Proud to be a Juror
By Ray Poppeck
Josephine County, OR – Have you ever received a summons for jury duty? If so, was your first thought, “how will I get out of this,” or maybe you just pretended you never received it at all? Maybe if I just threw it out it would go away. A lot of thoughts go through many peoples’ minds just as they went through mine. Obviously, I had just received my very summons.
The next day on the way home from town it seemed like a good idea to rent a video, so one last stop and while leaving I quickly grabbed a copy of the US~Observer near the door. I found an article entitled, “Juror’s True Duties,” to be very germane to my jury summons the day before. Now it seemed like sitting on a jury would allow me to be a participant in the justice system instead of remaining an outsider with only complaints about the courts running over people and ruining their lives, families and futures while standing by helplessly shaking my head at injustice.
Some weeks later, there I was listening to a crooked deputy district attorney trying to do her best to contort and color an innocent man to be a monster and not human at all. I can still recall how she appeared, old and sickly in health, overweight, contaminated with toxins, a detestable being at best. She went on and on basing her lies on her complainants lies; never presenting any evidence a crime ever took place, anytime, anywhere. She never showed us the results of the rape kit that stated “inconclusive.” Yes, this was a rape and kidnapping case in which a guilty verdict would ruin the innocent man’s future for life, while she just receives another fat paycheck for sleeping in the courtroom. That’s right everyone, she actually fell asleep and had to apologize to the judge. The tax payers can’t afford to throw money away on case after case trying to fill jails with poor innocent people who had no idea the injustice would be focused on them next. The defendant in this case had no idea that some of the attorneys in this town take your money and then sell you out, leaving you to scramble for a public defender or to try and defend yourself as was this man’s choice. This guy didn’t know the rules, so the court wouldn’t allow any evidence he possessed to show his innocence, like the cell phone he bought for the complainant, that she talked on all day and night. The phone log would show the days and times of her calls and to whom the calls were made (remember, she was being kidnapped). However, he was able to show a Wal-Mart surveillance video showing them both walking in, then leaving the store together while these crimes were supposed to have been committed over the last few days.
This guy had no idea how to follow court procedures to submit his evidence to the jury or even when and how to object to the DA’s steam rolling over him with lies and conjecture while he just sat there helpless. I have to say it was hard to see him as a criminal when comparing him to the deputy district attorney.
Sure, there is always someone on the jury who wants to “hang-em” from the beginning without hearing all of the evidence, but don’t let that discourage you. Stick to your not guilty verdict if that is what you feel is right. I did.
Justice can come out at the end as it did in this case with a verdict of NOT GUILTY on all counts.
Later that day, on my way home, I called Ed Snook to tell him I just had the best day of my life. The feeling that was filling me was so good that I was proud to be a juror. And thanks to the US~Observer, I made the right choice to be a participant instead of a complainer about injustice.
The following week, Linda Wingenbach, the deputy district attorney prosecuting this case, that looked so bad to everyone on the jury, now even looked more ridiculous as she made a feeble attempt to explain her ineptness in the local paper by criticizing this jury and explaining how we were stupid. Her article was so weak, I don’t think anybody that read it found it believable, just sad.
“Don’t let the truth be left behind, follow the truth.”
