Jury Duty, Again!

Last week I was called into Jury Duty service and was selected. So far I have been called in 4 times in my 12 year (since I first started voting; 14 if you believe that DMV registration is valid). Of those 4 times I have served on the Jury twice. Jury duty is actually quite fun if you are selected. The only dreadful thing about it is waiting in the assembly room. The last time I was chosen to serve was back was in November of 2004 and that lasted 6 days. That case was a civil case in which a private party sued the city of Laguna Beach for injury that was on city property (park). The city won. In this case last week, it was a criminal case. The deliberations for this case was actually longer then the precedings itself. Jury selection was completed last Wednesday, we heard the case for all but thirty minutes on Thursday, began deliberations on Thursday, and finished at the end of the day on Friday. The case involved a motorcyclist charged with one misdemeanor count of reckless driving. Here is the breakdown:

- An off duty officer (driving in civilian car) was driving on the SR-133 heading into work towards Laguna Beach. (The SR-133 has one lane going south, one lane going north. It is known to be curvy road with road constructions. Many accidents have been reported on this road).
-Two motorcycles (behind) also were driving southbound on the SR-133.
-Off duty officer noticed the cyclist some couple of hundred feet behind. Pulls his cell phone from his left pocket. Officer drifts to his right (staying within his lane).
-Officer notices that the first cyclist is on his right and almost hits him. (speeding was implied)
-First cyclist pulls forward and cuts in front of the officer and takes off on the left side of the road.
-Officer centers his lane and tries to take down license plate # of first cyclist.
-Then Officer notices the second cyclist on his right. This is were the testimonies differ.
-The officer sees the second motorcyclist kick his car.
-The cyclist says that the officer drifts a second time and that the cyclist uses his leg as a shock absorber (making contact with the car) from getting his leg crushed.
-The cyclist follows suit with the first cyclist and cuts in front of the officer and continues on the left side of the lane.
-Officer sees that the cyclist crossing double yellow line and driving northbound.
-The cyclist testify that they are driving away from the unknown off duty officer for fear of their lives and pass 10-15 cars traveling southbound until they find an open gap.
-The off duty officer phones into dispatch to report the cyclists.
-6 miles later the off duty officer sees the cyclist pulled off to the side, being detained by other fellow police officers.
-Officers site the first cyclist with 2 traffic infractions. They site the second cyclist with 2 infractions along with the misdemeanor charge of reckless driving.
-Other facts:
-Defendant was previously charged with four misdemeanor charges (last one turned into a
felony charge). Charges were vague but pertained to lying or cause to do evil by covering
up.
-Intoxication was not an issue.

This was a tougher case then most of the jurors had expected. When we initially voted, the majority thought the defendant was guilty. Then as things progressed and we continued to vote, more jurors started to vote not guilty. The final tally was 3 votes for guilty and 9 for not guilty. We ended up in a deadlock. I could see it going either not guilty or guilty. I ended up on the minority end. I just felt that with the multiple violation codes that the defendant (2nd cyclist) incurred, it was just reckless. I think that each registered driver (whether it be car of motorcycle) has a responsibility and that the cyclist's contact with the car (whether intentional or unintentional) is risky to himself and to others. Going through and seeing the judicial process is reassuring and intriguing. It may not be perfect but at least it is better then having a dictator/single party rulership.