The Pour Over Today - Juries, Explained: What Actually Happens in That Room

Starting point is 00:00:00 I have been called for jury duty two or three times, but for some reason it was always while Todd was gone for a week or so at a time. And so I've always said I couldn't find child care. Two or three times, that's a lot. I've been called once in college. And in my county, at least, like you're on call for three months. And every night, I had to call the court and listen to a voicemail. and it would either say call back tomorrow to see if you're coming in, or it would say if your last name is between this letter and this letter report to the courthouse tomorrow. And I went through voir dire one time. They called me and they let me go, which I'm really glad because the case was going to be like,

Starting point is 00:00:43 kind of tragic and horrific and hard. Yeah. So when I was called, it was for the Scrant and Strangler case. So I was hoping I was going to get to go, but high profile. Alas. No babysitters. Hey, it's Kathleen. This is Catherine Ann.

Starting point is 00:01:04 And welcome to TPO Explains, where we provide news context for normal people. On Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, the poor over summarizes the day's biggest headlines. But throughout the week, we have a lot of questions. So on Saturday, we pick one topic that we really didn't understand or we had a lot of questions about. And we dig into it and we bring you along with us. So today we're taking a shallow dive into juries. K.A. writes our explainers. So she's going to read you what we're going to discuss today.

Starting point is 00:01:33 We had a lot of questions. So we're going to run through the newsletter today. Follow along with your eyes or just listen along with your ears. Yeah, let's get into it. Starting with what is a jury? So a jury is a group of people summoned to decide on the facts of a trial. The sixth and seventh amendments guarantee the accused a right to a jury trial, except for petty offenses with six or less months maximums.

Starting point is 00:01:59 and this is to prevent abuse of power. When you're picturing a jury trial, what you're probably picturing is a petty jury, which is six to 12 members who render a verdict. But then there are also larger grand juries, which are 16 to 23 people, and they decide whether to charge someone. So they don't rule on guilt or innocence. So what are the qualifications? Can anybody be a juror? No.

Starting point is 00:02:23 Not everybody can be a juror. To start, you have to be 18 and a U.S. citizen. and there are other qualifications, but what you don't need is expertise or a law degree. That's what the judge is for. Judges instruct the jury on the law, rule on objections, keep order, and once a verdict is reached, usually decide the sentence, kind of like courtroom referees. Without them, lawyers could manipulate jurors or jurors' decisions could be emotionally based versus legally based. So how are jurors selected?

Starting point is 00:02:55 prospective jurors are pooled randomly using voter registration and DMV records. The qualified lucky ones get the dreaded summons and now they have jury duty. But that does not mean they're guaranteed to set a trial. Next comes voir dire, which is Old French for Speak the Truth, where judges and lawyers weed out jurors who might not be impartial. Think prior knowledge of the case or a cop in the family in a case where police brutality is. on trial. So what's it like in the room where it happens? First, the jury picks a leader,

Starting point is 00:03:31 which is its four-person, and then they're on their own. Literally, they can't look at Google or their phones or talk to lawyers or defendants or anybody outside of the room. They can send notes to the judge, which in the Lindsay Clancy trial, which is happening right now, that jury has done repeatedly. And they can deliberate for as long as they need. The goal is to render a verdict based on a legal standard. In criminal cases, that standard is guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, and in civil cases, it's whether something is more likely than not. So, do jury decisions have to be unanimous? Yes and no. Some states allow for majority votes in civil cases, but criminal cases must always be unanimous, and jurors can deliberate as long as they need to come to that

Starting point is 00:04:18 unanimous decision. But what if they can't agree? That's called deadlock. And repeated deadlocks equal a hung jury and potentially a mistrial. A mistrial is not acquittal, though, since nothing was decided, the prosecution can retry the case with a new jury. So here's the question everybody's asking. Can we just not go? And the answer's no. You can't. You can ask to be excused for hardship, illness, or child care, but just ignoring the special snail mail could earn you a fine or a contempt of court charge, which you do not want. So maybe just go. Once you do, you're typically exempt for a few years and your job is safe while serving. And federal courts pay like $50 a day and then less for state courts.

Starting point is 00:05:04 Which I think we'll put a link in the newsletter for what each state pays. The state, the way that, okay, well, I guess this makes sense. I was going to say the way that federal is all the same and states are all different. Yeah, that is the idea. But it turns out that that actually is the point. Just the point. Okay, I actually learned a lot from this. I did too.

Starting point is 00:05:27 I think because when I became an adult, I was like, oh gosh, I'll get called to jury duty sometime. And then when it actually happened, I never had to go. And I was like, oh, that was less dramatic than I thought it was going to be. Yeah, I just didn't have a lot of context for this, not for the historical aspect of it, not for the, like, all the different specifications. So if you were to pick one thing that you learned that you didn't already know, what do you want to highlight? I think the most interesting to me were petty juries versus grand juries. I kind of just always assumed that juries like rendered a verdict, but I didn't know there were juries that just decide like, yeah, there's enough evidence here for them to go to go to real trial with a different jury to actually render a verdict. That to me would be a little bit frustrating as a jury member.

Starting point is 00:06:17 I'd be like, I'm not even here to decide if they're guilty or innocent. I'm just here to decide if they should go to trial or not. Imagine 14 years in prison. Solitary confinement, torture, starvation, all for refusing to stop preaching Christ. That was Pastor Richard Wormbrand's life in communist Romania. And what he came out with wasn't bitterness. It was forgiveness, even toward the men who tortured him. He wrote it all down in tortured for Christ.

Starting point is 00:06:47 the true best-selling story that's challenged believers for decades. As he put it, a man really believes only the things he's willing to die for. The Voice of the Martyrs wants to send you a copy totally free. Go to v.com.org forward slash TPO and request your copy today. We, somebody was talking yesterday, maybe Jason, about how. How Stanley in the office is like, I love jury. Do you know me? Oh, Bailey was saying that.

Starting point is 00:07:21 Oh, Bailey was saying it. I'm going to get to, sorry, Bailey, not go to work, get paid, and I just judge people all today. But so it is interesting to think that you'd go sit somewhere and just think like, yeah, there seems to be a lot going on here. But I did not know that's what grand juries were either. In my mind, a grand jury was just like, I don't know, always pictured stadium seating for some reason. It's a really big jury. Right. I also, you know, we wrote about a couple weeks ago an advisory jury.

Starting point is 00:07:52 And so I think I just didn't realize that like you, there were more roles that a jury could play. So that was good to learn. Yeah. What about something that you wanted to include, which we included a lot? We did. So what's one thing that we did have to cut? Well, actually, it was the thing about advisory juries. Because I was just looking at all of that.

Starting point is 00:08:15 that with an advisory jury, they don't, they, they render a verdict, but it's not binding. And they are usually in cases where somebody has waived their right to a jury trial, but a judge still wants the jury there to advise them and to have, it feels like maybe like a second opinion. And when just like some transparency, if the goal is, hey, we don't want the judge to, you know, have too much power. And the judge is like, all right, well, then I'll have the jury still. So you can't blame me. Yeah. Like having that makes a lot of sense.

Starting point is 00:08:49 And when you waive your right to a jury trial, it's called a bench trial when it's just the judge rendering the verdict in the sentence. Oh, yeah. I've heard of a bench trial. And now I know what it is. Mm-hmm. Okay, when I was looking into the amendment, so we said the sixth and seventh amendments are the ones that guaranteed the right to a trial. And I think it split, like the first one's a criminal trial and the second one, or the sixth one is a criminal trial. and the seventh one is the civil trial.

Starting point is 00:09:16 And the wording in the Constitution is, okay, you can also have a trial for a civil offense if the stakes are higher than $20. And because, of course, in the 1700s, $20 was a lot more. Also now, I love $20. But the language has never changed. And so it's almost like a matter of principle to say if the stakes are greater than, you know, than a certain amount. Then you can still. So it's just interesting that they've never changed the language and it's just like a symbolic thing of like, yeah, $20. Well, since it is an amendment, it would be such a to-do to get it changed.

Starting point is 00:09:52 Right. Well, also, we talked about that when we did the episode on Pleading the Fifth where it was like, okay, so it just says this in the Constitution. But what does that mean? Like, the Sixth and Seventh Amendments are not long pieces of legislation. Amendments are legislation, right? Yeah. Whatever. There's not a lot of words to them.

Starting point is 00:10:11 But that's what, you know, Supreme Court cases ultimately end up being about, like, the constitutionality of this interpretation. And that's where, like, some of the, for example, the idea that a court needs to have a unanimous decision for a federal case, that has only been a thing since 2020 because of the precedent set by a Supreme Court hearing. So it's just like, yeah, it's just interesting. to see what gets added to these amendments based on courts ruling on the constitutionality of the additions. So, yeah, you can add to them, but you'll have to go through the courts. Okay, so what Christian perspective did you choose? The good news is, one day, we will be tried in the courtroom of heaven, and when we are,

Starting point is 00:11:04 we won't sit before a jury of our peers. We will sit before our righteous judge who will declare us innocent because our crime, have already been paid for by our merciful Savior. So we should praise God for that today. We can look at Isaiah 33, verse 22, which says, For the Lord is our judge, the Lord is our lawgiver, the Lord is our king, he will save us. I love that. I love the idea of looking at something so secular.

Starting point is 00:11:32 You know, we all, everybody wants justice. And yet we serve a God who values mercy over judgment. And it's just such a poignant reminder of what he's done for us. So thank you. Thanks, Kay, for this very informative article. Before we go today, let's take a moment to pray for when a trial receives outsized attention from TPO's forthcoming book, praying the news written by our very own writer, Steph Juliet. Let's pray. Righteous God, as this trial captures our attention, keep it from capturing our attention.

Starting point is 00:12:09 keep it from capturing our hearts. When we are tempted to be entertained by strangers' tragedy, move us to write grief and prayer, and teach us what faithfulness looks like. Great Judge, give the arbiters of this case eyes to see the evidence clearly and impartially, ears to tell sincere testimony from craftily worded tricks, and empathetic hearts bent toward finding the truth. Give lawyers the ability to articulate their case,

Starting point is 00:12:38 humility in handling witnesses and integrity and presenting facts. Grant jurors' unbiased perspective and discernment to deliver a swift and just verdict. Wisen the judge to exact a fair punishment or a compassionate pardon and to order their courtroom with a firm, steady hand. Hasten the day when right verdicts are delivered, every tear is wiped away and there is no longer any brokenness to mourn. We look forward to that day when our crimes will be tried, ride in your heavenly courts, not because we are innocent, but because you sent your only son

Starting point is 00:13:13 to serve our sentence in full. Amen. I think this is particularly relevant given the Lindsay Clancy trial going on right now. So I love that. If you enjoyed this episode, make sure to like and subscribe. You can find all of our past explainers as well as our Monday, Wednesday, Friday, news summaries on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. So until next time. Hi. The other day in the kitchen, I poured citrus element powder in my water bottle. My wife looked at me and asked when the last time was that I drank water without element. I looked at her and couldn't even remember.

Starting point is 00:14:02 No sugar, no crashes, just the science-backed ratio of electrolytes we need to stay sharp. Honestly, it's the real MVP of the pourover. Stay fresh and hydrated with us. The pourover listeners get a free eight-pack of elements most popular. drink flavors with any drink mix purchase. Just use the element link in the show notes.

The Pour Over Today - Juries, Explained: What Actually Happens in That Room

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