is there an art to jury selection…

Of course they’d have us all believe that there is a certain Viennese Waltz involved in jury selection. Where from across the room, lawyers attempt to accurately align themselves with their partner whose footwork will be in perfect timing with the initiators. It’s a delicate courtship in which all laws of probability are essentially and effectively removed.

For those of you, who have never even been called to jury duty, let me walk you through the basic steps of how the process unfolds. If you have served on a jury before, skip ahead.
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First, you are selected at what the state would have you believe is random.

Second, the state assigns you a jury pool identification number. This number ranges anywhere from 1 to 4,000. This number holds no true significance as not only are there not as many people as there are numbers, but jurors are selected in clumps to move from the Central Jury Room to the District Courts which is were the true jury selection occurs. This occurs in no true numerical order.

Third, you appear at the courthouse on the date and time as so instructed.

Fourth, you check yourself in so that the state knows you have appeared for your God given civic duty – the unequivocal checkmark of attendance.

Fifth, you pour into an over crowded room they call the Central Jury Room. You are called to be at the courthouse no later than 8:30am, however there is no forward progression until closer to the 10am mark. The hour-and-a-half is to allow for our wonderful state employees to make sense of the selected jurors and the day’s agenda. Once you are in the Central Jury Room, you are sitting shoulder-to-shoulder with hundreds of the other lucky bastards who are fulfilling their civic duties. There is not enough room between the seat you are in and the one in front of you for anyone to pass through. Simply, if there is an open seat in the middle, everyone up to that seat nothing short of gets up, files out of the aisle and lets the new arrival sit. The same process happens when someone’s number is called and they must move to the appropriately assigned District Court Room.

Sixth, a judge arrives and thanks you for your time and service and then swears you in.

For most people that have been called to serve jury duty, this is where their process ends. Their number was not lucky enough to have been selected in the juror lottery and they are thanked for their time and sent home. For those that are assigned to a District Courtroom the process continues.

Seventh, the court then announces what numbers have been selected to move to a District Courtroom. They are in clumps of hundreds and in no numerical order. For example – group one may be numbers 352 through 524. The next group could be numbers 3 through 124. In each grouping, even if the grouping numbers exceed 100+ numbers, there are only 63 people in that group that move to the assigned District Courtroom.

Eighth, you pile to the elevators where you wait an eternity to find one that is going up and then fight to cram into an elevator that’s well above the maximum occupancy to get to your assigned floor. This process in and of itself can take 20 minutes to accomplish, if not more.

Ninth, when you arrive at your courtroom, and of course wait a little while longer, the bailiff comes out and takes role to assure that you are where you are supposed to be and assign you yet another juror number. This time your number is in order and is between 1 and 63. There is a second bailiff inside that instructs you where to sit. This is now officially your assigned seating for the remainder of the day. The lawyers and judges all have a seating chart and know exactly who you are and refer to you as your juror number first and your given name second (i.e. Juror 43, Angela Williams).

Tenth, after you are seated where you will be for the rest of the time it takes to select the jury, the judge swears you in, again. The judge then takes you through the basics of your responsibilities should you be selected. He then asks if you know him, the lawyers and/or the defendant personally. After a few basics, there and for the record via the court reporter, he hands the room over to the State Council.

Eleventh, the state then tells you the charge. It is in no exceptional detail other than legal terms that most people sitting in the courtroom don’t have the vaguest of understanding. The state then runs you through some legal scenarios – which always correlate to the trial at hand, but in an even vaguer manner. Sometimes they single people out directly. Others sitting in the courtroom are never addressed directly. The amount of questions you are asked and/or not asked is not indicative of selection or lack thereof.

Twelfth, the defense then does his jury questioning. The directive is different than that of the states and for the obvious reasons. His goal is to select jurors that will vote in favor of his client or at the very least stumble on an emotional connection. His questions rely more on how you’d feel, can you relate, can you be objective, and impartial, etc.

Thirteenth, the 63 people are asked to leave the courtroom while the state and defense begin selecting who they want to be a member of their jury. The defense eliminates individuals whom they feel will be biased even if they have previously indicated that that can be impartial – as does the state. In a matter of 30 to 45 minutes, they have selected their jury from the pool of randomly selected individuals. Twelve members are selected and a thirteenth is selected as an alternate. These 13 individuals are then sworn in again. If this selection has not pressed into the latter part of the afternoon and the state is ready to begin presenting their case, the trial can start the same day you are selected. If the trial is not started on the same day, it merely beings the next calendar business day.
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It has been my general experience that most people have either never been called to jury duty or have been called but have never made it out of the Central Jury Room. While it’s considered a burden to miss work to “voluntarily” do your civic duty, it’s really only a scratch on the surface as to what all goes into jury selection. Furthermore, it’s only when you move to the individual District Courtrooms, that you see one of three jurors.

First, you have the blatant – I don’t want to be here – jurors.
Second, you have the flagrant – I desperately want to be on your jury – jurors.
Third, there are the – I would rather be doing something else, but understand my responsibility to answer the questions honestly and if I get called, I will serve – jurors.

On Monday, December 14th 2009, I had the “pleasure” of being called to serve jury duty for the 5th time in my life. I have served on 3 juries and have (now) played the role of foreman twice. The 2 times I was called that I didn’t serve on a jury, my initial juror number was not selected and I never left the Central Court Room. It’s my postulated theory that had I been moved to a District Courtroom, on those two occasions, I could effectively say that I have served on 5 juries total.

The first time I ever served on a jury, I was 22 years old. It was a felony robbery with the intent to harm case. For some reason and although I was by far the youngest member of the jury, I was selected to be the foreman. Which at the time, I thought had no bearing on my future jury experiences so I readily accepted. My thought process was more driven by my desire to no longer discuss things that didn’t matter – like who would be the foreman – and simply deliberate to a verdict. Which let me clear that up for everyone right now… IT DOES MATTER. It wasn’t until today that I found out why.

Let me back this up a skoach. So on December 14th 2009, there we are all 63 of us piled into this small District Courtroom. Remember the 3 different types of jurors I was talking about before? Let me introduce them to you in real-life examples.


The – I don’t want to be here – Jurors.
These people are the best. I mean, when you have to be doing something like potentially being selected for a jury, it’s imperative that there is some comic relief or you might go insane. It’s these people that provide all of that that you will need in the several hours you will be spending with them.

There was a guy sitting right next to me. He was Juror 42. I was Juror 43. Any time the state or defense attorney asked a question pertaining to being impartial or if a given scenario was fair or that they could agree with it, this guy would either raise his hand emphatically, talk out of turn or a combination of the two. His tone was harsh and to the point. He was opposing things that were obviously against the law. For instance, the state set up the following scenario (and this was after we had a 40minute discussion as to what reasonable doubt actually meant AKA a damn beating):

If the state has one witness and that one witness is according to you believable and reliable and you feel is telling the truth. Can you convict a person on the basis of that one person’s testimony?

Granted this scenario calls for a person to make some assumptions. First, if that is the evidence that the state is providing to prove guilt, and you believe it without a reasonable doubt, then you must convict – by definition of how our laws and court system is designed. Second, whether or not you think that the evidence provided could be more thorough, or that you would rather have more to go on, the law simply states that if you believe what is placed before you without a reasonable doubt, you must convict. It’s that simple.

This guy was all about saying he didn’t believe in that method of justice. It’s like well sir, you should move to Canada or possibly France, because guess what, we’re in America and this is how the show is run. He said he couldn’t be impartial when asked but could give no reason as to why. Which I suppose could be argued that that is his given right as an American to not have to explain himself.

Let me put it to you this way… it was so evident that he had zero desire to be there, that at one point and in the middle of questioning, I turned to him and said – wow, you really don’t want to serve on this jury, do you? And before he could answer I said – why don’t you just raise your hand and say you don’t want to be here. They obviously aren’t going to pick you. He just looked at me like a deer caught in headlights; like how’d you know? C’mon man… really?!

1 juror out.

Aside from him, there was a woman in the front row that followed Juror 42’s lead. When he said anything that got a negative response from the judge or the lawyers, she’d chime in and say something far more excessive. Like when 42 said he couldn’t be impartial ol’girl in the front was like – me either. As a matter of fact, I don’t care what the crime is – I’m giving the max sentence. In between siding with the crazy guy beside me, she’d sigh heavily and deeply while intermittently putting her head down on the railing (as she was in the front row) giving the ultimate eff-you to the court system.

2 jurors out.

There was another lady who when asked if after she’d convicted someone of a felony theft, could she justify all aspects of the sentencing as allotted by the court and the specific crime. For instance, this felony theft charged, if convicted, carried a sentence of 180days up to 2years. This woman responds with – for a felony, I cannot see how 180days or 6months would be enough of a sentence. I could not consider the lowest end of that range for possible sentencing.

3 jurors out.

Aside from the 3 of them, there were a slew of others that raised their hands and said for one reason or another that they could not be impartial.

My dad owned his owned his own company and was a victim of theft…
I was a victim of theft directly…
I worked for a company that was victimized by theft…
My friends were victims of theft…

4, 5, 6…12 jurors out.

Then there were four people that claimed to not be able understand the English language well enough to answer even the simplest of questions. I most closely related this to that car accident where the person who hit you pulls the – no hablo ingles – card. Well that is until the cops get there and then they speak perfect ingles. Nonetheless, the court will not call those people saying that there is a language barrier a liar.

16 jurors out.

Finally in this category, you have the famous last minute – oh shit, people are weeding themselves out so I have better come up with something quickly or my likelihood of serving is increasing with each passing moment.

Enter the following question: does anyone have anything planned within the next couple of days that would prevent you from being able to serve this jury in its entirety? Something that was already previously planned?

And here’s the few people that made me actually laugh out loud in court. My laughter was only drowned out by the simultaneous heavy sighing accompanied by eye rolling from our very Judge. It was by this point that he was ready to commit a felony against one of these rebellious potential jurors.

One guy raises his hand and is vague. He had something on Wednesday that he could not get out of. One thing I have learned about the art of lying AKA the fake call in sick to work – is this… never offer more information than is being requested. Be simple and to the point without ever really saying anything of substance. It’s likely that your work AND the overworked courts will not ask you to provide anything further than your very word. And in this instance, with this juror, the attorney simply asked if it was something that could be rescheduled. Without giving any other details the juror responded – no it’s not and they marked him down as a no and moved on. In my head, I had to applaud that guy. Nicely done, sir – well, played.

17 jurors out.

There was an older man who said he wouldn’t be able to serve because he had a colonoscopy scheduled. When the attorney asked him when it was scheduled, the man answered – oh, no it’s already happened but the simple fact is that I am uncomfortable to sit for long periods of time right now. I laughed – literally, out loud. Now, I’ve got to tell you that I was halfway tempted raise my hand and say that I had broken my coccyx in 6th grade (which is 100% true) and any time that I sit for long periods my tailbone aches. I, however, refrained. I settled with a hardy laugh and the hairy eyeball from the guy.

18 jurors out (on sheer stupidity alone).

And for some reason, I guess this guy’s very informative self-proclamation opened the flood gates of ridiculousness. A woman on the back row raises her hand and shares that she has serious bladder problems and unless the court wanted to adjourn every 15minutes to allow her to relieve herself, she’d most likely not be a good juror candidate. From that, a woman in the front proclaimed that she had ovarian cysts and those caused her great pain daily and not being able to get up and move around at her instant desire to relieve that pain probably wouldn’t work for the courts as well. From there, a guy in the third row says that he has IBS and would have a similar problem to the woman with the bladder condition. It was at this point that the judge put a stop to that nonsense. He reinstructed the jurors that it had to be a planned trip and/or a planned surgery. That just about everyone can come up with a reason that they can’t and/or don’t want to sit and listen for long periods of time. After a remedial lecture about the meaning of ones civic duty, no one else dared to mention anything of the kind again, however the damage was done.

21 jurors out.

Now to some juror math so far – 63 jurors started – 21 jurors that had successfully eliminated themselves from the running = 42 potentials remaining. My odds are starting to look bleak for not being seated on this jury. Couple these people’s ridiculousness with my shitty jury luck to start and before we were halfway done with anything – I made my own proclamation in my head… I’m screwed. I’m going to be on this jury.


The flagrant – I desperately want to be on your jury – Jurors.
There was a gentleman that arrived at my assigned District Courtroom wearing what I deemed his best – gettin’ picked for a jury outfit. This guy was in a 3-piece suit fully equipped with a Troy Duncan bow-tie that matched his suit vest. He spoke extremely proper English – annoying even to a native speaker; forced almost. My throat hurt just listening to the guy annunciate each word in its exact perfection. Any time he had the opportunity to raise his hand and give an opinion, he would do just that. He would say exactly what he thought the attorney’s wanted to hear and in perfectly indented paragraphs. I swear, I could almost see the paragraph sigh, every time he’d being a new and extended paragraph with an intro sentence, three complex sentences and conclusion sentence to sum up how perfect he was for this jury. It was impressive really. I find it near impossible that that is how he actually is in real life. Anyone who calls this man a friend outside of the courtroom needs to slap the shit out of him.

22 jurors out.

There was also a woman in this category. She was more calculated. She answered the questions in exact perfection without sounding to emphatic or eager. Her flaw however, was that in order to maintain control she sat on her hands and almost swayed back and forth as to keep an exact pace with the perfect words coming out of her mouth. She was spotted immediately. Good try sweet cheeks; good old Blind Liberty wasn’t buying that day.

23 jurors out.


The – I would rather be doing something else, but understand my responsibility to answer the questions honestly and if I get called, I will serve – Jurors.
Here’s where I fell. Most of the other 40 jurors were in this category too. Some teetered on the edge so as to say – I will if you want me to, but I’d really rather not. With my previous jury luck and how many people had managed to eliminate themselves before I even had a chance to talk, I had chalked it up to the fact that I was serving on this jury no matter what I had to say. And then THIS happened...

The defense lawyer asks the following question: If you had to choose between these 2 types of punishment, which would you favor – Rehabilitation or Deterrent?

Now, I’m Juror 43, Angela Williams and he began going down the list of jurors in order, starting with Juror 1. As people are answering Rehabilitation, Deterrent, Rehabilitation, Rehabilitation, Deterrent, etc. it dawns on me, that I have no real basis to make that kind of conclusion. I have 42 jurors to get through coupled with some people needing more definition around the words Rehabilitation and Deterrent before I have to give my answer. I start to think. Which I truly believe was my first problem. How do I know what I would lean towards? What if they’d tried to rehabilitate several times and it didn’t work. Well in that case, I’d potentially lean towards deterrent – and vice versa.

When it gets to Juror 43, Angela Williams and without hesitation I say – well, I think it would depend. I could tell that the defense attorney wasn’t extremely pleased with my answer and stared at me seeking further explanation. I only offered – you know, depending on the situation.

AND THERE’S WHERE I SEALED MY SEAT IN THIS JURY. Like a damn idiot.

After I answered and the defense attorney is still not terribly pleased as he responded with a drawn out – oooook – the judge who had only interjected to make simple clarifications when jurors were being complete idiots says – that is quite possibly the most perfect answer to that question, nicely done Juror 43. Shit. Thanks Judge. Why don’t you just send me to the head of the class where I can get my nose nice and close to your ass? It sure is hard to have a brownnose when I am 4 rows back and this was the first words I had spoken outside of when they’d called role 3 hours previously and I answered a generic – here.

Shit, shit, shit. Way to think Juror 43. I couldn’t even call myself by name at that point. I wasn’t on speaking terms with myself. Stupid 43.

Now you’d think with that kind of response from the judge that everyone after me would have said – it depends. Not one person did. Even the proper English speaker begging for a seat on this jury whom I wanted to punch as he gave his answer of rehabilitation in it’s disjointed perfection.

Not long after this, they deliberated to make their final jury selection. We went into the hall at 3:30pm and by 4:00pm, they’d selected their focal 12 and their alternative 13th. When they call us back in, they begin to call the names of the selected. As the names are being called, it becomes evident quickly that the jury will be predominantly male. I get semi-excited that maybe, just maybe I have beat the system this time. Juror 7 is selected… not me. Juror 8… not me. Juror 9… not me. It’s at this point that I started thinking again. Dumb move number 2. Both dumb moves involved thinking. See a pattern yet? I say to myself – well, there’s only 3 more spots, surely I’m not going to be on this jury. Juror 10… Angela Williams. SHIT.

Without thinking as I grabbed my bag and sweater to make my way to Juror 10’s seat in the jury box, I inadvertently say – damnit. Not a great move, I’ll admit. But it was the first thing I had done without thinking, so by default it was possibly the smartest thing I had done all day.

The judge says in response to my damnit comment – it was probably your amazing answer that got you selected to this jury. To which I replied – well, if you hadn’t sent me to the head of the class, maybe they wouldn’t have noticed. He laughed. He laughed hard. So I figured I would just follow that up with – I’m a jury magnet, it’s ok because I knew this would happen. He laughed hard again. From that point forward, he’d refer to me as Juror 10, Ms. Magnet. I enjoyed it, until I was selected to be Juror 1, Ms. Foreman Magnet. Standard.

The trial was short. It only lasted the morning of December 15th 2009. Once it was all said and done, and we’d reached a verdict and sentence, I hung around to talk to the states lawyers and the judge. I always do. It was probably mistake number 2,000 of mine for the less than 2 days that I was there. Here’s where I learned a valuable piece of information – LISTEN UP. THIS COULD SAVE YOU MY JURY DRAMA IN THE FUTURE!

One of the states attorneys is telling us how they selected some of the jury members that were left hanging around. He looks at me and tells me that no matter what I said or did, I would be on this trial. Furthermore, he knew I would be the foreman. In complete awe, I asked him how that was that he knew that and why was a guarantee without having to say anything at all?

Remember when I said I was on my 1st jury when I was 22 and in haste I had agreed to be the foreman? My mistake 6 years ago had proven to be one that I would carry throughout the rest of my life. As it turns out, each state lawyer can make permanent notes about their juries. If one juror stands out to them, they can comment specifically on that juror. It’s not a paragraph in nature, but enough to know that they should or should not immediately select a person. Since I was 22 and a foreman on a jury of people 2x+ my age and we came back with a quick and fair verdict, I consequentially was left with the following PERMANENT NOTE:

Was the foreman at 22yrs old. EXCEPTIONAL juror.

I shit you not, the states attorney tells me, that the word exceptional was in all caps. He said that’s lawyer talk for you’d be an idiot to not have this person on your jury. Then he followed that up with – so it wasn’t the judge sending you to the head of the class that screwed you, although we all got a good laugh out of that comment.

He then leaned in and whispered to me – no matter what, if the state can help it and you show up in another courtroom, you will be selected.

MOTHER of GOD…
That’s what I get for being a cocky 22year-old. I’m telling you people, there’s no jury dance involved. They almost have their entire 12 selected before you even step through the door – it generally only needs slight by manageable tweaking. Just know if you ever get in a District Courtroom with me, your odds decreased by 1 seat automatically. My stupidity says – you’re welcome as well as NEVER elect to be the foreman.

The small things in life are often learned as you’re paying for your bad decisions made in a fleeting moment that didn’t even register as a decision in that moment. Such is my life.