My only jury experience shared a lot with this case. It wasn’t murder but it was a case that should have never gone to trial. The prosecution had nothing but a bunch of theories.
The jury instructions (at least here in Cali) are very clear - you do not vote until you have deliberated. If you walk into that jury room with your mind already made up, you are in violation of the instructions. Of course, everyone already has their minds made up. But you don’t want to walk into the jury room and proclaim, “Well, THAT was a colossal waste of time!” like you want to, you have to systematically go thru the evidence.
If you don’t, you risk getting thrown off the jury. Or, in a high-profile case like this one, getting called out by the others in the media. No one wants to be “that guy.” So you go thru the motions.
When we finally got around to actually voting, there were 2 holdouts. A slam dunk case, and there were still 2 people who could not connect the freaking dots! We spent 3 days beating them up until they finally saw the light (or caved in).
This one could easily take a week before a verdict.
Interesting!
“This one could easily take a week before a verdict.”
Yikes!
This Spring I had the rare opportunity as an attorney to be seated on a jury (much to my surprise as well as the judge's surprise). We went through the instructions and the evidence before we ever took a vote. By the time we finished the discussion we were unanimous. Serving on a jury changed by perspective for the better on how serious jurors take their obligations.