Jury Duty

We have lived in Larimer County for 35 years (at the same address!) and Chuck has been called numerous times for jury duty. I received a summons to serve back in the 70s but I was going to be in Iowa so I was excused. I always wanted to serve ... it was something I had never done and I wanted to learn more about it.

While we were in WA I received the summons to appear on January 26. I was still recovering from the nasty flu, but I felt pretty good so I went. I was assigned to Group 3. Group 1 jurors had to fill out a 2-page questionnaire. We later found out those people might be chosen for a 2-week trial. Never heard anything about Group 2. Groups 4 and 5 went to a courtroom and don't know what happened to them. Our group of about 25 people went to a small courtroom and watched a video about jury duty.

The judge came in and the clerk called 12 people to go up and sit in the jurors box, to be questioned by the judge and the attorneys. The attorneys each had 15 minutes to quiz us and then they choose 6 persons as jurors for the trial.

It was a criminal trial of a woman charged with shoving a girl in downtown Fort Collins last June, around midnight. Apparently when the policeman showed up, all the young people scattered and the victim ran away also. She was never found and didn't file a complaint.

I was juror #2 and I was chosen to serve with 5 other jurors -- 1 women, 4 men. We were ushered back and forth between the jury deliberation room and the courtroom whenever the judge wanted to talk with the attorneys. We could take notes and we had the opportunity to ask questions of a witness -- we wrote out our question and then the judge decided whether or not he would ask the question.

There were only two witnesses called -- one by the prosecution ( the police officer) and one by the defense (the then-boyfriend, now-husband) of the defendant. So it was a short trial, and before lunch all the testimony was finished. We went to lunch and when we returned we heard the closing arguments and we went to the jury room and talked about an hour or so and found the defendant not guilty on both charges. I signed the paperwork, we went back in, the judge read the verdict (lots of cheering from the defendant and her family) and it was over.

The judge came to the jury room and talked to us and we got to ask him questions. It was a VERY interesting experience and I am so glad I was chosen to be on the jury. Luckily it wasn't a two-week trial -- my memory isn't that good!