Notes on a trial, Part 1 [My notes, experience, commentary, takeaways serving as a juror in a civil case involving a death]

My experience serving on a jury

Today is the anniversary of my selection to perform an important, flawed, and powerful civic duty. One year ago today I could not believe accepting Juror 1 after a long day of voir dire, or jury selection.

I have a lot of takeaways to share, and the experienced changed me in many ways. I will share those over several posts. I had a lot of anxiety, unexpectedly, after this trial, something I had not experienced before. Suddenly, I felt people in the world may have been personally aggrieved over a decision our jury made, and I felt sure I was in danger. Irrational? Yes. People who endure trauma have valid and possibly irrational fears. This would be a primer for the things I would feel in 2020, for sure, but I have deepened my respect for those dealing with anxiety on a daily basis, as it is a killer.

These are my unedited (besides the action of typing) notes as a juror in Dekalb County from October 21-24, 2019. Please read my notes below and then click to view the document. The left column is my notes exactly during the trial, and I wrote the dates at the top of each page (of course I did). The right column is my commentary and context for the notes.

This trial took place over three days, after one day of jury selection, which was itself quite intense and I have notes on that too. The kinds of questions asked were insightful. The behavior of the people that were potential jurors was fascinating. 

Key information:

Carter v. Canty. This was a civil trial, so our job as jurors was NOT to determine guilt of the defendant. Our job was to determine who, driver or victim, was more at fault (51 percent or more) for the accident. The accident lead to the death of the victim, Ms. Canty. Her parents were the plaintiff in this case. The event that led to this trial took place around 2 AM the morning of April 28, 2012 in Clayton County, GA (South Metro Atlanta). We heard the case in Dekalb County. The plaintiff had one lawyer, and the defendant had two. Both plaintiff and defendant are Black and elements of class became clear in the way the trial was conducted. Alas, I am getting ahead of myself. 

Did you know that in the eyes of the law, your “value” is based solely on how much money you stand to make in a lifetime? Just look up actuarial tables and take a sobering look. These actuarial tables were part of our Exhibits for our deliberation. How much you might contribute in any unpaid talent, activity, or pursuit doesn’t matter. How many people you love, impact, or who love you -- isn’t dollars and cents in terms of your value when dead. This is one of the most sobreing takeaways from a week of sobering takeaways.

More key stuff: 

At least in this trial, the jury was not informed of what the laws are/were until closing remarks were over and all evidence was presented. It’s important to note that. Most people don’t KNOW the pedestrian (or any) laws off the tops of their heads, especially not the details when involving an incident or injury. And, once we are chosen, we are instructed not to look them up. So, we are hearing all of the testimony, the evidence, and the facts of the case without knowing why we may be focusing (or not) on specific details. We were expressly instructed, as you likely know is true for juries, not to research anything on the facts, location, individuals, laws, news reports, or science related to what we were hearing. 

And obviously, we could not talk about it, with anyone, jury members included. This was another strange experience - the only thing we have in common with each other, for all that time we spend in the jury room waiting - is the one thing we can’t talk about. NOT talking about the case while you’re hearing the evidence is actually SO EFFECTIVE. Not talking about it meant I could not, we could not, form opinions or start to be influenced by others’ perspectives. We could not yet crystallize our ideas. It’s why this set of notes is so interesting to reflect back on: it is my raw thoughts as I heard things, with lots of pieces missing. 

Left = raw notes 

Right = comments and context for you, dear reader, and for my own documentation.

Thanks for your patience as I finally process and document this. Feel free to ask questions or comment, share, reach out to me with your thoughts and experiences. We are better when we go through painful things together. Part 2 will come soon.