Where Have I Been?
Here....
Serving jury duty in Brooklyn’s Supreme Court. I was about to finish a long overdue piece on Elizabeth David when I remembered I had to come here on Monday. I lugged an old laptop and several books with me and spent about two hours sitting on a hard bench, balancing everything on my knees to finish David. I got called up around 11 a.m. along with 31 other potential jurors and we all trooped upstairs to the courtroom. The seats were very padded and comfortable but I wasn’t allowed to use my computer.
Did you know the prosecutor and defense lawyer get to ask potential jurors some pretty personal questions? Do you know many people don’t mind oversharing even before a Supreme Court judge? Some accounts were so interesting I don’t think I’ll ever forget them. One nice thing about all these questions was hearing that there is more agreement than disagreement about protecting the United State Constitution than we’ve been given to believe these days. People really do appreciate it, especially the guy from Ukraine sitting to my left. He was dismissed early because he has a cousin who’s a hostage in Gaza. The lawyers and judges said they were sorry and hoped his cousin will be alright.
Except for the accused, we actually all seemed to be having a fun time of it until I felt compelled to discuss the nature of deciding guilt. The lawyers and a high percentage of my fellow jurors agreed that it is clear: it’s based purely on the presented facts. The prosecutor probably saw my ‘I don’t know about that,’ face and asked me if I had something to say? That’s when I launched into one of my favorite writing teacher lessons about the more gray areas that surround black and white facts which governs why something happens. There’s the situation (why there was an arrest and why there’s a plea of not guilty). Then there’s personal, social, and cultural history influencing the whys that must be examined in order to reach a valid and true conclusion about right and wrong. (See note below) This isn’t any woke, alternative facts, stuff. This is good storytelling and isn’t a trial and deciding whether someone is guilty or not about understanding the full story? The poor prosecutor seemed clearly perplexed. My fellow potential juror next to me turned full face around and whispered somewhat loudly, “you’ve got to be kidding me.”
Right after that we were dismissed for lunch and I took my heavy computer bag and wandered around downtown Brooklyn looking for something to eat. This is what I ate
Then I headed over to Duane Reade on the next block
The afternoon wasn’t as fun as the morning. Everyone seemed to want a nap. The accused was the only one who got to fall alseep.
Epilog: I’ve been dismissed! I guess the whole gray area lesson didn’t sit well with either side. Elizabeth David will be in your mailbox tomorrow!
Correction: I am very grateful to Mary who told me that Mexican Coke is different: “Mexican Coke is made with sugar, American with HFCS.” I should have done my research. Moments such as this is why I love my readers!
Note: For more on this whole storytelling thing, read The Situation and the Story: The Art of Personal Narrative by Vivian Gornick
Mexican Coke is made with sugar, American with HFCS.
Love this, Pat! I was called for jury duty in December for a murder case. They had a pool of 95 and most of the 12 seated were from the first wave. They dismissed 4-5 and they were the ones who overshared in this case, too. I was shocked at the personal details. As a former journalist, I tend to ask too many questions and look for the gray areas, too. I was secretly hoping to get questioned because there were so many crazy coincidences with my background and things I covered as a reporter. I also wanted to know what happened because the case involved domestic violence “after a night of karaoke”. I’m dying to know which case yours was, but know you can’t say right now.