Monday afternoon is a waiting game. The jurors waited in silence for over an hour for the court to review notes and decide on who to eliminate --and who they should not. It's a hard choice when you have so many to choose from and it's difficult to know who the best 12 will be.
Out of the 93, the defense has the option to strike out 10 possible jurors while the prosectors can eliminate 8 jurors. After these easy strikes, the rest of the eliminations have to be agreed upon by both sides.
Finally just before 3:00 pm, they were asked six jurors to take a sit in the stand. But the selection process is just beginning. They need to choose twelve jurors in the end and four alternates.
By the end of the day, 12 jurors had made the final cut, but they still need to choose 4 more. The only consolation is that once these 12 are chosen, there is no going back.
While the wait is as intense as any realty show elimination, the results are much less dramantic. In fact, when it came to the jurors it was hard to tell whether it was more disappointing to be asked to stay or if they felt relieved being asked to leave.
Monday, April 9, 2007
Let's make John Ford a "real" person
This case has taken on a life of it's own. It's been covered in the media extensively and the high profile people who have been indicted have surprised many of the public.
The thing attorney Michael Scholl wants the jurors to remember is that this is a trial of a person. He tells them that yes, it may have to do with public corruption and yes, the media has been playing it up. But at the bottom of it all, this particular trial has to do with one person.
"Let's make John Ford a person," says Scholl. "Let's make him a real person like you or me. Is that tough to do?"
The jurors didn't answer so Scholl continued. "What do you think it takes to be a good juror?"
This question they could answer. One man stated that to be a good juror you needed to put aside biased and personal opinions. You also had to be able to listen to everything that's being said.
But it comes down to more than that. Scholl wanted to make sure they knew what unbiased really meant and what could make a person biased. In addition to political beliefs, race and person opinion, the media was also mentioned.
"Do you believe that there is one side of the case has not been followed?" Scholl asked one juror. He then asked the rest of them. "Is the media biased? How many people here think the media is one-sided?"
The jurors agreed that the media may be biased and their opinions shouldn't come from there -- even though many of them had read the newspaper or heard something about the trial before today.
But that wasn't enough. Scholl wanted to make sure they understood that as a juror, they have to forget what they know -- and formulate opinions only from what they hear from the witness stand.
He brought one female juror up the stand. She had admitted to reading the newspaper prior to this morning's court date.
Scholl wanted to know:
"Have you formulated any opinion regarding this case?"
"No sir."
Would you sign this case only by what you hear on the witness stand?
"Yes sir."
He grilled her a little more on this issue and then thanked her for her time.
The thing attorney Michael Scholl wants the jurors to remember is that this is a trial of a person. He tells them that yes, it may have to do with public corruption and yes, the media has been playing it up. But at the bottom of it all, this particular trial has to do with one person.
"Let's make John Ford a person," says Scholl. "Let's make him a real person like you or me. Is that tough to do?"
The jurors didn't answer so Scholl continued. "What do you think it takes to be a good juror?"
This question they could answer. One man stated that to be a good juror you needed to put aside biased and personal opinions. You also had to be able to listen to everything that's being said.
But it comes down to more than that. Scholl wanted to make sure they knew what unbiased really meant and what could make a person biased. In addition to political beliefs, race and person opinion, the media was also mentioned.
"Do you believe that there is one side of the case has not been followed?" Scholl asked one juror. He then asked the rest of them. "Is the media biased? How many people here think the media is one-sided?"
The jurors agreed that the media may be biased and their opinions shouldn't come from there -- even though many of them had read the newspaper or heard something about the trial before today.
But that wasn't enough. Scholl wanted to make sure they understood that as a juror, they have to forget what they know -- and formulate opinions only from what they hear from the witness stand.
He brought one female juror up the stand. She had admitted to reading the newspaper prior to this morning's court date.
Scholl wanted to know:
"Have you formulated any opinion regarding this case?"
"No sir."
Would you sign this case only by what you hear on the witness stand?
"Yes sir."
He grilled her a little more on this issue and then thanked her for her time.
A case of nerves
Watching the jurors, you can almost feel their stress as they sit in the room and wait for the next question. They look nervous and tense, and that's because they are.
Scholl asked them if they were nervous when they came to the courtroom this morning. Most of them admitted that "Yes" they were. Scholl then wanted to know why. Was it because this was the "John Ford Trial"?
At first no one said anything and then one woman said that it wasn't because it was John Ford. She would have been nervous no matter who's case it was. Her nerves came because she may be juror.
Another possible juror had an entirely different concern. He had a lot of work to do and being away from the office made him nervous. With a case like this, Scholl says it could take up to three weeks before a decision would be made. He wanted to know if the man could devote his time to this or whether his mind would be focused on his work. He thought he could.
Scholl asked them if they were nervous when they came to the courtroom this morning. Most of them admitted that "Yes" they were. Scholl then wanted to know why. Was it because this was the "John Ford Trial"?
At first no one said anything and then one woman said that it wasn't because it was John Ford. She would have been nervous no matter who's case it was. Her nerves came because she may be juror.
Another possible juror had an entirely different concern. He had a lot of work to do and being away from the office made him nervous. With a case like this, Scholl says it could take up to three weeks before a decision would be made. He wanted to know if the man could devote his time to this or whether his mind would be focused on his work. He thought he could.
Is a fair trial possible?
Did anyone watch TV or the news? This was one of the questions attorney Michael Scholl, Ford's lawyer, asked the jurors after the morning break.
He wanted to know if anyone had watched the news or read the newspaper after filling out the questionaire and before attending the court that morning. Some of possible jurors admitted that yes they had read the paper or heard something in the news about the case, but many of them remained quiet or said they did not.
Scholl also wanted to know if, when they walked into the room this morning and saw John Ford sitting there, whether or not they thought he did something criminal or wrong. In other words, did they already think he was guilty.
Is he guilty? Who knows...and at this point it doesn't matter. What does matter today is that Ford gets a fair trial and that the people who are there to listen to the case give him that opportunity.
Ford's lawyer is working hard to make sure this happens. One of the follow up questions he asked the remaining possible jurors is: Who knew who John Ford was before they came to the building that morning. The answer was that nearly all of the nearly 90 remaining people did know of Ford.
Scholl's response --How hard is that?
How hard is it to have a fair trial if everyone in the room already knows the person about to go on trial? Can they really be unbiased?
He wanted to know if anyone had watched the news or read the newspaper after filling out the questionaire and before attending the court that morning. Some of possible jurors admitted that yes they had read the paper or heard something in the news about the case, but many of them remained quiet or said they did not.
Scholl also wanted to know if, when they walked into the room this morning and saw John Ford sitting there, whether or not they thought he did something criminal or wrong. In other words, did they already think he was guilty.
Is he guilty? Who knows...and at this point it doesn't matter. What does matter today is that Ford gets a fair trial and that the people who are there to listen to the case give him that opportunity.
Ford's lawyer is working hard to make sure this happens. One of the follow up questions he asked the remaining possible jurors is: Who knew who John Ford was before they came to the building that morning. The answer was that nearly all of the nearly 90 remaining people did know of Ford.
Scholl's response --How hard is that?
How hard is it to have a fair trial if everyone in the room already knows the person about to go on trial? Can they really be unbiased?
The elimination begins
We're all wondering who's going to be on the jury and who's not, but the real question is how will they narrow down the 93 possible jurors to the final few. It all comes down to the questions.
At 10:05 the first juror was eliminated. He admitted spending two years with John Ford in college and this may prevent him from being unbiased. The next juror was released five minutes later. Apparently, this individual had asked Ford for help on a certain issue.
While the elimination of these jurors seemed obvious, other questions were less so. Thirty minutes later, two jurors were asked if they would have trouble passing judgement on another human being. They answered "yes". They were allowed to stay.
At 10:05 the first juror was eliminated. He admitted spending two years with John Ford in college and this may prevent him from being unbiased. The next juror was released five minutes later. Apparently, this individual had asked Ford for help on a certain issue.
While the elimination of these jurors seemed obvious, other questions were less so. Thirty minutes later, two jurors were asked if they would have trouble passing judgement on another human being. They answered "yes". They were allowed to stay.
The first twelve
Judge Breem called the first 12 people to the box. After reading out the charges against John Ford which include extortion, accepting $55,000 in brides, and three counts of threats or hindering the law in this federal case, he began the elimination process.
With the case so highly publicized, it's going to be hard to find people who aren't familiar with John Ford, the Ford family or the case. And at 9:55 this morning, Judge Breen voiced his concern over this. He asked the jurors that even though there is a lot of press covering the case, can they be objective and make up their own minds?
Then the real questions began...
With the case so highly publicized, it's going to be hard to find people who aren't familiar with John Ford, the Ford family or the case. And at 9:55 this morning, Judge Breen voiced his concern over this. He asked the jurors that even though there is a lot of press covering the case, can they be objective and make up their own minds?
Then the real questions began...
The pool of Jurers
Jury selection began at 9:30am on Monday morning. Judge Daniel Breen greeted the pool of 93 possible jurers. He says they should pay attention all questions and mentioned that even though there is a camera in the courtroom, not to worry. It's a court camera and not a live feed for broadcast.
They are taking great care to make sure the jurors are unbiased even though this is a highly covered case. The jurors themselves were asked to refrain from talking to each other --even if they happened to know each other before this meeting.
Judge Breen then laid out what will happen and who's on trial. He says there is no plans to sequest the jurors and at this moment, there are no plans for weekend court sessions.
They are taking great care to make sure the jurors are unbiased even though this is a highly covered case. The jurors themselves were asked to refrain from talking to each other --even if they happened to know each other before this meeting.
Judge Breen then laid out what will happen and who's on trial. He says there is no plans to sequest the jurors and at this moment, there are no plans for weekend court sessions.
Day 1: Jury Selection Begins
Jury selection is about to begin. New Channel 3 will be there to let you know what questions they ask and how they are going to chose.
Stay tuned....
Stay tuned....
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