Rachel Tetlow asks Brad to investigate the seventeen-year-old murder of her father while he served as a juror in a Federal racketeering case. Rachel wants answers after all these years. Brad explains that in spite of the odds of success after such a lapse in time, that they will look into the case.
But Brad gets sidetracked on helping Rachel when he is picked for a jury in a case where a man is accused of killing his wife and stuffing her body into a freezer.
Brad's assistant, Sharon Porter, tackles Rachel's case, while Brad ponders the evidence in the courtroom with the benefit of his own background as a crime solving investigator.
My story is plotted, but I'd like to hear a few "Tales from the jury box" that I could incorporate to enhance the reader's experience. Have you served on a jury in a criminal case? If so, do you have any interesting stories to share? Things like weird statements fellow jurors make, donnybrooks in the deliberation room, funny anecdotes. In the novel, to convey the sense of juror confidentiality, I've only assigned first names to the jurors in the story. YOU could be one of those names, just by sharing a good jury story. And for a really spectacular tale, I'd even be willing to name one of the characters after you.
By all means, join this conversation. I can use your input.
The first time I was called for jury duty, my nightmare came true - I was picked. I chalked it up to having dressed too nicely. Yet it turned out to be one of the most fascinating experiences I've ever had, not to mention fun. Yes, fun. We were a true cross section of Broward County's population: African American, Hispanic, white, working class, middle class, well-to-do, etc. But despite social and cultural differences the chemistry between us was amazing. We had more fun in the jury room joking around and laughing, that the bailiff would walk in laughing (he could hear us in the little hallway) and pronounced us the happiest group he'd ever had. This was a four-day trial and I actually looked forward to getting there every morning. Go figure. When it finally came to deciding the case, though, all joking stopped. One man who'd done it before stepped up to be foreman, we seriously weighed the evidence, talked one woman through who wasn't quite convinced, and proudly convicted a crack dealer. A positive example of American Justice when it works. The prosecutor thanked us for how closely we paid attention to every detail during the proceedings. Then, because I'd said I was a novelist, the judge and prosecutor asked about my books and I gave the bailiff some bookmarks to give them. So authors, never go anywhere without promo materials.
ReplyDeleteI served on two murder juries. Nothing funny, or unusual happened in the jury room during trial or deliberations. I suspect that is the norm. All white jury. A black defendant accused of stabbing his cousin to death. It was an unintended act while in a defensive stance. Except suspicious actions like trying to conceal the knife. Jurors remarked it was suspicious that defendant had no bank account although he had steady job for over 15 years. Once sorted out we acquitted.Two young jurors habitually arrived late after trial portion and during deliberations. Sometimes as much as 30 minutes late. No apologies, just lame excuses. With sequestered jury promptness not a problem. Boredom was. We couldn't watch news or drama on TV. No westerns. Jury met with judge after verdict for a pretty intense Q&A.
ReplyDeleteThe link on DorothyL didn't work BTW. Came here via your website. Anyway, have served on one murder trail -- ex-boyfriend ("allegedly") drives by to shoot ex-girlfriend. Unfortunately, he was a bad shot -- killed the guy standing next to her (just a neighbor). What makes this different is that the police botched the evidence. Messages from the boyfriend threatening murder -- mistakenly erased by the cops. Pictures of the boyfriend's car didn't match what a witness testified to (tinted windows) -- whomever had taken the pictures did so with the windows of the car down. Pictures from the window of the witness's house next door, which, according to the defense, would show a giant tree blocking her view, showed a tree that had been cut way back, so no blockage. But the weirdest thing was a piece of evidence that went "missing;" while in the jury room, the jury foreman (he with the gigantic bandage over his nose, from septum surgery he'd undergone the day before the trial) asked for clarification of something one of the detectives had said regarding the time frame. Bailiff comes back with info, we read, nothing. We all looked at each other and agreed that we had heard what we had heard, but it hadn't been taken down, or gotten erased, who knows. End result was some of us figured we couldn't find the guy guilty of first degree murder without more evidence, and some of us did. Ergo, a hung jury. Judge was not pleased, of course. Have no idea what happened to the fellow.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Alyssa, Carl, and Helen for your comments!
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