I had to report for jury duty this morning, and I'm relieved to report that I got struck.
There were 146 Midlanders packed in a court room responding to a jury summons. The judge informed us, perhaps to minimize our own situation, that in Harris County there would be 1,000 potential jurors gathered at a time to endure the jury selection process. What he didn't tell us was that in Houston the level of civil disobedience regarding jury duty is somewhat higher than here, and sometimes there aren't enough potential jurors to conduct all of the scheduled trials.
The panel I was on was for the trial of a local man who was involved in a dust-up between two neighbors about an aggressive dog and a loud party. It was basically a neighborhood squabble between two hot headed, strong willed tough guys. Words were exchanged, dogs were unleashed, and guns were drawn.
Here's the problem. One of those neighbors was a constable who had the full force and power of the state of Texas backing him up. And the other guy, a Mr. Jurgensen, ended up on trial for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon against a law enforcement officer. That is a felony, we were told, with a penalty ranging from probation to 99 years in prison. There was an article about it in the local paper, but I can't locate it online. Sorry for the lack of a link. [see update below]
The prosecutor is Steve Stallings, and David Rogers represents the defendant. Each side gets ten preemptory strikes, and I suspect that I was struck from the panel by the defense for the reason that I had served on a criminal jury in the past. I wasn't the only panelist with that in our histories, and both the prosecutor and the defense no doubt wanted to know which side prevailed in those old trials. The prosecutor was very sly. He didn't ask "who won." What he asked was this: "who set the penalty, the judge or the jury?" Very clever, huh?
In that long ago criminal trial in which I was a juror we found the defendant guilty, and the jury assessed the penalty. But we didn't give the defendant as much prison time as the prosecution wanted, and when it was over the prosecution team was the side that was visibly disappointed. So knowing who won doesn't provide the full picture.
As for the present case, it seems a shame that it ended up in criminal court. Hopefully, both sides are satisfied with the jury they ended up with.
And me? I've got to go back tomorrow and go through the whole process again.
Updated 5/10/05, 6:28 am CDT: The spelling of Mr. Jurgensen's name has been corrected in the text, above. Today's Midland Reporter-Telegram has an article about the jury selection which can be seen at this link:
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Man goes on trial for allegedly threatening to kill constable
Bob Campbell
Midland Reporter Telegram
05/10/2005
©MyWestTexas.com 2005
From Staff Reports
Jury selection began Monday afternoon in the 238th District Court trial of a man who allegedly threatened his neighbor, a Midland County constable, with a pistol March 18.
Facing a possible sentence of five to 99 years or life in prison for aggravated assault on a peace officer, Theodore L. Jurgensen, 67, has been incarcerated in Midland County Jail in lieu of a $250,000 bond.
Precinct 2 Constable Charles "Choc" Harris told sheriff's officers Jurgensen sprayed his dogs with pepper spray, then pulled a pistol and threatened to kill him when Harris went two doors down to Jurgensen's residence to inquire about the incident in the 1300 block of South County Road 1130.
Sgts. Ray Meek and Mike Reed took Jurgensen into custody.
"We were just enjoying the day and charcoaling some hot dogs in the backyard," Harris said. "I went over there and tried to talk to him to ask what happened. He became very belligerent, and the next thing I know he kicks at me and pulls a gun on me."
Harris said he negotiated with Jurgensen to avoid being shot and then returned home to call officers.
Assistant District Attorney Steve Stallings concluded his examination of 55 prospective jurors by asking each one which of four priorities is most important in adjudicating criminal matters -- protecting society, punishing the guilty, rehabilitating the convicted or providing a deterrent to other criminals.
Thirty-eight said protecting society is most important while 10 listed punishment, seven rehabilitation and none deterrence.
Jurgensen is represented by Midland attorney David Rogers. Judge John Hyde is presiding.
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