I got the questionnaire a month or so ago asking a bunch of questions to see if I would be summoned to sit on a jury panel. A short while later I got the letter informing me I was selected for this week, Monday through Thursday.
I have to call after 4:30 the day before to see if the panel I'm on is required to report, and last night the recording said to report, so this morning I did.
First step was to sign in and wait in a room to watch an instructional video. They had about 70 of us crammed into a room built for about 50. After a short wait we were brought upstairs to the courtroom for the jury selection. Of the 70 or so of us in attendance, they randomly selected 26 to be asked questions about biases and conflicts of interests. I was one of the lucky 26.
About half a dozen or so were thanked and dismissed based on their biases or conflicts of interest. One potential juror was dismissed because he was a member of a White Nationalist organization, and the defendant was a black man. After the questioning, the district attorney and the defendant's attorney passed the juror list back and forth making their selections. Once they agreed, 14 of us were asked to stand, and the others were dismissed, along with the other 50 or so that weren't selected.
I was part of the 12 member jury with 2 alternates. In Wisconsin, the alternate jurors attend the trial and aren't removed until just before the final deliberation.
After the jury selection we were released for lunch, with specific instructions not to do any investigating into the case or look up anything online or have any contact with the DA or defense.
We reconvened and the judge read the formal charges, stemming from a stabbing with multiple victims back in 2015. The big one was 1st degree attempted intentional homicide with a deadly weapon, and he was also charged with 1 count of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, 1 count of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon (I could be wrong on that one, there were two that were very similar), and 1 count of bail jumping. Then the DA and defense attorney gave their opening statements and we were excused from the courtroom while the attorneys discussed some things we did not need to be present for.
We waited in the deliberation room for about an hour and a half before we were called back. When we entered the courtroom, everyone had left except the judge. Turns out the defendant took a plea bargain for an amended first charge and the second charge as-is, with the 3rd and 4th charges dismissed but read in, meaning they couldn't add to the sentencing, but would factor into the overall severity of the sentencing for the 2 accepted charges.
The judge said it was somewhat unusual for the defendant to take a plea this far into the process, but that maybe finally having the jury there and being in the courtroom made everything settle in.
Overall it was a great experience and I'm happy to be able to serve my community in this capacity. I'll admit it was somewhat of a relief to hear he took a plea deal, as it was expected to be a 3-4 day trial with a long list of witnesses, and what could've been a difficult determination of what actually happened, as most witnesses who were actually there at the time of the crime were intoxicated or on medication or both.
I don't have to report tomorrow, but may still need to go back Wednesday or Thursday, and with this jury selection process being totally random, I could be selected again.
Since the court was adjourned after the plea deal, I'm able to share this all with you. Otherwise I would've had to keep my trap shut until the trial was over.
