Quotes About Jury

The juror selection was a slow, tedious process. It bored Richard, and he soon began falling asleep. He'd stay up late at night reading and would be tired for court. Judge Tynan didn't like his sleeping and warned him to stay awake. Richard took to wearing large black Porsche-type sunglasses, also bought by Doreen, so he could close his eyes behind them.

Daniel Hernandez told Judge Tynan that Richard didn't want to attend the jury selection; Tynan said that he had to, whether he wanted to or not.

Jury selection took six months, longer than most had anticipated. On January 10, 1989, a jury and twelve alternates were sworn in, comprised of six Hispanics and six blacks, seven females and five males. The Hernandezes felt it was a victory for the defense.

Midway through the jury selection, juror expert Jo 'Ellan Dimitrius was brought in to help the defense. She had a long, thin face, intense dark eyes, and bouffant platinum hair. Richard often conferred with her.

Halpin moved back to the gun, intent on putting it in Richard's hands. The prosecutor had Perez tell the jury about his two trips down to Tijuana to get the .22 from his friend. Perez said he learned of Richard's arrest over the radio just as he and Sheriff's Homicide men were crossing the border into Mexico. He testified he got the gun, gave it to the homicide detectives, and returned to L.A. with them.

By the time of the jury selection, the State of California had spent $1,301,836 on Richard Ramirez, and the case hadn't even gone to trial.

Clark said it was stupid not to put his father on the stand. Daniel told Richard he had spoken to his mother and she had cried and begged him to convince her youngest-born to put up a defense. That seemed to strike a chord somewhere deep inside of Richard. He said he would like to talk with Dr. Jo 'Ellan Dimitrius and ask how the jury might react if he didn't put up a defense, didn't take the stand and deny the charges.

On August 14, juror Phyllis Singletary didn't show up. Judge Tynan brought the jury into court and told the jury they couldn't continue without Ms. Singletary and court was recessed to the following day. In fact the judge had learned that Ms. Singletary had been found murdered.

Tynan ruled they would continue with this jury, Richard scowled at the judge and moved about in his chair anxiously, chains rattling. The judge told the jury he was allowing their deliberations go on and read a prepared statement to them, imploring them to put Ms. Singletary's murder behind them. He reiterated her death had nothing to do with the trial and told them about James Melton, his suicide and the note. At 10:45, the jury recommenced its deliberations.

He read each juror's name: Cynthia Haden, Martha Salcido, Verbe Sutton, Alfredo Carrillo, Arthur Johnson, Lillian Sagron, Felipe Rodriguez, Mary Herrera, Choclate Harris, Arlena Wallace, Don McGee, and Shirley Zelaya.

The judge then read the verdict sheets, announced they were in order, and gave them to Clerk Josephine Williams to be read out loud. Beginning with the Vincow charge, the jury voted guilty on every one of the forty-six counts.

Jury selection finally began on July 21, 1988, from a pool of 1600 citizens. The Hernandezes were looking for Hispanics and certain minorities; they felt that with a jury of all whites and Asians, Richard wouldn't have a chance. They believed Hispanics and blacks would have a more open mind.

These men were not selected by a jury of fellow artists, but appointed by the sovereign and electing choice of God.

A jury too often has at least one member more ready to hang the panel than to hang the traitor.

Jury instructions are so numerous and complex, it's a wonder jurors ever wade through them. And so it should come as no surprise that they can sometimes get stuck along the way. The instruction on circumstantial evidence is confusing even to lawyers. And reasonable doubt? That's the hardest, most elusive one of all.

Every trial lawyer knows what it is like to sit patiently while the other side puts on its case. Inevitably they make a few points that appeal to the jury, and waiting for the opportunity to respond can be painful. The desire to jump up immediately - to point out the flaws in logic or the factual distortions - is often overpowering.

Especially as a woman, the jury sums you up immediately and is listening to everything you're saying. You have to be on your game all the time, and that prepares you for being in front of the camera. The difference is, when I am in front of a jury, I am not talking about my emotions and my life.

A jury is as bright as the dumbest member of the jury

The Press is the living jury of the Nation." James Gordon Bennett, editor of the New York Herald in 1841

But we can never hope for a whole jury-box full of ecclesiastical diehards.

You ought to be on the jury," retorted Wimsey, with unusual acidity, "I bet that's what they're all saying at this moment. I'm convinced that that foreman is a teetotaller—I saw ginger-beer going into the jury-room, and I only hope it explodes and blows his inside through the top of his skull.

Well, you can't go about having blood feuds and stabbing each other like Crosicans or the Mafia," said the Colonel. "Say what you like, trial by jury is a sound system

And supposing the Coroner's jury returns a verdict of Wilful Murder against Alfred Inglethorp. What becomes of your theories, then?" "They would not be shaken because twelve stupid men had happened to make a mistake!

The defendant wants to hide the truth because he's generally guilty. The defense attorney's job is to make sure the jury does not arrive at that truth.