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IT’S JUST THE LAW
JURY DUTY:
THE OTHER MILITIA
[ B Y K . L . J A M I S O N ]
A retired sergeant major
wanted out of jury duty, but
appeared as ordered and was
fascinated, although he could
never get those people to
march in a straight line.
The sergeant major was selected
at random from a cross section
of the local community. At one
time, statutes excused vast sections of
society from jury duty. The Missouri
Constitution still contains a clause
allowing women to opt out of jury
duty. 1 One convict complained that this
denied him the right to a jury drawn
from a cross section of the community.
Shirts bearing slogans will prompt
questions during jury selection.
The United States Supreme Court
agreed. 2 The triumphant defendant
was promptly re-convicted by a jury of
the entire community. In 1935 a white
defendant’s lawyer objected to the jury
panel because it did not contain any
minorities. 3 The objection was overruled
as a silly obstruction of justice; now it is
the law.
This cross section is drawn primarily
from driver’s licenses, voting lists, and
property records. 4 Failure to report
is punishable under statute or as
contempt of court. The offender is still
called for jury duty.
Jury commissioners have some
latitude to delay jury service in case of
hardship. During the 1993 flood the Ray
County, Missouri jury commissioner
announced that Orrick residents were
excused because their town was being
evacuated. Several people got up and
left; floodwaters were rising around
their homes but they had reported for
jury duty. This provides a standard of
hardship. However, in order for a judge
to excuse persons in cases of hardship,
they must first report for jury duty.
A Missouri juror went home for
lunch and found a new jury summons
in her mailbox. The judge relieved
her of the summons and passed it on
to a less experienced member of the
community.
Evading jury duty leaves justice to
persons who may be less qualified. On
occasion, a juror is discovered who does
not speak English. 5 A borderline retarded
man was a juror in a case involving
an accident between a sheriff’s patrol
vehicle and a police squad car. He could
remember nothing about the facts, the
issues, or who won. 6 A stabbing case fell
to jurors who knew nothing of knives,
and few had ever been in a fistfight
much less a life or death struggle. 7 When
the supply of jurors fails, courts have
ordered sheriffs into the streets to drag
in replacements. Missouri law wisely
allows litigants to refuse the product of
such press gangs.
Potential jurors are first assembled
in a hall with eccentric heating and
cooling, where they are oriented to the
process, and then they wait until they
are called. A cushion and sweater are
often welcome; books and knitting pass
the time. Crisp dollar bills prove useful
for the vending machines.
Generally, a jury panel consists of
forty persons or more. The venire [the
panel of prospective jurors] will be
taken to a courtroom to have a jury
selected from its number. This process
is called voir dire—old Norman French
meaning to “speak the truth.” The jury
panel will be questioned, usually by
attorneys but sometimes by the judge.
These questions determine if anyone
has preconceived attitudes about the
facts or issues in the case. For example,
to ask a person who has suffered from a
fire to dispassionately consider an arson
case is more than can be expected of
human character. Some questions will
be personal. It is perfectly acceptable
to answer these questions at the bench
before the judge. If questions are not
answered honestly it might force a
retrial and a new jury. In that event,
there will be at least twelve people who
truly dislike the dishonest party. If the
prosecution loses a conviction due to
juror misconduct it is possible that
they will be looking for revenge. Perjury
charges are possible.
One character thought that he had
a clever way to evade honest answers.
When the panel was sworn to tell the
truth, he answered, “no,” his negative
obscured in a chorus of “yes.” He then
felt justified in lying. 8 His scheme
violated the covenant of good faith.
Fortunately he was more interested in
parading his legal opinions, and was
not selected.
People who use jury selection to make
speeches are never selected. Lawyers
do not pick who they want for the
jury; they pick who they do not want.
Persons with strong feelings regarding
a party, the subject, or the system of
justice will be excluded. Exclusions may
be for “cause” in which the judge rules
that a juror cannot be fair or the juror
has prior knowledge of the parties or
the case. Each party will have a certain
number of “strikes” which are used to
exclude jurors for almost any reason.
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USCONCEALEDCARRY.COM n CONCEALED CARRY MAGAZINE n JULY 2008