Still on Jury Duty

Dear readers, I am still on jury duty and I still cannot discuss it. I spent all day in court and have tried to catch up on the news; but, not a thought will come to me. I do intend to give this blogs address to the judge and some of the jurors. We shall see if that comes to pass. In either case, when the case is over and I can discuss it, I will not be focused on the facts, more on the experience of being on jury duty.

While I have been in court I understand a big case was on television, something about a mother accused of killing her child. I know practically nothing about the case as I rarely watch television. I never even bothered reading any of the news reports about it on the internet. I would just see some headline and move on.

Well, I caught the fact that the mother was found not guilty and apparently people have a negative opinion of that. Mind you, I didn't watch one second of that trial. When you are on a jury, you should think differently, you should take it seriously and not be flippant in finding someone guilty.

When you are an attorney you have a job to do. If you think your client is guilty, it doesn't matter and shouldn't effect your actions. As an attorney, your job is to speak for your client using skills that he does not have. As a judge, it is your job to make sure that both sides are heard and that the rules are applied fairly. As a observer, your job is to make sure that everyone did their job, not decide guilt or innocence. As a juror it is your job to decide what the facts are and apply them to the law as defined by the judge.

The system was not designed so that television commentators, who get paid big dollars for creating controversy, to be judge or jury. It is not about justice, it is about having a system of justice. It is about having a fair system not one that is perfect.