I am still stuck on the juror issue subject; the lone, black
female juror holdout against conviction even with overwhelming evidence of
guilt.
Even though I have noticed this phenomenon for some time
now, only recently has it become a much talked about issue when a mistrial was
declared in an open and shut case against Bobby Ferguson for rigging city bids.
Now both the defense and the prosecution are aware of what
they have called the “stealth juror”; a juror that lies to get on the jury for
the express purpose of causing a mistrial or I suppose, a conviction but that
would only apply to a juror that causes a mistrial by maintaining a guilty
verdict opinion in the face of overwhelming evidence for innocence (acquittal)…which
I have never heard of.
Anyhow, jurors are usually asked if they have been involved
in litigation, a crime and an investigation or have been crime victims; all
yeses to these questions can indicate potential bias and therefore you are
usually removed from the jury pool.
In the case of the lone holdout in the Ferguson jury, when asked the usual
questions; she remained silent and in essence therefore, she lied. Today, we
know she was part of an investigation into licensing violations in her child
care center, her husband was convicted of a drug offence and she and her
husband had declared bankruptcy…if the judge or lawyers knew her history, she
would have been sent home immediately.
What motivated her to lie under oath to get on a jury to
cause a mistrial in an obviously open and shut case of guilt? Some say that
because she has been on the wrong side of the law on various occasions or our
legal system found her on the wrong side of the law; she may have felt a
grievance against the law and a connection to the defendant who broke the law and
therefore felt obligated to “stick it to the man”.
OK, I am starting to get a feel for why these jurors do what
they do and it may be considered a “cultural thing” between people that have
been “against” the law together; kindred spirits.
OK, how to prevent this from happening again; send her ass
to jail for a couple of years for perjury and other jurors with similar
intentions will have a lesson to be learned before them…
The jury in the Kilpatrick, et. al. racketeering trial has
been picked (50% minority jurors so he would have no reason to appeal). In this
case the jurors were questioned at length and had to fill our extensive
questionnaires…so let’s see what happens…
Note: If you get a chance to see the 50s black & white
movie, TWELVE ANGRY MEN, see it, it is a classic and quite remarkable. Not to
spoil it but 11 men were convinced of guilt and one, lonely holdout was not AND
SO he convinced the other 11 of the defendant’s innocence.
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