One prosecutor finds that he’s faced with the jury pool from hell:
Defense attorney Leslie Ballin called it the “jury pool from hell.”
The group of prospective jurors was summoned to listen to a case of Tennessee trailer park violence.
Right after jury selection began last week, one man got up and left, announcing, “I’m on morphine and I’m higher than a kite.”
When the prosecutor asked if anyone had been convicted of a crime, a prospective juror said that he had been arrested and taken to a mental hospital after he almost shot his nephew. He said he was provoked because his nephew just would not come out from under the bed.
Another would-be juror said he had had alcohol problems and was arrested for soliciting sex from an undercover officer. “I should have known something was up,” he said. “She had all her teeth.”
Another prospect volunteered he probably should not be on the jury: “In my neighborhood, everyone knows that if you get Mr. Ballin (as your lawyer), you’re probably guilty.” He was not chosen.
The case involved a woman accused of hitting her brother’s girlfriend in the face with a brick. Ballin’s client was found not guilty.
Sometimes life really is stranger than fiction…
It’s like that everywhere. I recall going through jury selection on a criminal case a couple years ago in Sacramento, Calif., and I was amazed at how many potential jurors were so “familiar” with the criminal justice system. And how many were also wrongfully accused.
All of these rejected jurors should receive complimentary invitations to the Bush inauguration tomorrow…..as a public gesture of appreciation towards the “other half” of Bush’s base. Then again, the stuffed shirts footing the bill for the $40 million payola are likely to draw the line in their tireless defense of “values voters” if it means actually having to stand next to them for a few hours.