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Last year, the vicious mugging attacks on two elderly women—one 101 years old (Rose Morat, pictured with bruises on her face), the other 85 years old—shocked the city and led to a police dragnet to find suspect Jack Rhodes. On Thursday, a mistrial was declared, after, the Daily News explains, "the juror forewoman cried about missing work and wanting to see her mother." The forewoman said, "This case has been taking a long time...I'm going to have to fly to see my mom." Rhodes, who faces up to 25 years in jail for the alleged muggings that net him $65 and some jewelry, will probably be retried; Morat, now 102, taped her testimony earlier this year.
Mistrial Called in Granny-Beating Case
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I'd hit it.
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Way to go, forewoman. Maybe we should go back to all male juries like 12 Angry Men.
Considering many jobs do not pay during jury duty, I think this is a legitimate complaint. What are you supposed to do if a trial drags on and you have no source of income?
Seriously. After having a salary of $40/day for four weeks, I'd probably be in tears too. People like to squawk about jury service being a civic duty, but what they forget is that serving can be financially devastating if the trial goes on this long.
The circumstances surrounding the mom's visit weren't explained. You can't judge her harshly if you don't know all the facts.
I was called to jury duty a few years ago in the middle of a freelance job that required me to be on site. If I didn't show up to work, I wasn't going to be able to pay my rent. I said this to the lawyers on the case and - get this - they chuckled. Apparently they found my financial hardship amusing.
After choosing me, I had a panic attack in front of the clerk, and the lawyers for both sides wisely reconsidered. They could see a mistrial in the making.
How about they pay nothing to those who receive compensation from their employers, and raise the rate for those with a hardship?
If you truly believe in civic duty, create a favorable environment that will allow the jurors to actually perform their civic duty. The juror in this case was at least honest about her frustration, whereas she could have remained silent and went along with the majority (no matter what her opinion) to expedite the process and get the hell out of there.
that foreman was selfish, what if her mother was the victim?, wouldn't she want justice?
Usually you will not have to serve on a jury if you can prove economic hardship.
First of all, what the hell is wrong with the jury that can't convict a guy who was filmed beating the shit out of the 102 year old and stealing her money? Was the prosecutor's case that stupid or are the jury just transplant from OJ's first jury?! Second for the jury whining about money lost and seeing her mother, why didn't she bring this up in the first place to the judge when the lawyers were selecting the jury pool. Instead this moron became the forewoman, and then bitched about hardship! I don't see how commenters can defend this crazy woman, looking at you #5.
#8, and #7, someone on the Daily News site was on the jury, and pointed out that the case was first estimated to take a week. The jury was prepared to lose a week's worth of wages; not a month's. Maybe the former was a tolerable loss for the forewoman but the latter was a problem. Trying to survive on $800/month in this city can be a problem for anyone.
And #7, no, judges and attorneys usually don't give a damn about financial loss. They don't care if you really can't miss work. It's not their problem.
Commenter #5 is right; the jury system desperately needs to be reformed. Yes, everyone is entitled to a jury of their peers. Innocent people should not have to suffer financial loss, worry about keeping their jobs and have their lives disrupted for months on end to accommodate that right.
Yes, everyone would want justice for their mom, but would everyone want to be in the position of the forewoman, sitting in that jury box for a month and worrying about paying your bills at Christmas time?