Rejected!

Like my daughter and infant granddaughter did last month, (see the 1 December 2008 entry: "The Youngest Juror??"), I reported for jury duty this week. It began bright and early yesterday morning in downtown Los Angeles. It was, of course, our coldest morning of the year. (I cannot tell you how cold it was because those of you who live where there is "real winter" would hang me by my heels from the nearest leafless tree!)

Despite my advanced age, I have never served on a jury. Back in the day when I was a young school teacher here in California, teachers were automatically excused from jury duty. That was followed by 21 years being an Army wife, while still legally being a California resident. I remember the first time I got a jury duty summons after reporting in at Ft. Campbell, KY. I was sorely tempted to write, "I'll come and serve on your jury, if you'll pay my transportation home!" But alas, I chickened out and simply wrote, "Active duty military family member." What a wimp!

Although I have received a jury summons 5 times since returning to SoCal, for the first three (which were to the Courthouse in Pasadena, about 4 blocks from our office at Fuller and maybe 5 blocks from our condo), I never actually had to go in at all. The last time I got a jury summons, as happened this time, it was for the Los Angeles court system, and I got to hop on the Metro and go explore the big, bad world of downtown Los Angeles.

Yesterday was the first time I had actually gotten as far as a courtroom. Thirty-two of us were sent to one courtroom for the jury selection process. I found this experience in our judicial system absolutely fascinating. My training (ie "Law & Order" and other similar series) helped me know, of course, what to expect, but the real thing is more interesting . . . and oddly, it is also way more boring. The judicial system has borrowed something from the military. It's called "Hurry up & wait!"

This was a case involving personal violence . . . and the defendant was a young Asian man. I sat there debating whether it was pertinent information for them to know that I was the mother of an Asian child. Did that matter? How does one know?

There was a point in the process where I requested a side bar in response to one particular question, and I took that opportunity to slip in the fact that my son is Asian, ". . . if that is pertinent to this case," said I. I felt better having let them know, since I assumed that perhaps the prosecution would think I might be biased in favor of the defendant.

Today, we got to the point of dismissing or selecting jurors. In addition to knowing that one of my children is Asian, the judge and attorneys also knew that my husband is a retired U.S. Army chaplain, and that I now work as an administrative assistant for a ministry organization.

After returning from her conclave with the attorneys to discuss their final input on jurors, the judge dismissed 3 jurors . . . but not me. So far, so good! I was beginning to get into this judicial system thing, and after all these years of living, I'd decided it would be fascinating to see this process through to the end.

The attorney for the defendant dismissed one person . . . and then the prosecutor dismissed someone . . . the attorney for the defendant dismissed another person . . . and then the prosecutor said, "Your honor, the prosecution is satisfied with the jury as it stands."

"Whee!", thought I. "I'm going to get to serve on this jury." But alas the defendant's attorney had one more peremptory strike and he said, "Juror #8 can be dismissed." Sadly, I was Juror #8.

I do not know, nor will I ever know, why he chose to dismiss me. Was it because I was the oldest female potential juror? But why would that matter? Was it because I was one of what I think was only two female jurors with a college education? But why would education be a detriment? (The other woman with a college education, however, was NOT in the juror's box but was considerably farther down the numeric line -- like #23. She happened to be a lawyer, actually.)

Was I dismissed because I was a Christian -- wife of a retired chaplain, currently working in a ministry? Or was I dismissed because I had an Asian child . . . and would that matter?

Neil and I talked last night, wondering if the prosecution would dismiss me, assuming that I would potentially be biased for a young Asian man, but it was the lawyer for the defense who chose to cut me out of the corral, so to speak.

Of course, I think it was his gravest mistake of the trial, but he'll never know that. He will never know that as I sat there thinking the whole thing through, I wondered how hard it would be for this mom's heart to say, "Guilty!" regarding this young Asian man. I believe I could have listened to the facts and voted fairly, but I knew it wouldn't be easy.

Perhaps God knew how difficult it would be to listen to what could be pretty rough and rocky details regarding this young man and his victim, so He protected me by allowing me to be rejected.

It makes me wonder, of course, about this young attorney and how he could NOT understand that a mother's heart could well have held that possibility of being a bit softer and more compassionate towards his client, the heart of a mother with a son similar in culture and age. It saddened me to realize that, for whatever reason, he simply did not understand.