Amy the Juror: Part 2

[AmySly]

If you haven't read Part 1, you can find it here

Tuesday morning, I came to the outside of the courtroom and was brought into the court by a bailiff named Annie, who we came to know quite well because she was the main person in charge of taking care of us throughout the week. She also gets the judge coffee every morning out of the carafe of coffee that is made available to us every day.

Court had not started yet and she brought me through the courtroom and out a back door and to a room across the hall that was labeled as a jury deliberation room. It was a rather small room, just big enough for a rectangular table and 14 chairs. There was a chalkboard on one wall and one unisex bathroom connected to the room. There were windows along one wall which was nice so we could at least see outside.

That first morning was rather awkward as 14 strangers all sat around the table and read books or ate bagels that were provided. It wasn't until 10:30 am (we arrived at 9 am) that we were actually called into the courtroom. We learned later that the first hour of court was spent opening up all of the evidence that had been sealed after lab testing was done years earlier.

Then, opening statements began and the trial was off and running. We were given pads of paper and I decided to try to take detailed notes so that it would be easier to remember things when we started deliberating. I am very thankful that I did, as many others hardly wrote anything down and their memories were fuzzy on certain things.

We heard opening statements from both the state and defense and then the state began calling witnesses. In the end, the state called over twelve witnesses over the course of two full days. They presented over 100 pieces of evidence including the murder weapon, bloody clothing, pictures of the crime scene, pictures of the recovery of the body, graphic pictures of the autopsy, diagrams, and a surveillance videotape.

Each day, breakfast, lunch, and a snack were provided to us. On breaks, we were taken to our deliberation room where the door was locked on the outside. We were told that the door would open from the inside but we were not permitted to open it unless there was an emergency such as a fire. It was extremely difficult to avoid talking about the case on lunch and other breaks, but we were able to get to know each other better since we were forced to talk about other things.

By the end of the week, I feel as if I had become friends with these people. We were from all walks of life, so I think they did a good job of selecting a diverse group. We DID joke that we had our token Asian and African American in the group, as the rest of us were Caucasian. We spanned in age from mid-twenties to mid-sixties and our careers included a truck driver, artist, teacher, speech therapist, music director, social worker (me), and nurse.

The first day, we heard mainly from various police officers, detectives, and evidence technicians (CSI-type people). We heard from one other witness and were presented with the majority of the evidence about the murder weapon, location and details about the crime scene, details about where and how the body was found, along with information about what the defendant told the police. It was a bit overwhelming to hear about many of these details but I really had no idea what was in store the next day.

Wednesday morning, we heard from two other witnesses who knew the defendant and the victim and had various levels of involvement with the crime. After lunch, we heard from the forensic pathologist who conducted the autopsy of the victim. I was very impressed with this doctor who took such time and care to explain in detail all of his findings during the autopsy and what conclusions he drew from them. He came up with numerous analogies so that we could understand the medical terms and what certain parts of the body looked like.

Throughout his testimony, the State's Attorney presented him with pictures that were taken during the autopsy and he was asked to identify them and what they depicted. At the time, I was sitting on the same level as the witness seat and could often see glimpses of what was being shown to him. I tried not to look as they appeared to be quite graphic. Little did I know that we would all be shown most of those pictures on a large power point presentation just 30 minutes later!

I must say that it's one thing to see graphic images on television and it is very much another thing to see it up close in real life in a courtroom! I mean, they showed us pictures of internal organs and parts of the skull and brain after the victim's facial skin had been pulled back! I'm not sure I will ever get some of those images out of my mind.

We all learned more than we ever wanted or needed to know about the various signs to look for in drowning victims including terms like "wet lungs", "hemolytic staining of the aortic root", and "pathognomonic". In addition, we learned about the phenomena called "contra coup" related to blunt force trauma to the head. I don't think any of us realized at the time why it was so imperative to understand these terms until we started deliberating!

The testimony and cross-examination continued on until 6:45 pm on Wednesday evening! At one point, the judge and attorneys held a "side bar" where they all stepped out of the courtroom for a conference. I later realized that they were probably discussing whether or not to continue, given the lateness of the day, especially since one of the jurors had to take public transportation which stops serving the courthouse at 6 pm. When we got out, we were asked if anyone was able to drive that particular juror home. Another juror volunteered, but I’m assuming that maybe they would have paid for a cab ride otherwise. We were told at the end of the trial that the judge and attorneys were pushing through with testimonies so that we would have enough time to deliberate and be finished by Friday afternoon.

Thursday morning, the state rested their case and we went on to the defense. To my surprise, the defense only had one witness, another forensic pathologist who had a different opinion as to the cause of death of the victim. Interestingly, she was fairly quickly discredited in many ways during the cross examination, including revealing her fee for testifying in court on behalf of the defense ($2500 for the full day!!).

During our lunch break, I sent a quick text to Steve (we weren't allowed to make phone calls from the room although a few people did to check on their kids, etc.) letting him know that we were going to hear closing arguments in the afternoon and then we would start deliberating. Looking back, I'm glad I sent that text because after hearing closing arguments (at around 4 p.m.), our cell phones were confiscated and locked up before deliberations began!

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[Egg]

Wow, this has been an interesting read. Thanks for posting what you have so far.

[FernLaplante]

Great posts so far. I am interested in the outcome!

[AmySly]

Originally Posted by FernLaplante

Great posts so far. I am interested in the outcome!

I'm hoping to finish it up this week. Lots more to tell about my experience being sequestered overnight in a hotel!!