ok, so, i ACTUALLY GOT PICKED for the jury! i was shocked, especially as i was wearing my What Would Joan Jett Do? t-shirt under my hoodie zipped up so you could only see WWJJD? across my chest, and the defendant was an Orthodox Jew with waist-length dreadlocks.
the prosecutor was this very young, obviously smart, but not (yet) very competent white lady...the defence attorney looked exactly like Fyvush Finkel. there was this one cute green-haired punky girl on the jury with me but she got thrown off at the last minute by, I think, Fyvush! grrr.
the charges were Disorderly Conduct, Negligent Driving, and Threatening A Police Officer With A Horrible Death (in legalese, though). basically, the guy had been behind an unmarked cop car, and had passed him on the left, crossing a yellow double line to do so. the cop took his license and pulled up beside him to shout "youre getting a ticket!" and the guy responded dismissively and drove off ("Whatever you have to do"), so the cop had him pulled over and then wrote him a $500 ticket on the spot. i guess he argued and said something like "When Armageddon comes, you'll be sorry" and, according to the cop, "You might get shot by your own gun!"
both the cop and the defendent were obviously lying about key parts of their testimonies. but the prosecutor sucked, and skipped two major parts that i bet would've changed my opinion if she addressed them. in the end, the judge instructed us to vote Not Guilty on the Disorderly Conduct charge, and we voted Not Guilty on the other two of our own accord.
screw you, lying cop.
it was pretty cool, actually. it didn't last past 4pm; i got to read allll day long, and i got to see how the jury system works. despite the early hours, i'm kind of looking forward to my next service three years hence!
the prosecutor was this very young, obviously smart, but not (yet) very competent white lady...the defence attorney looked exactly like Fyvush Finkel. there was this one cute green-haired punky girl on the jury with me but she got thrown off at the last minute by, I think, Fyvush! grrr.
the charges were Disorderly Conduct, Negligent Driving, and Threatening A Police Officer With A Horrible Death (in legalese, though). basically, the guy had been behind an unmarked cop car, and had passed him on the left, crossing a yellow double line to do so. the cop took his license and pulled up beside him to shout "youre getting a ticket!" and the guy responded dismissively and drove off ("Whatever you have to do"), so the cop had him pulled over and then wrote him a $500 ticket on the spot. i guess he argued and said something like "When Armageddon comes, you'll be sorry" and, according to the cop, "You might get shot by your own gun!"
both the cop and the defendent were obviously lying about key parts of their testimonies. but the prosecutor sucked, and skipped two major parts that i bet would've changed my opinion if she addressed them. in the end, the judge instructed us to vote Not Guilty on the Disorderly Conduct charge, and we voted Not Guilty on the other two of our own accord.
screw you, lying cop.
it was pretty cool, actually. it didn't last past 4pm; i got to read allll day long, and i got to see how the jury system works. despite the early hours, i'm kind of looking forward to my next service three years hence!
