Jury Duty
While I know I have zero chance of ever being selected to be on a jury, I do live vicariously through friends and family when they receive their summons in the mail. Last week it was mother's turn to complete her civic duty in Federal Court. It was around 2:00 when I received her text that she had been excused. It was her summary of events that made me shake my head and grin...
She was seated in the jury box while the judge asked general questions to all members of the panel. She did not respond when asked if she knew anyone in law enforcement. No, she thought, her daughter is a criminal defense attorney. The judge eventually started asking her individual questions including the standard question "is there any reason you couldn't be fair?". My mom responded that she thought she should mention that her daughter was a former Deputy District Attorney and now practices as a criminal defense attorney in Mecklenburg County. The judge immediately asked my mom why she didn't mention that when he asked about law enforcement.
My mother's response: "My daughter doesn't enforce the law, your honor, she defends it." She was summarily dismissed by the government's attorney.
Criminal Law Updates Provided by The Law Office of Carilyn Ibsen PLLC (888)543-2427
She was seated in the jury box while the judge asked general questions to all members of the panel. She did not respond when asked if she knew anyone in law enforcement. No, she thought, her daughter is a criminal defense attorney. The judge eventually started asking her individual questions including the standard question "is there any reason you couldn't be fair?". My mom responded that she thought she should mention that her daughter was a former Deputy District Attorney and now practices as a criminal defense attorney in Mecklenburg County. The judge immediately asked my mom why she didn't mention that when he asked about law enforcement.My mother's response: "My daughter doesn't enforce the law, your honor, she defends it." She was summarily dismissed by the government's attorney.
Criminal Law Updates Provided by The Law Office of Carilyn Ibsen PLLC (888)543-2427
Labels: Criminal Defense, defense attorney, jury, justice-system
1 Comments:
I was just selected to be on the jury about a month ago .I was so excited because it was the first time I ever even had jury duty. The case was about a car accident. It didn't start getting exciting until they brought out the nurse expert witness. The case was settled in 2 days. I really wanted to do the deliberation process, hopefully next time. I really liked the court room atmosphere. I was even thinking about going back to school to be a stenographer. You job must be very exciting!
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