miserable jury duty experience (crime, attorney, to live)

[ChezAloha]

I just finished up jury duty earlier this week, and it still feels like something inside snapped and broke. I saw a side of my island (Kaua'i) that I was not expecting, and it wasn't pretty. I don't know if what I experienced was because of the type of crime it was, or whether it was a Kaua'i thing. Maybe both?

We sat through three days of testimony for nearly 30 counts of sexual assault, and deliberated for seven hours. The defendant was accused of assaulting (raping) his stepdaughter for four years, beginning when she was 14. The testimony we heard from the victim was difficult and disturbing, to put it nicely. We also heard from several other witnesses for the prosecution, and just the defendant and his wife (the victim's mother) for the defense. Although I was looking forward to hearing a strong rebuttal, I found the defense to be underwhelming, and mainly just a lot of smoke and mirrors.

It was when we got into the jury room that things got really bad. I believed the victim was telling the truth, and the guy was completely guilty, and my votes reflected that. The eleven other jurors however wanted to acquit on all charges, in less than an hour of deliberation. Fine, we disagreed. But it was the reasons for acquittal that I found disturbing, although that might just be how sexual assault cases go. One juror said the victim had actually been having an affair with the defendant, she loved him, and when he broke it off she claimed sexual assault (which it would have been anyway, or at least statutory rape, since he was nearly 50 years old when it started and she was 14) - I initially thought this juror was joking, but she wasn't. Another juror said she couldn't convict because she and her family had to live with his family on this island and she wouldn't put them through this (never mind the girl though). They said being in jail would ruin him, but she had the time to rebuild her life. Others said on more than one occasion they thought he probably did it, but still voted to acquit (reasonable doubt?). They said she was a liar and cried on the stand because her lies were coming out. She enjoyed the attention she got as a victim. Others said they wanted more evidence, like someone else would be around during the assaults or the victim would have kept momentos or something (the original assaults had occurred 10 years ago, and she didn't come forward until three years ago). They all also thought that since he was not guilty of one count, he could not be guilty of any of them. There never seemed to be a moment when any of the other jurors stopped and reflected about the victim and her testimony, and about what she claimed had happened to her - if they did they kept it to themselves. The victim had first told what happened to a friend (who testified), two relatives (who got her to go to the police - one testified), a counselor at the YWCA, the police (who testified), the prosecutor's office, and the grand jury - they all believed her and the evidence they were presented with, but somehow to everyone on the jury she was making it up. It was cruel and ugly.

I was told I wasn't following the "Hawaiian way" when I refused to change my vote to not guilty. Another juror said they wished they could get me off and the alternate in so they could acquit. I was told I was "dominating the conversation," but I guess it seemed that way when I was the only one on one side of the debate. One juror asked me if there was anything they could do to "help" me think differently; I told her I didn't need "help," that I believed the victim. One other juror spoke up at that point and reminded everyone else I didn't have to agree with them, I was entitled to what I believed from the testimony. We ended with a hung jury, which we learned later from the judge was fairly common with this kind of case and with this many counts. The judge also told us that there was lots of evidence we didn't get to see because it had been preemptively excluded before the trial began.

I still believe the other jurors were just as entitled to their opinions about the evidence as I was to mine, but the way they tore down the victim was not something I expected to hear, especially with all the talk about caring for the keiki and all we hear all the time. As I said, the ugliness and cruelty I heard broke something inside of me, and tarnished my love for our beautiful island.

[Kayekaye]

Blaming the victim is horrible. Sounds like some community education is needed on behalf of rape and incest victims. Seems like the prevelant attitude back in the 1950's and before.

[hotzcatz]

I haven't a clue how any justice can get done when there's a jury involved. I was on one once where even the guy's attorney said he was guilty of one of the counts against him and yet several jury members tried to acquit him of everything. Idiots.

Actually, though, law isn't about justice, it's about following the laws. Never confuse the two.

[Jonah K]

Originally Posted by hotzcatz

I haven't a clue how any justice can get done when there's a jury involved. I was on one once where even the guy's attorney said he was guilty of one of the counts against him and yet several jury members tried to acquit him of everything. Idiots.

Actually, though, law isn't about justice, it's about following the laws. Never confuse the two.

Actually, law in Hawaiʻi isn't about following the laws either -- it's about avoiding punishment when laws are broken. Justice is merely incidental.

[Mikala43]

Originally Posted by hotzcatz

Actually, though, law isn't about justice, it's about following the laws. Never confuse the two.

This. This. This.

I have had jury duty once, and was Foreperson. It is hard to keep in mind that everything is a question of law, and even harder to keep everyone else on that track.

[whtviper1]

I'm kind of surprised Chezaloha- you've been on these forums awhile.

It's all about who you know in Hawaii.

[hotzcatz]

As well as who knows you, too.

It's a small enough island that the other jurors may have known some sort of back story to the case, or they knew the guy and had reasons to acquit him. Hard for say, though, especially as we're not familiar with any of them. When it's a small population, it's hard to find a jury that doesn't already have preconceived ideas.

[KauaiHiker]

Thanks for posting the details, it's fascinating to see all the various reasonings, and sad that not many were based on the facts presented in court. But I've never been on a jury, so I have nothing to compare it to.

Two observations: first, as others have noted, it's a small island, everyone knows everyone and people go along to get along. Second, there is a dark undercurrent of child abuse, domestic violence, sexual assault, and violence towards women. We were all for letting our daughter run free (out of sight) at beach parks until my wife heard one horrific story. I suppose it's not more than anywhere else (I remember all the missing kids on milk cartons growing up on the mainland and I was afraid back then), but it is more of a contrast to the "paradise" image. But I think the two go together: the small-town mentality of not turning in your family or your neighbor leads to some enablement. It's certainly way more complicated than that, but again it's just like anywhere else.

[ChezAloha]

I get the small island stuff, everybody knows everybody, etc. but I am still shaken by how blatant some of the jurors were about blaming the victim. It started immediately when we entered the jury room to deliberate. And, after we turned in our verdict the connections started coming out from those jurors - they had kept quiet during voir dire. I know some thought the defendant was guilty, at least of a few of the counts, but went along to get along. I could not have lived with myself if I had not voted the way I did - I believed the victim's testimony.

BTW, I think the fact that the defense attorney was local (well, from Oahu) and the prosecutor wasn't played a role as well. As I said, the actual defense was weak IMO, but he knew what to say and how to say it to maximum affect.

[Mar0]

I'm sorry you had such a trying experience. I have also been privy to similar situations but not to this extent. I feel like being on Kauai is like stepping back in time and that brings good and bad. The bad includes an often antiquated view on social issues. Tying that into the small town lifestyle where everyone knows one another and then also the rampant substance abuse problem, it can really be alarming for someone with a more encompassing worldview. Good on you for sticking up for what is right.