Sunday Focus: My Almost Juror Moment

      I have been registered to vote, and had a driver's license, for all of my almost 40 years in Alabama. Yet until last month, I had never been called to jury duty.
     That ended will a questioner from the Federal District Court and a subsequent call to report for jury duty on April 6th. I did as ordered, having arranged to be off air from the morning broadcast on Alabama News Network on CBS 8 and ABC Montgomery.

   I received a rather extensive questionnaire about my background, with questions seemingly designed to uncover any biases I might have that would exclude me.

Seandarius Savage, 22

     There were two jury trials that week, and the jury pool was divided into two for that purpose. Mine, or at least my potential case, involved a young man charged with a series of marijuana, gun and carjacking crimes. The court told the pool members the rough outline of the charges against Seandarius Savage.
     I enjoyed talking with the other potential jurors, a construction equipment salesman, an auditor for the Poarch Creek casinos. There was a retired US Air Force Intelligence officer too.
     For some reason, a judge from Orlando Florida was hearing the case. 
     He jokingly apologized for not recognizing me when I  followed others in the pool and introduced myself and identified my profession. I assured him our TV stations did not reach Orlando.
    He asked a variety of questions---did we have police office members in our families, had we ever been convicted of a crime etc etc. 
    The defense team included a jury selection expert. There was an FBI agent and an ATF officer was sitting with the prosecution. Everyone took extensive notes.
     In the end, six hours after I had arrived at the courthouse in Downtown Montgomery, the jurors were announced by number, and I was not among them. We were free to go.
    Was it my media background? The fact that my Father and Grandfather had both been police officers? The color of my tie or my hair? I'll never know. But the jurors who were chosen easily reached a decision on Wednesday.

  


  The office of The U.S. Attorney reported the verdict: guilty on all counts. 22 year old Savage faces a minimum of 30 years and a possible term of life in prison. I was glad to be excluded, whatever the reason.

[Sunday Focus is a regular feature of www.TimLennox.com]