The juror blamed for causing a mistrial in the resentencing of convicted killer Bessman Okafor was sentenced to over 100 days in jail by a judge. FULL STORY: www.clickorlando.com/news/loc...
I understand her frustration about the job thing especially if she lives paycheque to paycheque, but this was literally the last day of the trial. It made no sense for her to lie and cause a mistrial over something that was gonna end the next day. Now she’s gonna miss 179 days of work and have to find a new job because they probably will fire her if they haven’t already. Her actions were beyond stupid.
I have a handicapped elderly mother. I am the sole caretaker, and sole wage earner im my house. I was summoned for jury duty, and coupdnt be excused at all, at first. Finally, in front of the judge and attornies, i explained the whole situation to them all. I had paperwork, paychecks, doctors notes explaining my mom's handicap. The attorneys were complaining that i could afford to hire someone. So i showed them how much it would cost us. Oh my god so much whinging and complaining. Finally, i just told the judge that because of their lack of compassion, lack of intelligence, and even common sense, i was prejudiced against both of them. Judge mutter "so am I." And excused me, apologizing for wasted time. Good man, that judge.
What I learned from this: The “justice” system works quickly when the justice system itself is the victim, and real victims can wait and wait and wait some more.
Imagine having a pissed off person who isn't getting compensated for their role, being in charge of weather you are guilty or innocent. They basically already mad at you because they are there
Some people in jail call jail a vacation from the real world. Idk why. But this lady would rather be in jail than work for you lol. Yall don't know what its like to be broke and alone and stupid. Lols. Fr tho the majority of the population are not, not special.
I thought courts DID pay people? It's not much, but I swear either a court or employer still provided compensation of some kind. I could be wrong, but I thought that was a federal law or something.
@@carbonking53 What makes it their duty though? Why can the state force someone to do anything against their will, especially when this is causing major financial hardships? What happened to individual liberty?
You can give almost ANY reason or excuse at the beginning and even the middle of trial to get out of jury duty. The judge asks you again and again if there’s ANY reason whatsoever you can’t do it including financial concerns. DAs especially don’t like jurors selected who don’t want to do it or who can’t do it so they put in a lot of hard work and effort into ensuring the jurors who are selected aren’t a mistrial risk. Someone in the comments called juror duty “enslavement” which is LAUGHABLE. Anyone who has been a juror knows how easy it is to get out of it. Say one wrong thing, and you’re not selected. Murder trials are especially strict during the selection process. If this is “enslavement” how else are jurors supposed to be selected? The RU-vid comment attorneys say jury duty is wrong but fail to propose an alternative. Should they take volunteers instead? You don’t see the issue with that?! Some of you have zero critical thinking skills. This woman INTENTIONALLY derailed this trial and her entitlement and lies costed the court to lose over a million dollars, countless witnesses wasted and over 500 hours of time wasted as well. And that’s JUST including trial hours not the work and hundreds of hours and paperwork done outside of court. Also, the chance of acquittal and opportunity for the defended to plead out goes up substantially after mistrials. This woman has caused so much irreparable damage with her lies.
The problem in this case is that from the beginning of the trial through the guilt phase, the jury wasn’t sequestered. This juror was able to go home each afternoon and still work night shift. Then the judge sequestered the jury at the beginning of the penalty phase. That created the conflict for the juror. The conflict didn’t exist when this juror was selected.
@@cc99556I understand what you’re saying but let’s say, for instance, that this woman felt that she was forced to continue as a juror… she still INTENTIONALLY caused a mistrial and committed perjury. She would have been better off not showing up at all than lying on record and intentionally causing a mistrial. Had she just stayed home and refused to attend, this story probably would not have even made it to the news. The judge would’ve probably just given her probation or thrown her in a jail for a couple days for neglecting her duty. But instead, she intentionally derailed the case. That’s entitlement and selfishnesses on a whole other level. Even if I did agree that it’s difficult to get out of jury duty (which I don’t), I still believe intentionally causing a mistrial should be a jailable offense. A million dollars and over 500 hours of trial down the toilet because she lied. A lot of moving pieces have to come together for a murder trial to happen and all that time was wasted because she intentionally brought the case to an abrupt end.
@@StefunnyStrangeIf she did not show up for jury duty, the Judge would put out a warrant for her arrest; she could have gotten more than 179 days. What she did was egregious to our justice system; she planned this probably from the start of the case. She deserves more then 179 days in jail what she did was. unacceptable. The murders should not be getting several appeals or trials for over 12 years he should get the same treatment he gave his victim.
@StefunnyStrange, Actually it is very difficult to get excused from jury duty. Unless you have a serious medical condition and you bring a note from your doctor proving your inability to serve, you will not be excused. Financial hardship is almost never accepted as a reason to be excused.
1. There is typically a limit to how many jurors each side of a case can strike from the jury pool. 2. Being forced to work for someone else without renumeration (involuntary servitude) is the entire essence of slavery. Jurors should receive just compensation for lost wages. The financial impact on a juror must be properly considered. For instance, I have 9 employees to pay besides myself plus business overhead if I'm put on a jury--all with zero income or a below minimum wage stipend from a court. I would love to serve on a jury, but it would be a violation of the unjust takings clause to the constitution to not provide just compensation.
I will never serve on a jury. The United States penal system is the worst in the world. I have no say who is right or wrong. I’m a citizen that wants to be left alone.
I've been called to jury duty five times and served in a criminal and civil trial. During one of the selection phases, a self-employed painter flat-out said he didn't want to be there. The judge asked him why several times, and he said he could not. The judge excused him. Once, I was about to be selected for a murder trial where a POS killed his ex-girlfriend's kid as an act of revenge. The court person said it would be at least two weeks. I had paid plans for a vacation. I got out of it because I genuinely knew of the crime and some details and told the court I knew he was guilty. I got dismissed.
I've been to jury duty 5 times each time I told I'm a CONVICTED FELON WHAT YOY SAY I WAS GRANTED CLEMENCY I TOKD THEM YOU PEOPLE ARREST ME FOR CRIMES YOU KNOW I DIDNT COMMIT SO YOU CAN PROTECT YOUR SNITCH YOU SEE I WAS NEVER ALLOWED TO FACE MY ACCUSER WHY DUE PROCESS SAYS I HAVE THE RIGHT BUT THE POLICE DIDNT HAVE ACCUSER THEY HAD A RELIABLE SOURCE MY MOM HAD A LITTLE BIRDIE RELIABLE SOURCE LITTLE BIRDIE DOESNT EVEN SOUND THE SAME WITH THE R.S. &L.B. THEY NEED FEED INFO WHICH CAN NIT BE CONTESTED IN COURT OF LAW THE R.S. HE SMUGGLES DRUGS THRU THE USCG AND HIM AND HIS ARE ALLIW TO R PE R B M R DER BECAUSE THE POLICE NEED THEIR R. S.
@@IceLynne You the loser.. she got more punishment than female school teachers touching kids.. Can't help but notice she is non-white.. Why put a little girl in that situation
It is pretty bizarre to me that this juror is basically expected to pay out of pocket to participate in the trial. How can someone focus on the case if they are at risk of losing their job and home? I don't know the solution, but this is not justice.
During jury selection I was involved in, one young man told the Judge he was dumb and wouldn't understand many fancy words that would be used in the trial. He was dismissed lol
States need to pay serving jurors more than the established goodwill payments. At least pay jurors their normal wages if their employer doesn’t have jury duty leave. People are working and just getting by. No excuse for what she did but our jury system needs a major overhaul.
@@Raider2Pac You can. I did it. I was out of there in a couple of hours because I couldn't afford to miss work. That's why they call literally hundreds of potential jurors.
Here in Philadelphia, litigants must pay jurors after 3 days of litigation (civil cases only.) So they settle fast. But that still doesn’t settle the criminal case issue.
Another reason jury system should be abolish. You can't put someone' life in the hand of people that don't want to be there and most people do not want to be there. There will be more justice if you sentenced people people based on the crime instead of what 12+1 people feels that day.
She wasn't even on board for the death penalty. She would have dragged this out until the foreman told the judge they jury couldn't come to an agreement and had a mistrial. To be fair, she should have been filtered out by the prosecution. The defense wanted her because they probably felt like she wouldn't agree to the death penalty.
Well it is called a juror of your peers for a reason. The defendant is only getting someone who is one of his peers, literally in intellect and morally. It wouldn’t be a jury of Okafors peers if they were Mensa members.
@@evos469 wrong. Emotional or intellectual disability/impairment is very real. In fact, you proved it with your dumb af statement. I feel sry for you. Are you female? smh go read a book.
@@carl-cr7rp You've are clueless. she will fired from her job if she doesn't work for 180 days. If her employer was forcing her to work midnight shift while she was on jury duty that means was doing at least 15 hours a day plus travel time. Does she have enough money to pay her rent for six months??? Will her landlord throw all her belongings in the street if she can't pay the rent. There are a lot of middle class people making comments here that have never worked low paying jobs and had little or no money in the bank.
@@davidfrayne9769 so we're all bad because we properly planned our lives and MAYBE she didn't? How do you know she works a crappy job? I think you just wanted an opportunity to call someone clueless cause it makes you feel smart.
@@davidfrayne9769Working class people serve on juries all the time. On the first form they ask if there would be a financial hardship and ask if you can prove it. Also there are laws protecting members of the jury from employers who would get in the way of serving. So everything you said is bull. She deserves harsh punishment.
You can agree that what she did was stupid and also acknowledge that jury duty can place a financial burden on people that are living paycheck to paycheck. I mean....maybe YOU can't, but most people can. @@user-td3yv6wb7y
Imagine a juror or jurors this incompetent serving on the jury for your trial when you are innocent. Couldn't imagine putting my life in someone like this person's hands
@@sjtiernan5841 True, I wasn't really referring to this case in particular tho. Just in general that these kinds of people are out there and any of them could end up deciding your fate not caring at all about the consequences
But that's the thing about jurors, though: they're not supposed to be competent. They're supposed to be ordinary half random people who are supposed to be your peers and not people that work in the legal system and know it's inner workings.
You can believe it. There's no consequences for young people anymore. You can't get thrown out of school for anything less than a murder. Any felonies are sealed when they turn 18. Unless they respect their parents there's nothing legally stopping them from anything so it's a shell shock when they turn adult and suddenly EVERYTHING is holding them accountable.
What a joke. The judge doesn't care that jurors will starve, get evicted and go bankrupt, but don't make him actually do his job. If the government cared about jury duty they would pay the jurors at least minimum wage. The judge didn't lose any days pay. This is pathetic abuse of power by the judge and the legal system.
It should be illegal for jury duty to affect your employment, but if the justice system requires your services, they can pay you for it. It’s all well and good for a large corporation to be forced to pay your wages, but if you run a small business and you have to pay one of your few employees and hire a replacement, possibly for weeks, that’ll put a serious dent in your ledger.
@@iffyangel3380 I shouldn't have called you a fool but I was saying you're acting like she was supposed to be crying for somebody else when the trial was over. They could've investigated what she did further and got an alternate juror or went without instead another sentence trial.
Stay out of trouble folks, stay away from even the first hint of possible legal trouble, look at these people that are on juries. No clue what they may do when your life is in their hands.
Purposely causing a mistrial is disgusting and selfish behavior. I understand the pains of missing work and income (I’ve also served as a juror and missed many days of work without compensation) but how can you deny a murder victim’s family justice? Missing income should be handled between you, the court, and your job. How can you drag the victim’s family into it?
Growing up in Baltimore, my parents would get jury duty once a year. He was a banker so he would show up in a three piece suit and never get picked. After a few years of this, he started showing up in khaki's and a polo and not even shave and he always got picked for a case.
Huh, you do get paid. But it is a very, very small amount that is equal to a value meal. But it doesn't replace the possible wages that you make daily.
your job is required to pay you while on Jury Duty. If you don't have a job, you do get paid a small amount. And if you can't afford it, you're usually excused.
@@DavidAWA That is not true. It is a State-by-State issue and company policy issue. If you happen to be at a good company and THEY CAN AFFORD to pay you for your time away, GREAT! That would be a privilege and not an entitlement or right. It goes to their bottom line. Some commenters were saying that they used their vacation time to cover their time away. And the excuse that you can't afford it doesn't fly anymore because people have been abusing the system to dodge serving on a jury.
@@whitewolfsthoughts700 That is true but that is how the regulations/rules are written. We The People have procedures in place to effect a change in the systems. You can always get like-minded individuals together and get your state legislators to change the system.
I have been summoned for jury duty twice. The first time was a Court Martial, and I was on active duty so it didn't affect my pay. The second tome was for a criminal court. The amount I got paid for the day just about covered the cost of driving downtown and parking. I wasn't picked for a jury, so I was only there for one day, and though my employer didn't pay me for it, I think I covered it with a vacation day or the paid tome off we could use for illness, medical appointments, weddings, funerals and such. The thing that irritated me the most was the the IRS taxed it as income. Bastards!
I have never been called for jury duty and to be honest never expect to be on a jury if called. Why? I'm ex-military, grew up conservative, worked in state level prisons, and at a mental health hospital that treats and examines people being evaluated for their mental status so they can possibly face a trial for brutal crimes. In short I've seen all the games the guilty play. More than once. So either the defense or the prosecutor is going to thank me for my time and dismiss me. If the defendant has more than a reasonable chance of having committed the crime I will know it. if the prosecution is trying to pull some shenanigans I'll see through that crap too. I am not the guy our jacked up justice system wants on a jury.
@@superdave8248 I get it, Dave, you know too much therefore you could refute a prosecutor's argument. I'm was dismissed from a murder trial jury pool for knowing which end of a pistol is dangerous.
I was called for jury duty once on a murder trial. Luckily I didn't get picked (I wrote a lot of stuff on the form to make it seem like I was not emotionally fit or mature enough to sit a jury), but was there for over six hours while they selected the jury. They only paid me 20 dollars for six hours of my time.
If a person tells you they dont want to be a juror... Let them leave. Now you have a mistrial on your hands trying to force civic duty out of people who arent in a position to serve.. Everypne is upset because they want someone to get the needle.. But i look at it differently.. How many jurors moved to convict an innocent person simply because "they didnt wanna be there" or "couldnt afford to miss work"? The court system needs a drastic overhaul
I hear you but play it out logically. Imagine EVERYBODY declined to be a juror. Now you can't have a trial and the defendant doesn't get his right to a trial by his peers. If you REQUIRE the right to a fair trial, then, unfortunately, you must also REQUIRE people to be jurors. I guess you just have to accept that IF you want to live here and get those rights, then you MUST also be part of others getting the same rights.
@@user-nh3gu1ge3d he didn't say we should stop requiring people to serve on juries, but the way we do it now causes problems. ripping people out of their lives and forcing them to serve on a jury without just compensation is going to make the jurors unfair, and you can't have a fair trial with an unfair jury.
@@flowersforme375 I personally know people who want to be on jury's they envision it as their law and order moments there are absolutely people who want to do it. Courts should focus on those people at the very least should allow a person who does not want to be there the option to leave.
A lot of people are mistaken about jury duty and how easy it is to get out of it. I was on a federal jury, juror #11. By the time they got to me, the defense had used up all of their peremptory challenges (where they don't have to give a reason to strike a juror from the pool). We had hundreds of jurors in the pool btw, to get 16 (12 plus 4 alternates). Well, they were so helpless to remove jurors that #12, sitting right next to me, was a retired state trooper! They went berserk, but they could not get him off the case. Meanwhile, this was going to be a long case and I went to the judge's chambers to try to get excused and no dice. Nothing I said moved the judge. So I sucked it up and did it, for six weeks. Luckily, my job paid me. This was a federal case, as I said. State rules may vary, but the feds are serious.
I actually would love to be a juror. Even though I'm a retired LEO I think I would do an excellent job as I conducted felony investigations for 23 years. I would be hell on both the testimony evidence, the conduct of the LEOs, and the collection/preservation of the physical evidence. I've been in two jury pools but both juries were selected before getting to me.
Being a juror is also a major inconvenience. Many states dont have quality coverage for people forced to be a juror. The money you get does not replace your job and can leave you unable to pay your bills. There is almost always a loophole getting your work out of paying and youre only paid for time in court when you do get paid work wages. Even if you work 40 plys hoyrs, you may only get paid 8. The hours of pay lost by not being able to work are not covered by the state. Its why many people try to get themselves disbarred. This needs to be fixed.
@@MedOKC That doesnt change the reality of what it does to your ability to pay rent man. People are living paycheck to paycheck. Jury duty is 4 hours a day on minimum wage (varies by state) for however long the trial lasts. Youre no longer working 8- 12 hour shifts for your job(s). Youre doing jury duty. That doesnt translate to bills paid. And if youre single, you dont get to excuse on being the only one paying bills because you dont have any dependents. Im all for civic duty but when mostof us are barely surviving working multiple jobs just to survive, its not that simple.
This is scary because you have someone like her deciding life and death! Think about that! This young woman, with so little emotional intelligence, empathy, intelligence and care, is charged with listening, discerning and deciding the fate of a killer! She's so incredibly immature! The trial was literally ending the next day! If she had a financial issue, she could have asked to be excused prior to this. This is a person who wouldn't decide based on the merits of the case, but would decide based on her desire to get out of jury duty. She lacks the intelligence to understand the consequences of her actions! Think about her response. She literally risked jail time because she wanted off of the jury, but didn't think she would get jail time by causing a full mistrial! She just cost the state so much money and the family of the victim so much grief! I'm glad this young woman got jail time for this because people need to get the message loud and clear that you can't intentionally cause a mistrial in a very serious case. I would be so horrified to create a situation where a murderer could possibly go free! Thank goodness this is just for the sentencing phase and not the actual case.
It's not a responsibility anyone should want especially when you're not being compensated you bootlick mf whine about taxes but allow the government to use them under the guides of "civil duty"
Wow! So she did all that so she wouldn't miss work, now she will probably lose that job. I wonder if they will allow her to serve 179 days on her off days, like they do for people convicted of DUI.
To be fair, the way we do juries in the US with so little pay, especially for people, living paycheck to paycheck, it gets rough. You could reasonably lose thousands of dollars by being on a jury, and there’s very little you can do about it. It makes no sense, and I can totally understand not only her frustration, but her anxiety over not being able to pay her basic bills.
@@jondoe406 Maybe we should take away judge salaries entirely if they want force people to work for free. If they can sentence a jury of 12 people to receiving no money and taking away their freedom, then they don't get to collect a paycheck IMO
@@jondoe406it's ironic that the judge was participating in the enforcement of laws and consequences for violating those laws? Too many weak, emotional people think society should instantaneously accommodate their every inconvenience. Jury duty is a civic responsibility that's necessary for our democracy and employers are not allowed to fire you or withhold pay while you are at jury duty.
@@youtubecommentsectiondebates does that judge have a civic duty too? How many days does he work for free? I'll bet ZERO. Jobs can't fire you for jury duty, but they don't pay you either. If she's already check to check, the $12/day the court pays her is nothing. All putting her in jail does is make sure even fewer people respond to the summons next time.
@@jondoe406 In this instance, the judge's duty is to do their job and not take into account sentimental notions of hardships. If the process of jury selection needs tweaking, it's up to the legislature to amend that. Judges can't choose to ignore their job because they feel people may have difficulties. And its people's job to uphold their civic duty. If you want a democracy with a trial system that utilizes a jury of peers, then this is what it takes. People at times have to contribute to the society they live in, even if it is inconvenient. You don't get to enjoy the freedoms of democracy and the rights to a jury of peers without contributing at times.
I was on jury duty last week for a DUI trial. Guess what, the 16 jurors picked and 1 alternate juror, the defense attorney said "this is the most talkative jury I ever had in the past 18 years!" =. Each juror picked each had an excuse to try to get out of jury duty. 3 were dismissed. One lady said she was on call for surgery at any time, another said she was a nurse and dealt with drunk patients, another guy said he already served on a jury four years ago, two people said "my family members are cops", "my brother died in a drunk driving accident", two people said they were civil lawyers, and another person said they had a medical condition where they have to go to the bathroom every two hours (he was not excused). I was in the juror pool and did not get picked during my time.
Damn! 😂 I'm in Florida. A good portion were excused because of "language barrier". I know to use that next time because your SOL if you're financially responsible for everything and don't make much. Missing a week or more of pay is a back breaker.
The gov needs to pay people the wage they make at their job, if any. But even though that doesn’t happen, people need to step up and be good citizens. This country has a severe lack of citizenship.
The issue is not this particular juror, it's with a system that requires citizens to participate in societal duties but obviously does not create the conditions under which such duty can be reasonably carried out. In this case, the juror's employer should be held accountable, not the juror.
I am in Australia. I served on a jury and my employer paid me my normal wages. The Department of Justice reimbursed my employer the cost of the wages. The employer and/or juror should not have to pay for citizens to perform there civil duties.
That's a nice setup. I'm in the US, and I don't know if ANY courts do that. One court (20 years ago) I was aware that jurors were paid $15 a day for their service. But if you wanted your check, you had to sit and wait a couple hours until the clerk had time to write them. Or you could opt to donate it to the dog shelter and leave right away.
@@tequilacollins Wow, if I lived in the states you can guarantee I would find a way out of jury service. Being a juror may be a literal duty but something the US forgets far too often is that when you have a duty to your country your country equally has a duty towards you. Expecting a juror to not only sit in court for most of the day but then to jump through hoops if they want to be paid for it is akin to sending men and women to war and then discarding them and their broken bodies or minds once they are back home.
@@krashd sadly I think some of the laws in regards to compensation were written a long time ago when $15 was something decent and hasn't followed inflation and it never gets changed. 60 years ago that would have been fine but now it barely covers the cost of a fast food meal for 1.
@@krashd Yeah, I grew up when social studies was a thing. So, I am aware that jury duty IS A PUBLIC AND SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY. A great man said, "Ask what you can do for your country, not what your country can do for you!" Serving on a jury is the very least that you can do for your country, and for your community. It is citizens judging other citizens for their actions and holding them accountable. Yeah, it is a pain like going to the dentist, but it is a necessary pain.
Thank you for saying it's not worth it. The Constitution does not require an unpaid or uncompensated jury yet the idea that a jury must not be compensated or must be given the bare minimum or per mile or per diem has taken hold. This judge earns $191,163.00 a year or approximately $735 a day yet these jurors would have received $30 a day (at most) for their time. The Constitution simply says "an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed." There is no basis for a jury not being paid the same or comparable compensation to the judges or others involved in the trial. There is no reason, for example for Florida to compensate employed jurors $30 a day and unemployed/self-employed jurors $15 a day. We shouldn't expect employers to pay employees for time away from work for jury service and there are a lot of ethical issues that this could cause.
I'm not sure that's even a thing, in the US anyway. Jury duty doesn't pay much, but there's a flat per day rate. You don't get to collect it if your work covers jury duty, but when that happens you generally get base pay from your employer. If the trial goes longer that could be a real difficult situation but in all the jury selections I've been a part of for long duration trials, they always stack the people with 3 or 5 days at the bottom and fill it with retirees and city workers who get paid no matter what.
There were times when I received a summons and I was not financially in a position where I could afford to be away from my job (did not pay for jury duty). Each time I was able to get an exemption from the court before going or on the first day.
you can just say I can't go because if i do i wont make rent this month on what is it 25 cents an hour as a juror, we have every right to refuse to being a juror at that pay rate.. we are broke enough as it is
@@ciscobriones5904 You can say that (if they even ask you), but in lots of jurisdictions, that won't get you out of serving. Where I live, "financial hardship" is not one of the excuses on the excuse-from-service questionaire, and I have also not heard that question asked during voir dire.
@@vegas9440I have had Jury duty, where I got nothing and had to pay for parking and then submit it to the court to get paid for it after the last day of trial (3 weeks). People crying about something most people do once every couple of years - its sad, I bet most waste more money on stupid stuff.
In Australia jurors can receive compensation for lost salaries if needed - however it’s usually people who are self employed who need it. If you work for someone they have to keep paying your normal salary (and it doesn’t affect entitlements such as sick leave and holidays) and they can’t sack you.
@@courtykat Uh, I've never had a US job that doesn't pay me jury duty time. I get paid normally but I have to sign over any payment from the court, so it's not double-dipping. If you're hourly at Wal-Mart that's not a thing, but every good employer, or union job, or governmental job pays.
Well, they did promise him a jury of his peers. Our prisons and streets are filled with the ignorant, self-centered, and impulsive. Well-deserved wake-up call. So sorry for the family.
Courts never put the most intelligent people on juries. They'd rarely get convictions. They need dumb ignorant people who don't understand the laws and courts. Duh. They thrive on it.
@@1retiredknight it was a resentencing trial. That means it was separate and after the trial that found him guilty. All it did was delay the sentencing further, it didn't make him not guilty criminally
@@fakename1656 I never said it changed the verdict. She still forced a mistrial wasting the time of the court and the other jurors as well as further delaying the permanent removal of a dangerous criminal from society. She did all of that out of spite at the end of her jury obligation.
I have worked in courtrooms in.Florida for almost 42 years now. When I first started, jurors were summoned through voters registration pool; then they changed it to driver's licenses. They need to go back to the voters registration system where you know that the pool will consist of civic-minded people. Just my two cents, for what it's worth.
There it is. You hit the nail on the head. If you are not registered to vote, you should not be on a jury as you have proven you are not concerned with your community if you do not vote.
That would be good too but they should just pay the jurors their wage plus a small bonus 5% . The bonus would compensate for the fact that some employers will ding you for being absent even for jury duty
@@jaad9848 Employers are mandated to pay the employee's salary in full while they're on jury duty; but if I recall, that's only for one week. Most cases don't go for more than a week, which is good; however, if you get stuck on a long one, all the juror gets is a daily stipend and I absolutely don't recall how much that is, I want to say somewhere around 15 dollars a day, which isn't great.
@@lunchbox1553 No, it's not. You are wrong, wrong, wrong. I know, I was there, I live in Florida, I am still here and that's the way it was and that's the way it is. I still work in the court system. Go back to mom's basement and play with your X Box.
Terrible of the state to put her in that position terrible of the family putting vengeance over the needs of others. If a person says they dont want to be a juror, let them leave..
As a potential jurist, during voir dire you have numerous opportunities to tell the court why you can't serve. After sitting through the entire trial, there's no reason to blow up everything at the end.
@@energyflowswhereattentiongoes ive seen way too many cases of braindead jurors ruining peoples lives due to moronic logic. Like actual murder cases being butchered and having innocent people get found guilty.
This is exactly what i was thinking. Like why did she wait till the day of sentencing to rage quit? She could have told them she wasnt able to serve the first day she got there and that would have been the end of it
Attorneys do NOT always accept a potential juror's reasons for not being able to serve on a trial. I have seen them or their consultants try to intimidate people into serving on a jury if they think the juror will be sympathetic to their cause. Even seasoned older people can't figure out how to avoid serving even when, in cases like this, livelihood (job, housing, etc.) is threatened by being on the jury. This was a case of immaturity, not evil.
Well at least she has 3 hots and a cot for the next 179 days, expense free. I don't know whether she has children to care for and apparently the state (or judge) doesn't care.
The courts have no tolerance for the hardship jury duty may cause. Everyone gets paid for their time except the jurors No one should make money being a juror but no one should lose money either. Poor girl was a hostage at that point… A scary thought that we put a defendants life in the hands of 12 hostages.
Facts. Whether it's me on trial for something I didn't do or a dangerous criminal who needs to be locked away to protect the public, I do not want jurors who are under any kind of external pressure whatsoever. If the next ten years of my life are hanging in the balance, I don't want that decision made by someone who's constantly distracted, thinking about how jury duty is gonna harm their ability to feed their family and keep a roof over their heads. Picture the scenario where a juror feels they need to go back over two dozen statements in order to fully understand them and make a fair decision - but they know it would add another three days of deliberations. However, if they get back to work _tomorrow_ they'll still earn enough to make rent this month, but if this goes on until Friday their family's gonna be on the street come March 1st. If I had to choose between allowing my wife and kids to come to harm, and sending some random guy I never met to jail based off of _"Eh, he looks the sort, even if he really didn't do_ this _he's bound to have done_ something _so I vote guilty, and can someone validate my parking please?"_ I can't promise I'd do the right thing every time...
Finally! Someone else in the comments has sense. It costs some people $100's to miss a day of work. Their absence affects their co-workers, clients, patients, deadlines, etc. You have NO control over how long a trial will take and in private industry, your employer is not required to pay you. How would you fair if you missed three to four weeks of work while still having to pay for child care, rent, car, food, etc? Maybe some of the insensitive jerks in the comment section should volunteer to be held hostage in a jury pool.
What gets me is just how much power a judge has over you when you are in their court room. You step into a room with a Judge, and the atmosphere is just weird and almost cultish. They make you stand, raise your hand, swear on stuff and put you in the mindset of subservience. Jury duty is a burden, and the courts do not respect the time of their jurors at all. Most employers do not compensate properly for it and if you are required to serve, good luck keeping your job if you aren't salaried in any way. Last time i was called they gave me $7.38 for 2 days. I don't know a better way to do it, but the process is completely tedious.
I've had jury duty a few times, and each time, I was severely underpaid, but the fact is that jurors are paid based on how much voters are willing to increase the amount. Until we all vote to increase juror payments, the courts have no power to take larger amounts from the budget. The issue is that most people do not care about increasing juror payments until they themselves become a juror.
The whole jury system is ridiculous to start with. Would be better off with a panel of 5 judges who call witnesses and ask the questions. Lawyers for the defense and prosecution there only to provide counsel and offer objections on behalf of the state/client. The current system is a popularity contest adjudicated by a panel of slack jawed yokels.
She should have told the court & lawyers at jury selection about her financial/work situation and they would have thanked her & excuses her from serving
How do you know that she did not inform the court about her financial/work situation? It is unlikely that she would have been excused because of her work situation. Unless you have a serious health condition and bring a note from your doctor that says you are unable to serve, you will not be excused from jury duty.
@@Kirby467-sk2hs I don’t know, but the reason why the Court excuses potential jurors with personal issues is so they can avoid this very situation… if she told them and they still put her on the jury they wanted this to happen…
@@Kirby467-sk2hs There's a financial hardship form you can fill out when you get the first summons. If you know how to read it's a pretty simple process.
“There was no intention of causing any harm. And there was no ill will from my end.” Glad you put no thought into any repercussions for your selfish actions. You still have to pay! I hope she loses the job she claimed was so important, that the family had to suffer again and cost the rest of the jurors money and time with their families. She was given multiple opportunities to opt out of jury duty. So selfish and disrespectful!
An employer can't fire you for jury duty, but they sure will fire you for missing 179 days of work because you were in jail! I actually worked at a company where an employee was in jail for three months after beating his wife. He had the nerve to come back to work the day after he was released, as if nothing had happened. Not the shift manager, but the *OWNER* of the company came out to tell him to get off the property or he would be arrested for trespassing!
What opportunities to opt out of jury duty? They threaten you with jail, fines and tell you they'll send deputies out to arrest you and bring you into a courtroom to explain why you missed jury duty. Jury duty as it is today is not at all compatible with the reality of trying to survive in this hellscape society. We have to work or we go homeless. Period.
I support her. She needed to work. The idea that they can put you in a situation that can cause you financial hardships is insane. They should pay people real money or make so that debt and bills are paused. Now they want to be upset because she had to work? Screw them.
You don't mind a 50% or greater increase in sales and property taxes to fund that? (Note that if you rent, the higher property tax will be passed on in your rent rate.)
This woman should have been screened out of jury duty from the beginning, it sounds like she just didn't have the constitution to sit through a public trial of this magnitude, and the stress of being trapped in a situation which she could not process kept building up until she had a mental breakdown.
Every judge every officer of a court house talks about their job to their family, friends & reporters But if she had a lawyer of her own from that town and who knew that judge charges would be dropped for this is legalized organized crime mind your damn business
She choose to be on Jury duty. You can easily decline to be on jury duty. You simply check/write in the box saying your biased or incompetent and you are off the hook that simple. She probably thought it would be fun and realized quickly you make peanuts and unfortunately it went on longer than she thought and wanted off the boat once it set sailed. And the saddest part... One day left...
Man, I am so glad that the Judge sentenced that pos juror to 179 days in jail. Could anyone be more self entitled? She knew , knew , that the causing of a mistrial would absolutely devestate the family of the man murdered and that her actions could possibly lead to the murderer getting away with it w/o being punished. I do not get paid either by my company if I serve on jury duty. I was picked for a week of "Grand Jury" yes/no hearings. Where you hear the Police give testimony on why they want cases to go to trial and we decided if it should or not. Two of the people out of us 12 had been doing it going on near a month. A month!! Luckily, i only had to do it for a week. But even just a week, my work gave me attitude because i live in Delaware but work in PA. I had to do jury duty in Delaware which my state does differently than Delaware. I had to send my HR links to how my state's Jury Duty worked. Because my HR lady in my building swore I was to be given money from my state and I had to turn it in to her. In Pennsylvania that's true. But Delaware does NOT pay jurors any $ to be on a jury of any kind no matter what. I got tired of arguing with her and sent her Delaware Jury Duty FAQ link so she could school herself. Anyways, for a week i didn't get paid. And those other two guys who were on the Grand Jury for a month didn't get paid damn near 4 weeks. It is something we must accept and do. Then simply move on. It is why you are supposed to have a Savings Account and not just a checking account. For emergencies. And not getting paid while on jury duty constitutes an emergency. Thank You for not letting
IMO it violates the unjust takings clause of the constitution to force someone to serve in a public capacity without renumeration. The judges, attorneys, court staff, etc. are all getting paid. I'm not excusing what this lady did at all, but the idea that everybody should just suck it up isn't fair. These are the kinds of things that our taxes are actually supposed to go to.
I’m pretty sure there is a financial question when you’re called for jury duty. If being on the jury will cause u hardship, u let them know and you’re dismissed. The fact she accepted the jury duty and then got mad isn’t ok. She deserves punishment, absolutely disgusting behavior.
@@NDcompetitiveshooter Well, in their "defense", Jury duty DOES pay you. It's just well below minimum wage. Typically though most states will pay you for coming to Jury Duty. And companies typically DO cover Jury duty on top of that usually. But I do agree, Jury Duty in itself should pay you the minimum wage, not the low wage they currently do.
I have a savings account to solve my problems and get ahead, not to help the government. Compulsory jury duty is slavery, made worse by the ridiculous treatment given to juries. Government finds all the money it needs when they want to waste it. They can afford better compensation.
Normally I would agree, however this shines A spotlight on a problem many Cheers jurors face. Not everyone can afford to take time off. Not that I am excusing what she did. She definitely deserves jail time for what she did. It is terrible what the family has had to endure. No loving family deserves that.
Working in the medical field for 20+ years, never had an employer who paid for jury duty. I've been called up lots of times. In the old days you could write that you didn't get paid and you didn't want to attend and they would release you from Duty. In recent years that doesn't fly. You still have to show up but then you can get excused for financial hardship. There are also different levels of Court such as state or federal and they may operate differently from one another.
Why would any employer pay wages for time spent by an employee at jury duty? I don't see any logic in that. Further more, it's called jury duty for a reason.
@@stopthecrazyguy9948 🙄Totally unnecessary. You sound like your in community college with your petty comment. Why not _try_ to explain the logic if you actually think you're capable? 😜
The Civic Duty goes both ways.... I serve on a Jury but I expect my employer to pay my wages as part of HIS civic duty. But I expect the IRS to reimburse my employer for paying my wages. And thus the taxpayer everywhere shares the burden of Civic Duty... not just the poor schmuck paid $10 a day! @@_Thoughtful_Aquarius_
She shouldn’t go to jail. Stop forcing people to be apart of these cases when their jobs don’t pay them to be gone how are they supposed to take care of themselves when they are gone from work without pay. That’s not fair.
It is absurd that we require people who have very little money to work for free on a jury. That is absolutely not OK. I don't agree with what she did, but I completely see how she got there
Jury duty is important. It's good that the court is sending a message that this isn't a joke ... the stakes are high and real lives are in the balance.
The bigger issue is why was her job putting pressure on her and making her feel like she'd lose her job if she didn't go in? Talk about missing a really good subject to discuss. This happens every day and it's not right.
@@Gadfly247 I hear you. I don't understand the labor law called "at-will" employment. We have it in California and it's the worst. Employers can fire employees for no reason! They say the equality is that an employee can quit for no reason. That's not a good idea and I really don't understand why where what who invented this policy! As an employee, everyday could be your last even though you are doing everything correctly. Horrible
At least in some states if a prospective juror tells the judge that their boss is interfering with their jury duty, the judge will send the sheriff out to bring the boss to the courtroom in handcuffs to explain himself. I saw a video stream of one of these and the only reason the boss didn't go straight to jail was he apologized profusely and swore he was absolutely thrilled that his worker is serving on a jury.
I hope that young lady learns something from this. When I was younger and I received jury duty letters I always checked the box saying I simply could not afford to take any time off from work. Never had an issue, pretty sure they don't want jurors on a case who are thinking about not being able to pay rent the whole time and not focusing on the case at hand. She really did a disservice to that poor family and I would assume lost her job as well.
They don't allow you to do that. I have been working for thirty years and never had that option. You can get a letter excusing you for medical reasons from your doctor.
@@aleathacoleman6413 I live in California and have gotten out of Jury duty every single time by filling out the paperwork claiming financial hardship. So, I don't know about where you live but I have gone 20+ years. Never had to step foot in a courthouse.
@@colinlarson9656 Same here. Just explained that the trial was scheduled at critically busy time of year for my profession. Was excused twice, so yes it is allowed in some jurisdictions.
I'm younger so I've only been summond once but they didn't give me an option for finacial hardship here in Pennsylvania. I think it varys state to state.
