So far, 5 of 12 jurors have been picked for the murder trial of the ex-police officer who killed George Floyd, consisting “of two people of color, a man and a woman, and three white men in their early 30s or 40s” (read story here), and I’m genuinely surprised by who got on the jury.
I always felt jury selection would be difficult. I figured they’d have to go to a hermit colony. They didn’t. Here’s who’s on the jury so far:
“Both jurors selected on Wednesday said they have viewed the viral bystander video multiple times of the May 25 arrest in which Chauvin, who is white, is seen kneeling on the back of Floyd’s neck for more than nine minutes as the handcuffed and prone Black man repeatedly cried out ‘I can’t breathe.'”
My thought: Well, who hasn’t? Excluding those who have might narrow the jury pool to zero. Unless they can locate a hermit colony.
“A married man of color who works as an internet technology manager.”
My thought: Much as the defense might prefer an all-white jury, that would look racist, and might encourage bigger riots in event of an acquittal. If ya gotta have one, best a geek. And there’s still 11 other jurors to work on. Ya only need 1 on your side.
“[A] data specialist for a nationwide sales management team who said he and his fiancée, a law school graduate, are planning to get married on May 1 in Florida. He said they have invited 30 family members to attend their nuptials, some of whom have already booked their flights. [If] … ‘this trial did last past May 1, how significant of a hardship would that be for you?’ Chauvin’s attorney … asked the juror. The juror — who also described himself as a devoted father, a fan of the reality TV show ‘Cops’ and a Minnesota Vikings season-ticket holder, responded, ‘It would be obviously disappointing. Personally, I would love to get married on May 1 to my fiancée and we have something beautiful planned, but there are other things that occur in life and really that’s in your guys’ hands,’ the juror said. After conferring in private with the lawyers in the case, Hennepin County District Court Judge Peter Cahill informed the man that he had been picked to be on the jury.”
My thought: The defense attorney thinks he’ll acquit his client because he wants the trial over quickly. In addition, he has “redneck” written all over him. But why didn’t the prosecution peremptory him? My guess is they’ve already used them all — each side gets only three — or are holding them in reserve in case something worse comes along. After all, they have to go through dozens of potential jurors.
“The first juror selected on Wednesday said he believes ‘the event did not need to end in death.’ He also said he has a ‘very favorable’ view of the Black Lives Matter movement behind many of the nationwide protests calling for justice for Floyd, saying, ‘they do matter, and I don’t know why anyone would be against that.’ He also said believes the U.S. criminal justice system is biased against minorities. ‘I do believe there is a systematic issue at hand and I wish our country and world would get better at that,’ he said. Conversely, the juror said he believes the Blue Lives Matter movement in support of law enforcement is a ‘marketing rip-off’ of Black Lives Matter, but added he does support law enforcement and has a cousin who is a former police officer. The juror also informed the court that a friend of his, a forensic scientist for the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, is on a list of nearly 400 potential witnesses in the case.”
What the hell? How did that one get by the defense? My thought: They dozed off during the voir dire.
“The second juror chosen Wednesday, the first Black man chosen for the panel, said he emigrated to the United States 14 years ago to attend school in Nebraska and that he moved to Minnesota in 2012. He acknowledged writing that he had a ‘somewhat negative’ view of Chauvin based primarily on the video of Floyd being taken into custody. But the man said he could set aside his personal beliefs and render a verdict based solely on the evidence presented in court. … [H]e said he discussed the incident with his wife and shared with her that he felt it could have been him. ‘It could have been anybody … I used to live not far from that area, it could be anybody,’ he said.”
My thought: Maybe the defense didn’t have the guts to bump the first black guy to take the stand, and figured they didn’t need to, because sooner or later a good redneck would come along. From the defense perspective, a hung jury isn’t as good as an acquittal, but is way better than a conviction. And if the jurors go at it in the jury room, that’s an automatic retrial.
As for the ages of the jurors, obviously everybody wants jurors with stamina. This is no jury box for old people.
As for who didn’t get on the jury, i.e. was dismissed from the jury pool, it appears saying the security around the courthouse (fencing, guards, etc.) scared them or made them nervous was the wrong answer. Those who got on the jury said the security is reassuring and they aren’t afraid to serve. Generally people aggrieved by a trial’s outcome don’t go after the judge and jury anyway. If an acquittal, they’ll go for windows and store buildings. If a conviction, the cops still on duty will refuse to make arrests or stop crimes from being committed.
Don’t ask me what will happen in the jury room. I have no idea. Chauvin is obviously guilty, but so was O. J. Simpson, but juries can be weird. Most of us have no idea what goes on in jury rooms, except from the movies.