Today I was called for Jury Duty. I've been called before having to report to the Mesa Courthouse, but I've never been assigned to appear in Phoenix. I had to report to the Maricopa County Superior Court in downtown Phoenix at 8 a.m.I was really dreading this. In fact, I asked for a postponement and was granted a 3-month extension until today. In hindsight, I wish I had appeared earlier and here is why.
There were approximately 500 prospective jurors who had to appear at the same time. We all had to go through the security lines and wand waves and then turn in our juror summons and then recieve some paperwork to fill out. We waited for about 1 1/2 hours in a large waiting room, listening to instructions, etc. From the time we began our security screenings and sitting in the waiting room it was now around 11 a.m. Then one of the clerks announced over the loudspeaker that 120 of us would be randomly selected to go up to the 4th floor. She then began to read aloud names and assign numbers beginning with 121. At the time I was not sure why she began with 121, but I later discovered why.
It appears that I am quite a random person because I was selected and assigned number 199. After we were given a 8x11" piece of paper with our number on it, we were told to follow two court officials upstairs and then line up according to our number. While in the elevator I turned the paper over and read that we, as prospective jurors, would be participating in a trial anticipated to last 9 months. 9 months!
I had no idea what was going on until I saw a handmade sign with the name on the front door of the courtroom that said, "Dale Housner".
For those of you that don't live in Arizona that name won't mean much to you, but it does to us. He is accused of killing eight people in the Phoenix/Glendale/Mesa area and shooting 33 others in addtions to killing 3o or more animals during a 14 month shooting spree. It was during the same time as the Baseline Killer rampage. He and his fellow defendant are known as the Serial Shooters. FYI, one of the victims was an LDS girl in Mesa. He shot and killed her with a 410 shotgun while driving by her one night. You can read more about the shootings by Googling Dale Housner or searching the AZ Republic.
We were told to go into the courtroom where the judge had all of the counts against Housner read to us. We were given a 6 page copy of the counts. It took 30 minutes to read the charges ranging from attempted murder to murder to consiparacy to cruelty to animals, etc.
As luck or randomness would have it I sat not more than 7 feet behind Housner and his attorneys with only a rail between us. It was surreal. I didn't want to make eye contact as he frequently turned around. He was often taking notes and then would look around the room. I'm not sure that I felt real fear, but instead uneasyness and trepidation. This guy killed 8 people in cold blood. He didn't look "Mansonesque", just creepy. I've tried to think of another word to describe him but I can't. Creepy sounds so "high schoolish", but he wasn't necessarily evil looking or grungy or even unkempt. He was creepy.
The judge began by telling us no one wants to be on a jury--especially one that will be in session for 9 months. So, he gave us his best patriotic speech. He talked about soldiers serving in Iraq and freedom and about doing our part and serving on a jury to maintain our freedoms, etc. Truthfully, I've heard better speeches from Larry and Dana on keeping America strong -- and they were more convincing.
Nevertheless, this guy is a cold blooded mass murderer and if you have to be on a jury there is no better case to decide.
The judge told us that he would call us by our juror number and ask if we could serve. If we could not he would ask us why not and perhaps ask a few more questions. So, the process began.
During this process, both the prosecution and defense kept detailed notes. So did Hausner. In fact, as each juror stood he look directly at them, but more on that later.
The first juror was polled and he said he could serve. So did the second and third jurors. I thought, "wow, this is a piece of cake, they will get all they need before they get to me". Then the excuses began. I'm sorry your honor, I can't serve because blah, blah, blah.
He questioned each excuse then excused those that said no. The reasons for not serving were good. He even recommended to some that they not serve. Women who were pregnant couldn't serve. Neither could men or women with small children and no caregivers. Small business owners were excused. Office managers -- excused. Students-- excused. Those that had ties to law enforcement -- excused. Those that had familiarity with the victims of the crime scenes were eliminated. Those with health concerns, those with travel plans that couldn't be changed were excused. Yet, about every 5 or so jurors could serve the full 9 months. Some said they could not be impartial due to the heinousness of the crimes and media coverage. One poor mother was sobbing as she told the judge her son was a victim of a drive by shooting. One man said he new the LDS girl who was killed. Again, each time Hausner looked at each prospective juror.
I suppose the best reasons for not serving were these; several people did not believe in the death penalty (this is a death penalty case), one young 19-year old said he had a short attention span and really couldn't pay attention. The judge questioned him extensively and determined that he really couldn't. He was right. The kid explained he works at Quisno's and gets help from his co-workers to get the orders right. That was the best excuse. Several couldn't speak English well enough. The judge caught a few in some exaggerations. A few people said they had young children to attend to, which was fine, except they couldn't readily remember their ages. That was interesting. He excused them anyway.
But, the reason for not serving which really doesn't make sense to me is one that was used often and accepted by the judge, was animal cruelty. Now, I own a dog. I've had several. I grew up around horses and cattle. I've seen sheep. I'm not a big fan, but I've never wanted to be cruel to them. I loved cats as a kid, but I'm not so big on them now. Overall, I would say I'm as much an animal proponent as most people. But, doesn't it seen odd that when a mass murderer kills eight people and maims 33 others, that people cruelty might be a better explanation. Yes, he killed 30 plus animals, but he killed eight human beings. I really don't get it. What's more, all the people that said they couldn't serve because of the animal cruelty issue were excused. No questions asked. I can understand the death penalty issue. I don't understand that a person could not be impartial because of animal cruelty. Does that mean they could be impartial if it was only human cruelty?
Anyway, here's what happened to me. I'm glad I was 199. It gave me time to think about justice, my values, my priorities, etc. As I listened to those that opposed the death penalty, I had a struggle of conscience. I know I have liberal leanings. Certainly, this guy deserves what he gets, but could I as a juror be responsible for putting him to death. I know it's not that simple and it wouldn't be on my head so to speak. Yet, it would. It might be different if he was holding a gun pointed toward me or my family and I had to shoot back, but I really struggled with being responsible for someone's death. I've never had to come to terms with that. I didn't like how it made me feel. Does it "make it better" if he dies? Does it "make it better" if I help to make him die? I asked myself if I could be impartial anyway. Maybe I could tell the judge I also had a short attention span due to A.S.S. and get away with it.
The guy two spots in front of me was some sort of a court official. The judge knew him and said he shouldn't serve. The lady right in front of me had been reading the Ensign. She was a teacher and the judge excused her. I never spoke to her or the guy behind me. I was really in turmoil. Part of me really wanted to be on this jury. I truly wanted to find out what I would do during the trial.
So, my time came. The judge asked me if I could serve. I answered I could not. He asked why. I said that I was self-employed and I also taught music lessons and that after nine months I would have nothing to go back to -- which is entirely true, yet I felt guilty. Did I mention we were sworn in? He excused me. The guy behind me was having hip relacement surgery. His reason sounded much better than mine. I fel ashamed I said no. Not because I really couldn't serve, but because I would miss out on the trial. I would miss out on wondering how I would vote on "killing someone". I would miss out on whether I could be impartial. What if he really didn't do any of this? He plead not guilty on all charges. When I stood to address the judge, Dale Hausner turned and looked at me. I didn't mean to look back, but I did. Maybe it was because I had seen his picture on the news, etc, but it was as if I recognized him. What's worse, it was as if he recognized me. It seemed like he stared at me forever, and he did, until the guy behind me stood up.
Post Script: About 30 people from my group will go on to the next step filling out a 22 page questionaire and being "voire dired" as Uncle Vinny would say. They are expecting to have 3,000 prospective jurors come through the doors to pick 120 who will be willing to serve then go from there. I will not be one of them. Is it possible to be glad and sad? In other news, I will be available for our next family reunion.
