12 Angry Men (and Women) called for Jury Duty
For some, receiving a jury duty summons in the mail is as welcome as a speeding ticket or final notice for an unpaid bill. Although, many of us enjoy a solid courtroom drama – book or movie – and follow prominent cases in the news. But what about serving on a jury?
I wanted to serve on a jury in a criminal trial ever since I watched the ’50s movie classic Twelve Angry Men. This was only reinforced after seeing London’s first West End revival of the play starring Kevin Whatley. The playwright wrote Twelve Angry Men after he served as a juror.
‘ln 1954 I was called for jury duty in New York City. I had never been inside a courtroom before and I found myself in awe of the ritual, the rules, the solemnity of the proceedings and the responsibility I bore,’ said Reginald Rose.
In case you’re wondering about the play’s title, a woman’s right to serve on a jury (along with other minorities) was a long-fought battle even after women won the right to vote. But that’s a whole different blog!
‘Excuse me?’ from Jury Duty
Many people, running the emotional gamut from apathy to feeling super stressed by the pressures of work, attempt to excuse themselves from jury duty. Of course, there are valid reasons to be excused, and a list of people who are exempt. The following excuses were not accepted by NSW Justice some years ago so I wouldn’t use them now.
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- I need to look after my cat
- The planets are not aligned and it’s not a good fit for me
- I will fall asleep in the trial and my snoring will be a distraction. https://bit.ly/JurorExcuses
If you’re not exempt and your turn up to court you’ve already made a contribution to the justice system. Even if your number is randomly called on the day for panel selection, you still may not be chosen. The prosecution and defence may exercise their right of ‘peremptory challenge’ (without explanation) before you are finally empanelled. The process is all fairly straight forward and nothing like the United States ‘voir dire’ juror selection process we see on screen where the potential juror is questioned to assess their suitability. Interestingly, American jury research shows that once sworn in, even those who were initially reluctant tended to take their role very seriously.
I genuinely consider myself fortunate to have served on a jury, and encourage anyone to attend if they do receive that letter.
The 3 R’s – Ritual, Rules and Responsibility in Court
Now that I’ve served on a jury, I’m not permitted to explain how we as a panel came to our verdict. There are rules to observe (and a little ritual) but mostly I was aware of our collective responsibility. As a group of 12 we were making a decision that would seriously impact the life of the plaintiff, the defendant and the community. At various stages throughout our discussions, the majority of us expressed a sober awareness of that responsibility.
Our mixed gender and racially diverse panel used a shared intelligence, life experience and a collective conscience to arrive at our decision. We made our decision based on the facts of the law and whether the prosecution met the burden of proof. This is where ‘the rubber hits the road’. You need to sift through the lies; ignore the barrister’s hubris; and put aside your personal reaction to the plaintiff or accused.
The cases I served on dealt with drug importation and sexual assault. Had I only gone with my instinct and emotions I would have come to a different conclusion in those trials. But jurors are required to decide on the evidence presented and the burden of proof. As a result, a juror could walk away at the end of a trial feeling frustrated, even angry. So, it’s worth knowing that after the trial, free counselling is available to jurors who struggled with the process or the outcome.
Trial by Jury – Not the movie
Juror misconduct has serious ramifications including fines, imprisonment, and a costly mistrial. Local examples of jurors behaving badly are the juror who was discharged for flirting with the accused; a jury that was discharged because a few jurors played sudoku during court room proceedings; and a group of jurors who, dissatisfied with the evidence presented, took on their own investigation outside the jury room.
Sadly, I don’t see myself writing an award-winning play following my jury duty. As a system, trial by jury has its positives and negatives but I’ll leave that discussion to a ‘legal eagle’ (not the movie). I just want to say that jury duty is crucial to our democracy, and our jury service is for the good of the community. Our judicial system depends on us! It’s a significant way we can give back as well as being personally very rewarding.
