I've served twice in the last 10 years. The first time was a DUI on an evening where we had 21 inches of snow (a record for us) and on the surface you would of concluded he was guilty, but after hearing the case against him and understanding the letter of the law and what "beyond a reasonable doubt was, he was found innocent.
My second time was a murder trial that involved gangs and bunch of kids at a party. It is amazing to really understand what goes on in our society. 10 bottles of hard liquor was stolen by a 15 yo and was consumed at the party that evening. Each day there were 5-7 deputies watching over things and then the evening we came to the verdict, there were over twenty officers guarding us and escorting us out of the court house via a back entrance. That was a bit unnerving and I made sure each night I wasn't followed. There was no doubt of his guilt but we had to determine whether it was first or second degree murder and after 4 hours we found him guilty of first degree. It was hard having 15 - 20 year olds testifying and changing their stories. In the end it was a sad state of affairs, but again you are presented with the law and you are to follow the law.
So that's my story.
