I had jury duty today and dreaded it. It was terribly inconvenient. There were better things to do with my time. Really? If I was an innocent defendant, with the misfortune to be charged with something I did not do; I would want a reasonable, open-minded person on the jury. Preferably twelve of them.
Am I a reasonable and open minded person? Hope so; but maybe not. For 22 years I was an FBI Agent. I’ve conducted more investigations than I can estimate. I’m very cynical and more skeptical. Keeping an open mind is of paramount importance. A lot of subjects who initially appear to be guilty are, in fact, not. I have seen many who appeared to be innocent, insisted they were innocent; but later confessed when confronted with damning evidence. First impressions of people are usually wrong.
Witnesses lie and withhold exculpatory information. Often they only tell part of the story. Witnesses often are afraid for their lives if they talk to law enforcement. Rightfully so, despite all assurances, law enforcement cannot always protect witnesses.
False complaints are common. Complainants only tell you enough of the story to lead to to the conclusion they want.
Any investigator worth their salt spends a lot of time and energy trying to “punch holes” in their investigation. It is an important part of the process that is sometimes minimized in the face of political or public pressure to solve a case.
Not all “good” cases are prosecuted. Not all that are prosecuted are convicted. Not all requests for warrants are approved. That is as it should be. Sometimes there is shoddy investigation, or malicious prosecution.
Some guilty subjects are not prosecuted, or released on appeal, because the investigation or prosecution is conducted outside the law.
There are a lot of people who have a hard time distinguishing between fact and opinion. There are many more people who are willing to jump to conclusions with very thin facts. Some of them are investigators. What is more frightening is some are prosecutors.
I vividly remember an Assistant U.S. Attorney who would decline prosecution of complex felonies. He was eager to prosecute a group of local teenagers. They inadvertently trespassed on a military reservation, where they set off fireworks, with absolutely no harm done. The only reason the kids were arrested was that the guard who caught them was off his post meeting a girlfriend in the woods near town. The AUSA liked it because it was a “slam dunk” case that meant very little work and boosted his accomplishments for the year. In my opinion it did not serve justice.
There is an incredible amount of “fact” published in newspapers that is half-truth. How often have you seen conjecture blended with thin facts to sway opinion in the media? We have all seen newspapers ruin the reputation of innocents. Have you ever seen a front page retraction? In the press, as in politics, perception is more important than reality. We should never forget that a news media’s first mission is to sell itself, not tell the truth.
When there is a particularly heinous crime and the shock is still fresh; the range and depth of obviously prejudicial opinion is astounding. When there is an arrest, the concept of innocence until proven guilty is rarely heard. It is easy to see how lynch mobs happen. Sometimes the first person arrested in a high profile crime is not the guilty party.
Bureaucracies are slow, cumbersome, and subject to political influence. They have limited resources and therefore take short-cuts. The justice system is one of our biggest bureaucracies.
Our system is far from perfect. There is one element of our system that exists for the sole purpose of mitigating the faults I have mentioned. It is the jury. You never know what a jury is going to do.
There are a lot of countries in the world whose citizens ache for a jury system like ours.
The jury alone decides the truth of the testimony and the innocence or guilt of the defendant. Sometimes the jury “runs away” and nullifies the law. Sometimes they decide the son-of-a-bitch needed killing and the citizen is acquitted despite the law. The only element of our system that holds in check law enforcement, prosecution, or the judge; is the jury. The jury’s decision, if unanimous, is final. The case can be appealed, but not on the basis of the jury’s decision. An appeal has to be based on a flaw in the application of the law or rules of procedure. A jury’s finding of “not guilty” cannot be appealed.
Today, when I looked out on the one hundred or so prospective jurors in the pool, I was actually reassured. Most of them looked like they could tie their shoes. A couple dressed and behaved so as to be disqualified quickly. Most of them were real people who were capable of deciding the fate of their peers. All of them had other things they would rather be doing.
As luck would have it, we were all dismissed by 10:00 a.m.
If I had been selected, I hope I would have measured up to the job!