My encounter with the mass incarceration system (fka as the justice system)

In the summer of 2017, I served on a jury in Manhattan. It was instructive. This is an account of that experience. I’ve hesitated to write this down before, because the way I want to write it makes it seem like I want to be the hero of the story in a way that I’m probably not. But this is how I remember it.

Voir dire

During jury selection, we learned that we were being considered as jurists for a minor drug case. The district attorney (DA) asked us if we would be able to follow the law, even if we felt like the amount of drugs involved was very small. I didn’t have a problem with that so I didn’t speak up. But the DA never asked me any direct questions, which was probably a mistake on his part. A big mistake.

One important point is that the judge — repeatedly and in a number of different ways — kept emphasizing that the defendant was innocent until proven guilty. The defendant did not have to prove his innocence. It was necessary for the DA to prove the defendant’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

So when it was the defense attorney’s turn to ask us questions, he singled out one juror and asked this question: if the judge — right this very second — asked you to render a verdict, what would your answer be? The potential juror thought she needed more information. The attorney asked a second member of the panel. The second panelist also needed to see the proof. As you might imagine, the defense attorney…