From 50 years of our overstocked archives
Sam Smith, 2002 - There will probably be no e-mail edition on Monday, although headlines will be posted at prorev.com. The reason for this is that your editor had been called to jury duty. On three or four occasions in the past, I have been dismissed owing to my belief in the constitutionality of jury nullification and the unconstitutionality of the drug war. The last time, the judge and I had a nice bench conversation on the former subject, he noting that he had recently taken part in a debate with Paul Butler, a black professor who has urged African-Americans to make more use of the technique. I told the judge that my problem with Butler's case was that it was based on ethnicity rather than the much stronger historical arguments. The U.S. Attorney did not look happy as we chatted.
The only time I actually sat on a jury was on June 6, 1989 and that was for just 20 minutes. It was a White House demonstration case and the defendant, Jon E. Haines, was accused of assaulting a police officer. Haines was of moderate height, with rusty brown hair, a moustache and beard. He was wearing a blue-gray suit and a red and blue tie.
The first witness was a Park Police officer and the first question was would she please identify the defendant. She pointed out Haines' attorney, Mark L. Goldstone who was of moderate height, with rusty brown hair, a moustache and beard. He was wearing a blue-gray suit and a red and blue tie.
She was dismissed and a second witness, another Park Police officer, was called. Meanwhile Goldstone gave his client his legal pads and papers and told him to "act like a lawyer." Asked to identify the defendant, the officer also selected Goldstone.
We were sent to the jury room while the law in all its majesty decided what the hell to do. Which was to drop the case. 7/02
1 comment:
My excuse from juries stems from my having worked for the US Attorney's office on Guam (1985-1990) while serving as a paralegal in the Land & Natural Resources Division to support the Guam Land Claims Cases. One side or the other is usually fearful enough to ask me off, although the wrong side sometimes doesn't want to risk it. Fear is always fear of loss.
My chat with the Judge the last time, in the "cone of white noise" at the bench consisted of informing his Honor's incredulity that there should be the need for a US Attorney on Guam.
Within the first two weeks of my arrival in June of 1985, the Chief Of Police robbed a US Mail truck and, instead of having a flight off the island, took his proceeds to one of the department stores and bought himself a pair of ceramic elephant stools, a new fridge, etc. Drug cases were hard to prosecute because victim's heads were usually removed and disposed of, and elements purported to be related to the Yakuza tried to redevelop the southern eastern third of the island to launder their funds. The US Attorney's office also confiscated poker machines and prosecuted a major bribery case involving Governor Bordallo of Guam (in part, bribe money used to buy campaign hats from Hong Kong).
There was plenty for them to do although there was a Mickey Mouse feel to some of their targets...
Cheers, Tom
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