A Surprising Verdict

It's interesting how life's path crosses the same intersection at different stages of our time down here on earth. For the last couple of months I have been on a jury pool that has to call in every week to see if there are any trials.

Two weeks ago we were called in and I was selected to serve as a juror for a day long trial. This past week we were again called in as a jury pool. The prosecuting and defense attorneys were to pick a jury for a week long trial. 

The defendant was a sitting county supervisor and the trial centered on whether or not his wife should be on a family health insurance plan. He was being accused of three crimes.

When selecting a jury the attorneys ask the folks in the jury pool specific questions to try an get an unbiased group of 12 individuals. I was asked about raising children, if they had boundaries, and if they ever crossed those boundaries.

I was also asked if we had twins and if we treated them both equally.

When asked about determining guilt or innocence in crossing boundaries I wanted to say we took into consideration whether or not the accuser had an agenda but didn't dare bring that up.

I was excused as a potential juror. The trial lasted all week. Although looking back I think the defendant would have done things differently. I do not think he was guilty of 1st degree theft beyond a reasonable doubt, his most serious of the three accusations. 

After a short deliberation on Friday the selected jury found the defendant guilty of all three accusations.

Deciding guilt or innocence is a tough job as a parent or a juror. I am not totally convinced the verdict was correct but admit I was not present during the testimony. I would like to thank Mr. and Mrs. Allsup of Oskynews.org for keeping me up to date throughout the trial.