THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, June 8, 1994 TAG: 9406080003
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A14 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: By LINDA BATTEN
DATELINE: 940608 LENGTH: Medium
The all-woman jury was allowed to judge the merits of the case presented. According to Mr. Kilpatrick, ``The Alabama opinion heralds the end of peremptory challenges, by which counsel may decline a potential juror for any reason or for no reason at all.'' He fears that in the future, jurors will be discriminated against because of sexual orientation, religious affiliation, vocation, political-party affiliation, etc. The Batson case eight years ago held that racial discrimination in jury selection is unconstitutional.
{REST} Mr. Kilpatrick further states: ``The Sixth Amendment guarantees an accused `an impartial jury,' but in actual practice an impartial jury is the last thing a lawyer really wants. Each side wants a partial jury, and counsel will use every device of intuition and expert advise to get a jury likely either to convict or to acquit as the case may be.''
Having served as a juror on a criminal case this year, I have another fear. God forbid I should ever find myself a defendant but, if so, I would certainly take my chances with a jury selected from among my peers.
Apathy - that is my fear. Give me all males, all females or a mixture of both. Give me all whites, all blacks or a mixture of both. But please, lawyers, give me adults who will openly share their evaluation.
Our case lasted from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.; then we were sent to the jury room for an additional hour. At 7:55 p.m. we told the judge we'd have to return the next morning. The deliberation lasted six more hours before a very difficult decision was reached.
We learned through media coverage afterward that the case was a retrial. I felt a bond with the original jurors. Approximately half of our jurors shared little or none of their astuteness. They had made their decision early. They voted each time a vote was called for, but for those of us struggling to come to a fair and just decision they didn't help us to that end. On the second day, one man stated: ``I can't come back tomorrow, I have a business to run.'' A woman added that because of the difficulty of the trial, the next time she is called to be a juror she will be sick.
According to M. Scott Peck, M.D., author of The Road Less Traveled, ``Decisions affecting the lives of others must always be made. The best decision-makers are those who are willing to suffer the most over their decisions but still retain their ability to be decisive.''
The jury process should allow potential jurors willing to admit indifference toward the people involved or the justice system itself to be excused from serving. I wouldn't want my future decided by people with better things to do, people with unspoken wisdom whose reasoning could influence others, or people who just want to vote regardless of the outcome just so they can go home or back to work.
Give me an Irishman, a Jew, an agnostic, a man, a woman, a black, a white, a gay, a musician or a columnist, but please give me adults with open minds who are attentive to details, and especially people who will have the courage to weigh all the evidence and be willing to change their vote when they have a reasonable doubt about my guilt. by CNB