up. There were 60 of us in court, they would pick 14 jurors. Wow, I learned alot about the people around me, some had been arrested for felonies, others had family members murdered, some felt for various reasons they couldn't be fair, and the stories went on and on. After several hours, I'm picked as juror #6. The other 13, wonderful people, from diverse backgrounds, each interesting, educated, a good representation of our community.
The Trial
The defendant was a man facing 5 felony charges. They included, Violation of a protection of order, 2 counts for assault with a deadly weapon, possession of a deadly weapon, and possession of a false I.D. After hearing testimony, we learned the man threatened his estranged wife and her new boyfriend with a gun. There was an order of protection against him and he was not to have contact with her. The man was also a convicted felon, so he wasn't supposed to posses a weapon. To add to the charges police found a false I.D. in his wallet. The defendant told us he used the I.D. to get work in the U.S. We also learned the man an illegal immigrant had been deported after the first felony conviction, and returned about 3 months later. At the end of the testimony, 2 alternate jurors were chosen. I ended up being one of the alternates, so I never got to deliberate on the case. I later learned my fellow jurors found the man GUILTY on all 5 counts. After all was said and done, I was glad and honored to serve on a jury, it's our duty as Americans.
Questions Comments email me:
mpiani@kpho.com
Posted at 8:13 AM by Marya Piani
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