Hick said that they were seated seven to a pew in the courtroom to begin jury selection. That's the seating arrangement in our county courtrooms. Pews. I'm pretty sure they squeezed more in when I did my own jury duty. Perhaps they are allowing for people being bigger these days.
Anyhoo... I was concerned for Hick, considering his jury number was 010! That means you're right up front! Among the first to be considered. In fact, Hick later revealed that five of the seven people in his pew were selected for the jury!
Hick did not reveal his previous court appearance for running over an old lady with the city fire truck. He said the questions asked did not apply to that. Okay...
Anyhoo... Hick sent me a text around 1:00, saying that he had been chosen for the jury. I knew he couldn't discuss anything about the case. All he revealed was that he was on his way to lunch, and that the judge had recommended that they get two Big Macs instead of one! Presuming that the case might last into the evening. My own jury duty case went until after 11:00 p.m.!
Anyhoo... Hick didn't get a Big Mac. He went to Culver's. I'm assuming he had a burger and fries. Probably a shake as well. He was fortunate that the case didn't take as long as mine. He was home by 8:00. And since the case was over, he could reveal some details.
Well. You know how Hick tells a story. I'm still not sure what that case was about. Hick said an employee at the state mental hospital wanted a felony conviction for a patient who slammed her arm repeatedly with the door to his room. Hick said the jury saw the video recorded at the state mental hospital. He said it showed the employee telling the patient to leave the door open, and the patient closing the door on the employee's arm. At which point the patient walked away. No repeated slamming.
Hick said the jury asked to watch the video again later. To make sure what they saw was not what the plaintiff had stated. He said the decision was unanimous that the patient did not appear to be attacking the employee. He said the jury felt that the employee might be trying to use this incident as a basis for getting a settlement from worker's comp, saying that she was injured on the job, and that her fellow employees did not come to her rescue, so the state was at fault.
Yes. Some details are missing here, but that's the nature of Hick's stories. All I gathered, basically, is that a patient was not convicted for attacking an employee, just because he closed the door one time after being told not to, and the employee got a bruise on her arm.
Anyhoo... Hick was none the worse-for-wear after spending a day on jury duty. He withheld fluids so he didn't suffer an embarrassing accident, and was home by 8:00, having made a logical decision concerning a court case.
We'll see if he gets called again, and if he's chosen.
The employee must not have known of the video. Otherwise, how did she expect to be able to collect anything? Wouldn't you think that she'd be embarrassed in knowing she lied and the proof of it in the video?
ReplyDeleteI didn't hear the testimony, but yes, you would think if the employee knew of the video, she would have constructed her argument to fit the facts.
DeleteWhile it did not 'appear' that the person had the door slammed on her arm repeatedly, I wonder how many times a person has to be shot to have the person convicted of anything. Just a bruise? That shows that damage did happen. Of course, I was not there.
ReplyDeleteI would hate to be a juror and have to sit on a pew for the duration of a trial. Tommy tells stories the same way. Sometimes, it is days before I get the whole story.
Video can't lie about how many times a door slams. There's quite a difference between a mentally ill person closing a door when told to leave it open, and somebody shooting a person.
DeleteA bruise is an injury, and the employee was injured on the job. So she deserves worker's comp if she had medical bills for it, or mental suffering, and lost work. It would be up to doctors to determine the extent of her injury. This trial was only to determine if the patient who closed the door on her arm should be convicted of a felony. The jury unanimously decided he should not.
The pews are for seating in the courtroom, where Hick had to sit from 8:00 to 1:00. Then when he returned from lunch at 2:00, he got to sit in the jury seats. As I remember, they are wooden chairs with arms, fastened to the floor of the jury box. I didn't ask, but I doubt they've been updated with foam or cushions. Can't have jurors get so comfy that they fall asleep!
I thought you meant the jury sat in pews. I cannot sit in a chair without arms because of two torn meniscus. I would have to bring my own fat cushion in any case. Plus, I would not be able to walk after extended sitting. These days, it all about my comfort.
DeletePews are definitely not comfortable. We have one on the front porch, where Hick and I used to sit every evening, petting the dogs, the year The Pony went off to college. Now he's too busy. I can't remember where he got that pew. Probably at an auction.
DeleteAs for an actual chair, I need arms on it to hoist myself up. Then I have to stand a couple minutes while my knees decide to unstiffen and allow me to start walking.
my hubby John was on a case, he was the jury head. It was pretty straight forward, but the jury did take a field trip to the places where the robbery and such happened. I have been exempt from Jury duty, due to frequent migraines. Wow, Hick gave you a good short version.
ReplyDeleteWe didn't get a field trip for my case on imminent domain, but we had pictures. I knew exactly where this location was, having driven by it on the way to court! The pictures definitely swayed my decision.
DeleteA local real estate lady claimed she had climbed down into a big hole to measure it. By herself. I knew there was no way she could have gotten in or out of that pit by herself. It's where a big tank had been removed from a former gas station. Because I didn't believe that, I couldn't be sure if the rest of her testimony, or the other witnesses on her side, were being truthful.
We deliberated until 11:00 p.m., and awarded the plaintiff what we considered a fair amount for his property. More than the state was trying to give him for taking his land.
You must/should be proud of Hick for doing his civic duty.
ReplyDeleteHick has been chomping at the bit for a chance, after his Grand Jury duty in the city before he met me. I would not mind doing it again, but sitting on those pews for five hours would wreck my knees. Even an hour of inactivity makes it difficult for me to get up and walk. So I got a medical exemption.
DeleteHick is game for serving. Even though his pee schedule makes it difficult. He puts off his meds, and restricts fluids. For the people!
Good that it was all over and done on the first day. I've heard of people actually injuring themselves on purpose and trying to get compensation for it.
ReplyDeleteYikes! Nothing would surprise me anymore. I've not heard about deliberate injuries, but only of people hurt elsewhere, who try to claim it happened at work.
DeleteI forgot about frequent trips to pee! That would be hard for me, too!
ReplyDeleteThat makes 3 of us. We could be in a song called The 12 Days of Jury Duty. Three pee-ers peeing!
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