And The Verdict Is In...
Remember how I told you guys my summons number was 601?
Well, it was....and for that day on Monday, I didn't have to show up at the court house. I continued with my everyday normal activities which consisted of me going to school and staying there for a few hours. Later that day, I called to see If I would have to show up at the court house the next morning. This time around jurors 1-1500 had to show up the following morning. Not so lucky that time but oh well....it has to be done right?
"No biggie", I said to myself, "Jurors 1-1500 are here so maybe I won't get picked today either"...WRONG! When they started calling out the names for the first pool of jurors for the first case, my name was the 2nd one! It was me along with 29 other jurors that would have to be chosen for this case. Before being called though I managed to read a book and watch a bit of the movie they put on for you while you wait to be called. So the waiting part wasn't all that bad.
So after the group gets together, we meet our bailiff, he assigns a juror number to each of us and we head to the court room in order (I'm juror number 2 since my name was the 2nd one called out). So once we go into the court room, we meet the judge, the attorneys, and all the other people that are part of this process. The judge explains to us the duties of a juror and what not and then asked each of us questions from the questionaire we filled out while we were in the waiting room for jurors. After she asked us questions, the attorneys then asked all of the jurors questions as well...to decide which juror they want to keep for this case. The reason for this is to make sure that none of us are biased or have sympathy towards the defense or plaintiffs side. You know...try to keep it neutral so it can be fair.
So after the "interrogation", we were released to lunch and came back after an hour to find out who the attorneys and judge agreed on to be jurors. She told us that only 6 out of the 30 were needed for this case and also mentioned that once our name is called, to proceed to the jury seats. I figured since it's 30 of us, I'm young and inexperienced, that heck...I might not be picked right? So she reads off the first name "Juror Number 2, Andrew Moran"...."WTFOMGFYTSUX!"<---(the reaction inside my head)...*sigh*
If she would of at least picked me as the 6th one she would of given me some hope of leaving home early. BUT NO!...I had to be the first one!...OUT OF 30! (Hmm...maybe I made some sort of impression that they thought I would make a good juror) Oh well, at that moment I became a Miami-Dade County Official Juror. The jurors had a chance of hearing some of the testimony and at 5pm the judge decided to let us all go home for the evening. We would have to report the next morning at 10am.
So today this morning I woke up at 8am and made it in time to the court house to finish the trial. I thought it would just be the final statements from each side and then we would get to make our verdict. WRONG AGAIN! They busted out with some more witnesses and we had to stay there longer. There was a time where I, along with the rest of the jurors, had to wait for about 2 hours outside the court room becuase we had to wait until the other witness showed up. So after those dreadful 2 hours of waiting, our bailiff comes outside to tell us to step in the court room again. Then the judge said "Don't worry about sitting down, I'm going to send you all to lunch"...."WTFOMGFYTSUX!"....all that time and we could of been doing something else?!...*sigh*
So we head to lunch...all 6 of us, the jurors, and wait for 1:15pm to roll around so that we can return to the court room. We headed back, had to wait a few more minutes until the judge showed up, and then we stepped inside and sat on our seats. The case continued and then came the final statements from the attorneys of each side at the end of the testimony. After that, the judge explained some rules on how we must reach a unanimous verdict otherwise we wouldn't be making a decision beyond a reasonable doubt. After the short breifing, we got sent into the jury room to "deliberate" about the case. I can't tell you all what we decided or what the case was about because it's all "confidetial". The defendant was being tried on two counts and all 6 of us decided if he/she was guilty or not on either one. After that, our foreperson turned in the verdict, the judge read our decision out to the defendant, and we got to go home!
I know, I know....this entry would of been more interesting If I would of told you about the case but...you know how it works. All I can say is that jury duty didn't isn't fun once you see the defendants mom crying her eyes out....SHEESH! I just felt bad...but someone has to do it right?
And that was pretty much it for the day. I just got home not to long ago at around 5pm and decided to let you guys know how it went. If you guys ever get called for jury duty and need some tips or tricks just drop me a message.
Well, it was....and for that day on Monday, I didn't have to show up at the court house. I continued with my everyday normal activities which consisted of me going to school and staying there for a few hours. Later that day, I called to see If I would have to show up at the court house the next morning. This time around jurors 1-1500 had to show up the following morning. Not so lucky that time but oh well....it has to be done right?
"No biggie", I said to myself, "Jurors 1-1500 are here so maybe I won't get picked today either"...WRONG! When they started calling out the names for the first pool of jurors for the first case, my name was the 2nd one! It was me along with 29 other jurors that would have to be chosen for this case. Before being called though I managed to read a book and watch a bit of the movie they put on for you while you wait to be called. So the waiting part wasn't all that bad.
So after the group gets together, we meet our bailiff, he assigns a juror number to each of us and we head to the court room in order (I'm juror number 2 since my name was the 2nd one called out). So once we go into the court room, we meet the judge, the attorneys, and all the other people that are part of this process. The judge explains to us the duties of a juror and what not and then asked each of us questions from the questionaire we filled out while we were in the waiting room for jurors. After she asked us questions, the attorneys then asked all of the jurors questions as well...to decide which juror they want to keep for this case. The reason for this is to make sure that none of us are biased or have sympathy towards the defense or plaintiffs side. You know...try to keep it neutral so it can be fair.
So after the "interrogation", we were released to lunch and came back after an hour to find out who the attorneys and judge agreed on to be jurors. She told us that only 6 out of the 30 were needed for this case and also mentioned that once our name is called, to proceed to the jury seats. I figured since it's 30 of us, I'm young and inexperienced, that heck...I might not be picked right? So she reads off the first name "Juror Number 2, Andrew Moran"...."WTFOMGFYTSUX!"<---(the reaction inside my head)...*sigh*
If she would of at least picked me as the 6th one she would of given me some hope of leaving home early. BUT NO!...I had to be the first one!...OUT OF 30! (Hmm...maybe I made some sort of impression that they thought I would make a good juror) Oh well, at that moment I became a Miami-Dade County Official Juror. The jurors had a chance of hearing some of the testimony and at 5pm the judge decided to let us all go home for the evening. We would have to report the next morning at 10am.
So today this morning I woke up at 8am and made it in time to the court house to finish the trial. I thought it would just be the final statements from each side and then we would get to make our verdict. WRONG AGAIN! They busted out with some more witnesses and we had to stay there longer. There was a time where I, along with the rest of the jurors, had to wait for about 2 hours outside the court room becuase we had to wait until the other witness showed up. So after those dreadful 2 hours of waiting, our bailiff comes outside to tell us to step in the court room again. Then the judge said "Don't worry about sitting down, I'm going to send you all to lunch"...."WTFOMGFYTSUX!"....all that time and we could of been doing something else?!...*sigh*
So we head to lunch...all 6 of us, the jurors, and wait for 1:15pm to roll around so that we can return to the court room. We headed back, had to wait a few more minutes until the judge showed up, and then we stepped inside and sat on our seats. The case continued and then came the final statements from the attorneys of each side at the end of the testimony. After that, the judge explained some rules on how we must reach a unanimous verdict otherwise we wouldn't be making a decision beyond a reasonable doubt. After the short breifing, we got sent into the jury room to "deliberate" about the case. I can't tell you all what we decided or what the case was about because it's all "confidetial". The defendant was being tried on two counts and all 6 of us decided if he/she was guilty or not on either one. After that, our foreperson turned in the verdict, the judge read our decision out to the defendant, and we got to go home!
I know, I know....this entry would of been more interesting If I would of told you about the case but...you know how it works. All I can say is that jury duty didn't isn't fun once you see the defendants mom crying her eyes out....SHEESH! I just felt bad...but someone has to do it right?
And that was pretty much it for the day. I just got home not to long ago at around 5pm and decided to let you guys know how it went. If you guys ever get called for jury duty and need some tips or tricks just drop me a message.