Jury Duty
I just sat with (not quite on) a civil jury this week. I was Alternate #2, which meant I was the same as the other jurors until the very end, but while they deliberated I (and Alternate #1) sat next door; we were the same except in the jury room for final deliberations. Apparently in federal court, alternates participate in deliberation the same as other jurors, which would have made it feel like less of a waste of time.
To my pleasant surprise, the jury selection pool sported an open wireless network and a bunch of PC “terminals” so we could surf while cooling our heels before being empaneled. Unfortunately, apparently nobody in the area knew the PCs’ Windows passwords, so logging out was a big no-no, but I brought a laptop and didn’t really care. The actual jury rooms were not online, but we didn’t spend much time waiting there, except during the actual deliberations.
Fortunately the trial was relatively simple and fast — we started Monday with jury selection, heard a half-day of testimony on Tuesday and again on Wednesday, heard closing arguments and (they) deliberated on Thursday, and heard the verdict read out and got our jury service receipts Thursday. This last part is important, as the receipts keep us from being called back to jury duty for (at least) 8 years — not bad!
In 2000 a music studio was burglarized, and most of the equipment was stolen, including a Harrison MR2 56-channel console. We later heard parts of it were found (apparently in 2003) in boxes, and in a dumpster somewhere. There was a previous lawsuit on this insurance claim in 2006, and there (and perhaps in a negotiated settlement) all issues were settled except the insurance value of this audio recording console. Our only charge as a jury was to determine the value of the console, so the insurance company could reimburse for the loss. It was obvious we were missing a lot of the backstory and case history.
I was amazed by the discrepancies in expert opinions. The plaintiff’s expert claimed the console was worth $75-$85k in 2000, while the defense expert claimed $7,500 as its value. Both claimed (credibly) to be quite familiar with the market for this piece of equipment. I wonder how much of it is markup and attitude — “I can buy one that could be fixed up for $X.” is not the same as “I can put a price tag on this, reading $Y.” The actual purchase price (6 months before the burglary) was $28,000, so we all felt somewhat at sea — no two pieces of information corroborated each other.
