Posted on 04/25/2003 6:36:04 PM PDT by FourPeas
Jail term won't alter juror's defiant attitude Friday, April 25, 2003By Barton Deiters and Doug Guthrie
Every day, defendants leave the downtown court building to head to jail, but Thursday, it was a juror who went to the county lockup. Brian Scott Lett, a 23-year-old Alto resident who failed to show up for jury duty earlier this month, was hauled before Kent County Circuit Judge Donald Johnston Thursday and found in contempt of court. Lett was handcuffed and taken to Kent County Jail, where he remains today. Lett failed to show up for three consecutive days of jury duty starting April 7, then left an obscenity-laced response on the court's answering machine, using the F-word to indicate that he had no intention of serving on a jury. Johnston said when Lett came to court Thursday, he was abrasive and unrepentant. "Basically, he said he was too busy to be bothered with jury duty, and he just had a terrible attitude," said Johnston, who said this was the first time he could remember locking up a potential juror for contempt in his 24 years on the bench. "This was the most egregious example of the complete reverse of a sense of civic responsibility." Johnston said the three-day sentence is largely symbolic -- he could have sentenced Lett to 30 days -- but he hopes the Lowell High School graduate gets the message after his anger passes. But at least as of Thursday night, Lett had not cooled down. "I brought money expecting to pay a fine. I never thought I'd end up in jail," Lett said from jail. "It's unfair that they are locking someone up and keeping them from their work because the judge had a bad day." He said he could not show up because he had no car and it would have cost him $40 to take a cab. He also had to care for his 1-year-old daughter and did not want to miss time at his maintenance job. Lett's name was called, along with about 100 other Kent County residents, to report for duty at the Kent County Courthouse April 7-9. When jurors fail to show up for court-appointed duty and court workers cannot reach them by phone to discover the reason for their absence, an order is issued for them to appear before a judge. The judge then is the one asking the questions at a show-cause hearing. "Typically, the judge makes arrangements at the show cause for the person to serve and it's over," Circuit Court Administrator Kim Foster said. "There may be a fine here and there, but jail time is rare." Johnston said he has chewed people out from the bench who did not show up and also given out fines. Lett responded to written and telephone inquiries with two calls to the court, according to Circuit Court Jury Clerk Gail VanTimmeren. Lett originally responded by leaving an obscenity-laced message on VanTimmeren's voice-mail. "We are willing to consider some reasonable requests for exclusion from jury duty, but we don't consider, '(Expletive) jury duty, bitch,' a statement we can work with," VanTimmeren said. "We always try to be very solicitous," VanTimmeren added. "His responses were rather nasty. He was reached at his job and he said, 'I'm not coming in.'" Lett claims he had no idea that his statement was being taped and he did not mean to direct the comment at anyone in particular. VanTimmeren, who has served as jury clerk for eight years, said most people are hesitant about jury service at first. "I've had so many tell me there weren't interested in duty until they did it," she said. "At the very least, they say it was interesting. They get a taste of government they haven't had since high school civics class. There's usually a sense of pride when they finish." Johnston said he hoped Lett would learn the importance of jury duty -- a civic responsibility people have fought and died for. "I hope next time he is called, he'll show up 15 minutes early," he said. But Lett is not making the honor roll in this particular civics lesson. He said he would refuse to eat the "nasty" food in jail while he is there through Saturday. He also said he had no intention of serving on a jury. "Next time, I'm going to tell them I'm a racist mother------ and get out of it that way," Lett said.
The Grand Rapids Press
No, it doesn't. It sounds like he made no reasonable attempts to contact them at all, and then acted like a putz when they sent him follow-up notices.
Jury duty is vile slavery to corrupt lawyers and disgusting judges. The courts have absolutely no respect for Americans.Not only is it a violation of the Constitutional prohibition of involuntary servitude, but at least around here, lawyers are exempt.
I learned precisely one thing when I got stuck on it. While smoking is banned by law in downtown Cleveland office buildings, forcing office workers to go outside (I suspect the advocates of panhandler's rights had something to do with this)....the sole exception is the Justice Center. There is a smoking room for the jurors (which makes sense) but judges also have the option of allowing hallway smoking on their floors. I mostly hung out with the smokers and in one case the bailiff joined us.
-Eric
Vire dire = Anybody who is honest or sane is removed for the jury pool.I was the only one in my pool to be pre-empted by both the prosecution and the defense, in separate cases. >:)
-Eric
Since the end of the draft, I think jury service is the only time that our government demands a citizen's personal services. But, for some people even that is apparently too much to ask.Amendment XIII
Section 1. Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.
Seems pretty clear to me.
-Eric
Our system does that. People determined to be reasonably intelligent and capable of reaching a rational decision are identified... and sent home.
Anybody who is honest or sane is removed for the jury pool.
How on earth did they seat someone who's been exposed to the FReeper view of the mainstream media in general and this pack in particular?
There are only four of them. The rest are true stories.
I served on a six-week federal trial - a doctor in Michigan was suing 60 Minutes because his practice went to hell a year after he was interviewed.It's very tough to get out of federal "jury duty". Fortunately, it can last as little as a day, as it did for me. "Our" case was rescheduled, and later settled. I never heard from them again.How on earth did they seat someone who's been exposed to the FReeper view of the mainstream media in general and this pack in particular?
I did get off a good shot on a particularly obnoxious clerk. When we were told the case would be delayed, one woman said there might be a problem because she had surgery scheduled in a couple weeks. This clerk quite arrogantly said "this is more important!". I then told him "you know, a******s like you are why people hate lawyers". He sputtered and such but did nothing.
I had an ace in the hole, I had met the judge a few years before when the state YAF board held a meeting at her house (husband was a state rep). The meeting was on Super Bowl Sunday (!) and she and I were watching the game in the kitchen. Cool lady, quite down to earth. I knew that if the snot had made an issue of my comment to her, she would have agreed with me, and he probably knew this too. >:)
-Eric
My dad has collected them for years, but some of the true stories about lawyers and judges are even funnier.
There was a court reporter (those are the guys who know where the bodies are buried) who put out a book called "Great Moments in Courtroom History" - a collection of things that really happened, all documented. Unbelievable.
Every lawyer has had one or two riotous moments in the courtroom, but when you see 'em all collected in one place . . .
True story: A local judge was holding sentencing in a simple assault case, and was going over the defendant's rap sheet.
"Hmmmm . . . " he says, "Convicted in 1972 of manslaughter in Kansas. Counsellor, is there any way we can get your client back to Kansas?"
"Maybe if we have him click his heels together three times . . . oh, I'm sorry, Your Honor."
"That was too funny to be contemptuous, counsellor. . . . "
This was about 10 years ago, when Ed Bradley still had black hair.
Anybody who is honest or sane is removed for the jury pool.
Considering that my mother, mother-in-law and father-in-law all served on juries I find your blanket statements either terribly mis-informed or blatantly rude. Obviously some juries do radically stupid things and the jury process can be manipulated, but that certainly doesn't mean that all jurors are dishonest, insane, irrational or stupid.
It is a badge of honor that sleezy shysters did not want a person of integrity like yourself on their carefully crafted fake jury.I don't think the prosecutors in the first case were overly impressed with my Metallica hockey jersey. I don't think the defense attorney in the second was too happy when I told him that I'd believe the word of a cop over that of his client (who plea-bargained right after I said that...no doubt the lawyer told him that I had just said out loud what everyone else in the pool was thinking.)
-Eric
LOL. My dad was once removed from the the jury pool when he recognized the defendent (with pop pointing his finger & saying loudly "YOU...YOU!") as a crooked contractor who had taken a deposit and vanished.
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