jmsatb5{at}aol.com wrote:
> Kay Shapero wrote:
> > In article ,
> > dan_dassow{at}yahoo.com says...
> >
> > > You see, JMS has been given the ultimate time line wrecker -- jury
> > > duty. (JMS on a jury. What we would give to be in that deliberation
> > > room).
> >
> > My word - I'm on jury duty in Los Angeles myself.  The criminal
> > courthouse downtown, to be precise.  Don't expect to run into Joe (there
> > are a LOT of people tapped for jury duty every week), more's the pity.
> > Be nice to have someone around who could understand the wisecracks I
> > have been so carefully NOT making.  (nor chanting "Yo -e
-ho" as per
> > Wizard of Oz when being marched into the courtroom in two lines, nor...)
>
> Yeah, that's where I have to report on Tuesday morning.  Anybody out
> there in the LA judicial system wanna help out a writer in need who's
> behind on deadlines...?

They'd need to be able to *write*, though. I can't imagine many people
in the world could do much of your work for you. (Or did you mean give
you money? I'm sure plenty of charities need it more. :))

Seriously, regarding jury duty: I'm glad you've been selected and I
know your principles and your commitment to justice will lead you to
make the best decisions.

I'm not sure whether you've seen my post from another time where I
detailed how I disagreed with all 11 other jurors and in the end
convinced them around. They took a long time to see reason on why the
defendant was guilty of the charge of "assault causing injury with
intent to injure" after he kicked his sister repeatedly while she was
on the ground and caused her an injury to her ribs. Some of the other
jurors even remarked that they thought it was a "family matter" and
that they thought the matter shouldn't really be in court, which no
doubt was one factor influencing their thinking. They had intent
confused with premeditation, and were incredibly brick-headed when I
tried to explain the difference.

I was determined to stay in a hotel until a mistrial was declared
before I'd agree to an unjust verdict, and I swear I would have. But in
the end I didn't have to; many of the other jurors were anxious to
conclude the proceedings and this was likely a factor in why some of
them came around to a guilty verdict in the end. 

Matthew
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