,
8 tweets,
2 min read
Read on Twitter
1/ Today I was called for jury duty in a criminal aggravated assault case. After 7 hours of selection I was excused. On my juror form I noted I was a law professor.
2/ During voir dire, the defense attorney said, "Professor Blackman, what is in the 5th Amendment?" I said "Lot of things." He had just finished talking about the presumption of innocence, so I asked, "Do you mean due process?" He wanted "self-incrimination."
3/ After some reflection, I recognize why lawyers--and especially law professors--are usually struck from juries: we know too much, and have a hard time keeping our mouths shut.
4/ For example, during voir dire, one juror asked about the significance of the fact that the defendant was indicted by the grand jury. The defense attorney replied with a joke about a ham sandwich. The juror had absolutely no idea what the lawyer was talking about.
5/ I felt the strong urge to lean over, tell him about the "indict a ham sandwich" joke, and explain the different burdens of proof for arrest, indictment, and conviction. But that wasn't my job. Jurors can only find facts, so I said nothing.
6/ Later, the prosecutor said that the offense report may not be introduced in the record because it would be inadmissible. The jurors had no idea what the rules of evidence were. Again, I felt the need to explain it, but I didn't.
7/ Later in the day, the judge asked us to wait outside. Another juror asked me what they were doing. I felt the urge to tell her that the lawyers were exercising their strikes--peremptory and for cause. But it wasn't my place to explain why she may be picked, and others wouldn't
8/ I am confident that I could have performed my role, and only found the facts based on evidence. But it would have been tough, bc the other jurors knew that as a law professor, I had special insights into the legal issues. It's hard to refuse to answer questions.
