Things I Learned In Jury Duty

and in no particular order....

1. Jury duty is not that bad. Don't be drama about it if you have to go.
2. Bailiffs work a lot more than I thought....I thought they only said, "all rise"
3. Cool new words can be learned in jury duty.....Voir Dire
4. Not all attorneys make a lot of money.....the prosecutor for the state had on a really cheap suit and bad shoes. It was almost a distraction. Someone call "What Not to Wear"
5. 6 grams of cocaine can put you in prison for a looooong time.
6. A bad public defender is terrible to see up close.
7. Moral Turpitude - one set of words I never heard in my whole life, and now want to use in a sentence when I get the chance to.
8. People brought together to serve on a jury form a really interesting bond.
9. Trial lawyers have to pay close attention all day long. It is intense beyond my imagination.
10. Retired judges on the bench don't tolerate stupidity.
11. If you are a defense attorney - look into Toastmasters....being a low talker is not working for you.
12. Determining guilt or innocence is hard.
13. Reasonable Doubt is a tough one.
14. Determining credibility on people you know is tough enough....determining credibility on total strangers is nearly impossible.
15. Jury deliberation rooms are really small and the chairs are uncomfortable. At least it was not swealtering like in "Twelve Angry Men"
16. There were no Angry Men on the jury.
17. Police officers in bullet proof vests have a really weird body shape and walk kind of funny.
18. Character witnesses on the stand can make you cry.
19. Just because a lawyer has a legal pad, and they flip the pages during questioning doesn't mean they have anything written down. I could see it was blank.
20. It is really hard to not raise your hand and get to ask the witnesses your own questions.
21. It is really hard to not talk about the trial before deliberation.
22. It is really hard to impose a sentence.
23. 12 people carry a large burden.....I'm glad I got to carry it with such a responsible, thoughtful and intelligent group of people.
24. I'm glad we considered the man's family and future in our decision.
25. You get an escort to your car.