A juror is me!
May. 18th, 2009 12:23 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
matthewdalySo, jury summons. Always a good time, forty bucks in found money, and killing a day around hundreds of strangers probably including probably at least one with swine flu. Plus, with my star-crossed luck I always get to play Voir Dire in the first pool, everybody's favorite game where two lawyers get to fight over which one is more eager to spend a peremptory challenge on me.
Well, today the lawyers didn't play the game quite right, and I actually got seated on a jury for the first time in my life. This is pretty fine with me, since civic duty yadda yadda yadda plus it gives me the opportunity to kill three or four days instead of just one. The downside is that the charge against the defendant is AFAIK (but am probably pledged against looking it up right now) the most foolish law in New York State, and there are no lack of candidates for that. Actually, even though I suppose I can't confirm or deny before the trial is over, just for lulz I should figure out how to create a poll to have folks guess what the charge is. Post a comment if you feel inspired. Of course, I can be objective and unbiased in examining evidence and testimony, but I sure hope it doesn't come down to the ethical quandary of determining the fate of a non-menacing person who violated the letter of a poorly written law.
Well, today the lawyers didn't play the game quite right, and I actually got seated on a jury for the first time in my life. This is pretty fine with me, since civic duty yadda yadda yadda plus it gives me the opportunity to kill three or four days instead of just one. The downside is that the charge against the defendant is AFAIK (but am probably pledged against looking it up right now) the most foolish law in New York State, and there are no lack of candidates for that. Actually, even though I suppose I can't confirm or deny before the trial is over, just for lulz I should figure out how to create a poll to have folks guess what the charge is. Post a comment if you feel inspired. Of course, I can be objective and unbiased in examining evidence and testimony, but I sure hope it doesn't come down to the ethical quandary of determining the fate of a non-menacing person who violated the letter of a poorly written law.
no subject
Date: 2009-05-28 07:59 pm (UTC)However, Bloomington (which flows right into Normal) does not have a public urination statute, so if the police wish to press charges, they use public indecency, assuming of course that the offender is male and is using the typical peeing stance. They actually only go on the sex offender list here once they have three convictions, but other states are not as lenient. Also, if it comes up under the check for potential teachers it's a red flag and potentially even one conviction can block certification.