Crash Test Dummy

Chapter 31

On Monday, when we got there at 8:45, the courtroom was packed. There were even people standing in the hall. Cory met us and took us to the witness room.

"Why are there so many people?" I asked.

"Jury selection," he said. "We sent subpoena's to 500 people."

"Why so many?"

"Well, usually about a third don't show. Others are excused for various reasons like they can't hear or they have been convicted of a felony. They'll try any excuse they can think of that the judge might allow. Also, there are three criminal courtrooms in this building. Trials will be conducted in all three courtrooms on and off all week. The most important trial gets the big courtroom, the one on this floor. We won the lottery and get the big room. Because this trial is likely to take the longest, we also get to select jurors first. They will send our rejects to the other courtrooms for voir dire."

"What's voir dire?" I asked.

"Haven't you taken civics yet?" Cory asked.

"It's one of my classes for next year."

"Voir dire is when the lawyers get to talk to the prospective jurors. We talk to them and ask them questions. We sort of get a feel for their personalities and their likely views."

"Oh, the time when lawyers get to dismiss jurors they don't think will vote their way," I said.

Cory laughed. "Well, that's the simplistic version. We have to give a reason for dismissal. We can only dismiss a couple of people without giving cause. Anyway, jury selection will take at least all morning. It could easily consume the whole day in a trial this complex."

Cory introduced us to a lady he called Ms. Shelley. He said she was the jury coordinator. "She'll take good care of you. I need to get in the courtroom for voir dire."

Ms. Shelley smiled and checked our names on her list. "If you give me a cell number, you don't have to hang around here. Jury selection will take at least until noon, maybe longer. I'll text you when I have some idea how it's going."

"Can we watch voir dire?" I asked.

"No, I'm afraid not. Potential witnesses aren't allowed in the courtroom until after they testify." She looked down at her list. She looked up with a surprised look on her face. "You're on both lists, CW. You won't ever been allowed in the courtroom until both the prosecution and defense rest. And, you, Mrs. Braisford are on the defense list. Since the prosecution goes first, you probably won't be needed until later in the week. It just depends on how fast the trial moves."

"Okay," Mom said. She gave her the number, and we left.

"Looks like we have a morning to kill," she said. "Got any ideas?"

"There's a CCs across the street. We can get coffee and a roll."

"That might burn an hour if we stretch it," Mom said.

"The library is about three blocks that way." I pointed south. "We could go there and read or surf on their computers or something. My I-pad's in the car. That would be a place with air conditioning where we could pretend we weren't waiting for a text from the court."

Mom laughed. "Who would have thought we'd be looking for an air conditioned place in March. The weather this year has been strange."

We'd eaten breakfast before leaving the house, so we decided to skip CCs and head to the library.

We should have just slept in. Jury selection wasn't finished until 3 pm. By the time they were seated and the judge had talked to them, the legal day was almost over. The judge decided to dismiss them and start with opening arguments the next morning.