92-Year Old Still Shows Up for Jury Duty – “It’s My Moral Obligation”
Aphonsus O’Leary lived his teen years on a family farm in Ireland, and then returned to the United States after World War II. He remembers the Hindenberg flying over New York City and watching Babe Ruth play baseball. He recently was summoned for jury service in his home town of Cleveland. To jury commissioners: his inspiring interview on YouTube might make for a great public-service ad aimed at those who receive jury duty summonses.
A regular reader in a state court administrative office is currently researching ways to address juror implicit/unconscious bias. Encouraged by a video posted by the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington, our colleague asks if any states are using an instructional video, voir dire questions, or jury instructions to address implicit/unconscious bias in jurors. Please share any information you have on this topic to the Jur-E Bulletin editor, Judge Gregory E. Mize, at GMize@ncsc.org. Thank you.
Last week, a Honolulu courthouse presented a learning lesson for jury trial management. Judge Ed Kubo responded to the noted outburst by immediately dismissing 44 prospective jurors and calling Jacob Maldonado, the disruptive citizen, into the courtroom for an explanation. Hearing no response, the judge had Maldonado incarcerated overnight. At a contempt hearing the next day, Judge Kubo imposed no further sanctions upon receiving an apology and learning Maldonado was trying to get out of jury duty because of the stress of his father being diagnosed with cancer and his wife undergoing a medical procedure. The judge also made clear to Maldonado that what he did threatened a defendant’s rights and was like shouting “there’s a bomb” on an airplane flight. Outside the courtroom, the shouter’s attorney criticized the judge for rashly locking up his client without first holding a hearing at which an attorney could be present.
Homicide Verdict Thrown Out Due to Juror Research on “Reasonable Doubt”
Before finding the defendant guilty, a North Dakota jury studied an online definition of reasonable doubt provided by one of their colleagues. Despite finding there was strong evidence supporting the guilty verdict, Nelson County Judge Jason McCarthy decided to vacate the verdict.
Native Peoples Leader in Guam Protests Jury Duty in U.S. Court
After a show cause order was issued by the chief judge of the United States District Court of Guam to 20 or so citizens who failed to appear for jury duty, Antonio Artero Sablan (leader of the Nasion CHamoru) asked to be excused from all further service to the court. In a letter to the court, he asserted, "I respectfully request to be excused from serving as a juror for the very court system that has done major damage and has demoralized my family and many of my CHamoru people of Guam." In addition: "I do not feel that I am truly a genuine citizen of the United States of America."
Criminal Bar Leaders Say Juror PTSD on the Rise in the United Kingdom
A rise in sexual assault prosecutions in the United Kingdom since 2006 has prompted a jurist and the chairman of the Manchester Criminal Bar Association to urge services to help jurors deal with the stress of viewing graphic demonstrative evidence of sexual violence.
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