fandomhigh | Anatomy of a Trial [Period 4, Class #1, 5-13]

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anatomy of a trial

Anatomy of a Trial [Period 4, Class #1, 5-13]

Class today was meeting in the Danger Room, which they might realize looked very much like a courtroom. Their professor entered with a cup of tea in one hand and a briefcase in the other.

Alex had decided the best way to teach this class -- at least this first week -- was to dive in and pretend it was a courtroom scenario, at least at the outset. They were teenagers, most of them; they should catch on rather quickly.

"Thank you for being here," Alex said, setting her briefcase down on the long table in front of her. "I know jury duty is generally seen as a thankless nuisance, but the court appreciates your civic duty. We're going to start with a voir dire session as we empanel a jury. Those of you who are selected will be seated to hear a case; those of you who are excused may go home, with our thanks."

"Voir dire means that we ask you to speak the truth. Both the defense attorney and I will be asking a number of questions so that we can be sure to seat an impartial jury, one that has no preconceptions or prejudices on the issues we're going to be facing in court. Therefore, we'll be asking a number of questions both related to the accused -- William T. Thornsmith -- and his alleged victim, as well as more general concerns.

"Once we've asked our questions, certain participants may be stricken for cause -- if either side can make a compelling argument that the potential juror is too biased to follow the rule of law -- or dismissed summarily by either side via 'peremptory challenge,' which simply means that one of us feels we'd rather that juror not serve. We only have ten each, and if either of us are caught using them discriminatorily -- that is, to eliminate members of a specific gender, ethnic group, or sexuality -- our challenges may be overturned.

"All you need to concern yourself with is answering questions as honestly as you can. The rest, you can leave to the lawyers; that's why we're so overpaid." She smiled at her students. "Shall we?"

(~~wait for the OCD!~~ OCD of wtf-was-I-thinking-DOOM is up!)

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An unemployed man is charged with setting fire to three libraries in the tri-state area, causing thousands of dollars of damage.

Karla frowned to herself as she read her case file. Was the fact that he was unemployed somehow relevant? Was she supposed to assume that had be been employed, he wouldn't have had the time or the inclination to set those fires? Had he worked for a library before, maybe?

...Were any of these questions supposed to be part of her voir dire? This was tough.

Anyway, she could at least start with the first few questions Alex had, since they seemed fairly universal, and try to go from there.

"Has any member of your family -- yourself included -- ever been arrested, or served time in prison?"

A man near the front raised his hand.

"My stepson," he said. "Not a blood relation, but being married to his mom kinda makes us family."

"Family often transcends the bounds of blood," Karla said, giving the male a smile. She tried to remember how Alex had phrased her request for more details earlier. "Could you elaborate, please? On the nature of your stepson's arrest?"

"He killed a woman," Fin said with a shrug. "Buried her in a shallow grave. He confessed, but he played us. Used a legal loophole to get everything excluded."

That...hadn't been what Karla was expecting, no.

"I can imagine the kind of pain your family must have felt during that time. Do you feel that experience will unfairly influence your ability to make decisions as a juror?"

When in doubt, be the Queen.

"Nah, I should be fine," the man said. "A lot more careful trusting people, but that's nothing to do with this case."

Re: Karla: Case File - ANAT01

glacial_queen - 2010-05-13 20:29 (UTC) - Expand

Does any member of your family -- yourself included -- work in law enforcement in any capacity?

Another hand. "I'm a psychiatrist who works with law enforcement," the man said.

Karla nodded at the male in acknowledgement. "Could you please explain in what capacity?" she asked. "Is it your primary means of employment, or are you asked in at different times?"

"I'm fully employed by the police department of New York," the man said with a smile. "Previously, I was a profiler for the FBI. I do still have my license and can choose to see patients, but that's secondary."

Karla wasn't entirely sure how to parse all that. So she decided to just stick with the parts she understood--namely, that he worked with the police. "As a member of law enforcement, do you feel that you're able to remain impartial and make decisions solely based on the testimonies of the individuals involved?"

She was so, so, so glad she'd taken Professor Cabot's class last semester.

"My job has exposed me to the good and bad involved in law enforcement," he said with a smile. "I recognize my inherent tendency to believe the good intentions of law enforcement, and will do my best to counteract it. I believe I can be impartial, but I'll understand if you don't share my opinion."

Re: Karla: Case File - ANAT01

glacial_queen - 2010-05-13 20:30 (UTC) - Expand

Does any member of your family -- yourself included -- work in, uhhh, library services?

"My sister," said a red-haired woman.

"Will that association affect your perception of this case?" Karla asked, striving to sound like Alex.

"I ... don't think so?" the woman said, appearing to think the matter over. "She lives in Denver. We don't really talk about her job much."

"So you're confident in your ability to hear this case without personalizing it in any way?" Karla pressed.

"Yes," the woman said, nodding. "I don't know the last time I was in a library, personally."

Re: Karla: Case File - ANAT01

glacial_queen - 2010-05-13 20:38 (UTC) - Expand

"Do you carry any strong feelings, either positive or negative, about the sanctity of books?"

Karla really, really, really tried to keep her voice neutral on that one.

One man frowned, then raised his hand halfway.

"I give money to the ACLU?"

Karla had never heard of the ACLU before. She held up a finger, wordlessly asking the male to wait a few moments while she approached the bench.

"ACLU?" she asked the imposing blonde woman. "Could you explain that to me, please?"

She had the irrational desire to explain to the computer program that her ignorance came from not being from around here.

If Karla was observant, she might notice that the nameplate on the bench read. HON. ELIZABETH DONNELLY.

"American Civil Liberties Union," the woman pronounced crisply. She seemed no less imposing close-up, but had a friendly air nonetheless. "It's a non-profit organization which supports civil liberties, especially in regard to the First and Fourteenth Amendments. I would presume that he's referring to their fights against censorship in favor of freedom of speech."

Edited 2010-05-13 20:07 (UTC)

"Okay," Karla said, nodding and trying to think of how that might affect the juror. "Thank you, Hon Donnelly," she said with grave formality.

In Karla's defense, not from around here.

She went back over to the juror. "The fires do not appear to have been in protest to any specific books or as a form of censorship. Will that affect your ability to act as a juror?"

In the background there was a very facepalming sort of judge.

"I'll be sad about the missing books," the man joked, "but I promise not to stand up and chant slogans during testimony."

"Counselor?" the judge asked. "A word, please, whenever you're finished with this juror."

No rush.