Footprints

by Budd Glassberg

Reprinted with permission from the Zionsville Times Sentinel on December 19, 2007

Our Civic Duty

It was a civic lesson long overdue. Surprisingly, I had gone for nearly forty years since turning 18 without ever receiving a summons to serve on a jury. I have voted in every presidential election since Lyndon Johnson defeated Barry Goldwater and my existence had never even been recognized by the judiciary. While I have been told by most people that jury duty is something you are supposed to try to avoid, I have always wanted to be a part of a trial and relished my chance to do my civic duty. A couple months ago, I was delighted to receive notice of possible jury duty between December and January. My anticipation increased with a summons two weeks ago requiring me to report for duty at 8:15 AM on December 11. I was thrilled. I was very hopeful that I might do more than just report. I wanted to be selected.

Sitting in a crowded jury room with twenty-four others, I was disappointed to hear that only six jurors and one alternate would be needed for the criminal trial in Lebanon. We were told to line up in the order our name was called and my spot was number eleven. We were then escorted into the courtroom and seated while Judge Rebecca McClure read us our responsibilities. After Judge McClure asked us several general questions, we were then questioned individually by the two opposing attorneys. Jurors may be dismissed for cause and each attorney is allowed to dismiss three jurors without cause. Like a perfect storm, six of the jurors ahead of me were dismissed and the attorneys were out of strikes by the time they got to me so I was seated as juror number five.

I found the entire process to be quite educational. The prosecution had the burden of proving the defendants guilt beyond reasonable doubt. Both sides provided us with an opening statement, telling us what they planned to show during the trial. As jurors, we listened intently as the prosecution presented its case in the morning. Five items were placed into evidence. The prosecution had two witnesses. Both were questioned by the prosecution and cross-examined by the defense. There was one brief recess when we were removed from the court while an objection was discussed among the parties and the judge. A part of our instructions was to keep an impartial mind while all evidence was introduced and not form an opinion until the trial was completed.

After the prosecution rested, we were dismissed to the jury room to eat lunch. The bailiff brought in our lunch from a local restaurant. We spend the lunch hour talking among ourselves more to get to know each other and pretty much avoiding any discussion of the case. The seven of us were a fairly diverse group. We were four women and three men residing in Lebanon, Zionsville, Whitestown and Jamestown ranging from our early twenties to early sixties.

We were led back into the courtroom to listen to the case for the defense. The defense introduced no evidence. They had two witnesses testify including the defendant. After the defense rested, both sides gave their closing arguments in hopes of convincing us as to the guilt or innocence of the defendant. We were given final instructions by the judge and told to go to the jury room to select a foreperson and unanimously come to a verdict. The alternate juror was to attend but not participate.

I was selected as the foreman. I asked each of the jurors to discuss first the evidence before coming to any conclusions. As we went around our table, it became clear that all of us wished to listen to a tape submitted as evidence. I wrote out the request and handed it to the bailiff to bring to the judge.

We were led back into the courtroom to listen to the tape again. The second listening of the tape after hearing all of the testimony was very helpful in assuring us that we were correct in our original assessment of the evidence.

Returning to the jury room it took us just a few minutes to find the defendant not guilty. There were no dissenters, we were in complete agreement and had no need to convince anyone to change his mind.

After returning to the courtroom, the judge read the verdict and the trial was over. More than just doing our civic duty, those of us selected as jurors all felt we were integral cogs in a much larger wheel of justice. Sometimes mistakes are made and innocent people are unjustly accused. In many societies, these unfortunates are punished unjustly. In this case, ours system worked and it worked in no small part because citizens recognized that they have a responsibility to others. I am confident that I speak for all of the jurors in this case in stating that this day was well spent.

I am sharing this experience to testify to the importance of each of us taking the responsibility of our citizenship. Jury duty is not something to shun. It gives a person a glimpse into a system, while not perfect, that is more just than any that have come before it. Taking the time serve and treating your responsibility with the importance it warrants is a means of protecting a right we all enjoy in our country. It is the least we can do to assure that these rights remains for all of us.

Budd Glassberg is a 23 year resident of Zionsville who works and volunteers in the community. Visit www.runz.com for reprints of all his columns. You can reach him by email at budd@runz.com.