New Revelations from Former 'Wash Post' Reportor/Libby Juror

Editor & Publisher ^ | March 07, 2007 | Joe Strupp

[lugsoul]

I can't believe a writer doesn't know a typo when he sees it.

[lugsoul]

With regard to the substance, I was responding to one who adamantly claimed that slots on a jury should be parceled out by political party identification.

I'm sorry if you don't see the utter folly in that, as well as the offense to the common law jury system. But that is one of the most ridiculous things I've ever heard.

Perhaps we should apportion seats on the jury by hair color, too.

[VRWCmember]

I'm reminded of the Dustin Hoffman/Gene Hackman movie of a few years back, where the activist wanted to get rid of guns and decided that getting himself onto a jury was the best way to pursue his political agenda. But I'm sure that could never happen in real life.

That was Runaway Jury. In the book by John Grisham the guy got himself onto the jury of a tobacco lawsuit. Of course, the idea that you could get yourself into the jury pool and manage to get selected for jury duty the very day that the jury pool for a particular case is being empaneled is pretty far-fetched.

[FreedomNeocon]

FYI... he was able to STILL get on the jury because the Libby defense had used up all their strikes on the MOVEON and code pinko people that were in the original DC poll.

[icwhatudo]

Anyone have info/article on who the "strikes" were used on and how many they had to use? Be interesting to see how biased the ones that were rejected for the jury were.

[FreedomNeocon]

No, but according to some people that blogged the trial the defense was given 10 strikes, the prosecution was given 6. Then each were given 2 alternates.

They weren't done 'in order', and not even the jurors know if they were 'striked' out of the jury by the prosecution or defense. They were simply read out and asked to leave.

There was some info at slate about one or two of the people that were struck out (when they were trying to guess who struck out who), but I haven't read any deatil bios or even names.

[Ditto]

Assuming your suggestion was constitutional, would you be willing to sit on a jury for a month or so in DC because no one on the government payroll was able to do so?

Why not? And if it's a sequestered jury, one hotel room is pretty much like another where ever you go.

Or you could just move the trial somewhere else. Make the Judge, lawyers and media monkeys travel.

[Ditto]

Of course, the idea that you could get yourself into the jury pool and manage to get selected for jury duty the very day that the jury pool for a particular case is being empaneled is pretty far-fetched.

The right amount of dead presidents in a plain brown envelope handed to the clerk that handles jury pools is not at all far fetched.

[supercat]

If the defense team didn't know of that relationship, anything other than a thrown out verdict and a new trial would be immoral.

If a juror is personally acquainted with any of the parties or witnesses to a proceeding, isn't that juror required to disqualify himself, and aren't jurors informed of this requirement?