Memorable Moments as a Criminal Defense Attorney
I was reflecting on my career where I have spent nearly 50 years trying criminal cases, and one immediately came to mind. I started out in the Prosecutor’s office here in Marion County in 1973 and tried a venued sexual assault case in Johnson County that none of my colleagues wanted to handle.
Comprised of 12 people, the jury sat in two rows of 6. Juror Number 7 was a young woman and Juror 8 was a middle-aged man who frequently dozed off.
When the victim took the stand, I handed her a note left on her door by the Defendant that said something vile that he wanted her to do to him. When I asked her to read it to the jury, she broke down in tears and yelled, “I can’t. I can’t!”. As a result it was handed to the Jury.
When Juror 7 read the note and glared at the Defendant, as other jurors did, she attempted to hand it to Juror 8. However, he was sleeping. She had to elbow him to give him the document.
He looked at the document and then starred at Juror 7, obviously thinking it was from her personally. He then looked at it again, only to fold it and put it in his pocket as he smiled.
The Judge, obviously shocked, quietly said, “Sir, please take that out of your pocket and hand it to Juror 9”. Turning beet red, he cupped his hands to his face, leaned forward and replied, “If you don’t mind Judge, it’s kind of personal!”.
Though the trial thankfully resulted in a guilty verdict, the memory has left me both shaking my head and suppressing a smile. Trials frequently prove to be a trip though “The Twilight Zone”!
