tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2439647783347819362.post3068641378807461019..comments2023-12-29T15:25:46.925-05:00Comments on "THE VIEW FROM OUTSIDE MY TINY WINDOW": Post No. 186d: Why Jodi Arias Should Opt for Something Other Than a Jury TrialInspector Clouseauhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09373932797333038561noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2439647783347819362.post-50749552148303344012013-02-09T10:07:06.164-05:002013-02-09T10:07:06.164-05:00We often forget that our rights under the law are ...We often forget that our rights under the law are <b>protected</b> (not granted) by our Constitution and we sometimes do not realize we have a right that we can exercise (waive the right by inaction).<br /><br /><br />I had a brother-in-law once who insisted on jury trials for all his traffic offenses. He claimed to always win.Douglas4517noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2439647783347819362.post-89149372257662714152013-02-09T09:41:07.108-05:002013-02-09T09:41:07.108-05:00Thanks for weighing in Douglas. You brought up a ...Thanks for weighing in Douglas. You brought up a very important issue in our system of jurisprudence. We should note that getting a jury trial is not as simple as it might appear at first glance, and not all criminal defendants are entitled to a jury trial in all jurisdictions for all crimes. One can also waive a jury trial through failure to act.<br /><br />There is another issue in our mind, applicable to lots of purported "freedoms." There are many freedoms which we enjoy here in the U.S., even some Constitutionally-based, but we do not have to "exercise" all of them all of the time. In fact, there are occasions when one might consider not exercising a freedom, pursuant to the Doctrine of Unnecessary.<br /><br />Upon reading your comment, we also could not help but think of <a href="http://www.npr.org/2013/02/07/171316582/american-woman-gives-domestic-abuse-a-face-and-voice-in-china" rel="nofollow">the American born wife of the famous Chinese language instructor, and how the Chinese legal system handled his indiscretions (beating his wife)</a>, not to mention the difficulties she had in getting the police to pay attention to her.<br /><br />Yep, as the Independent Cuss noted earlier, humans are definitely flawed, and devising systems to deal with human issues is problematic.InspectorClouseauhttp://www.theviewfromoutsidemytinywindow.blogspot.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2439647783347819362.post-38509857301667723542013-02-09T09:12:10.882-05:002013-02-09T09:12:10.882-05:00Isn't it wonderful that the accused has the ri...Isn't it wonderful that the accused has the right to <b>choose</b> how they are to be tried? If you have no law on your side, appeal to the jury's emotion; if you have law on your side, waive the right to a jury trial and appeal to a judge. It's a variation of the old teaching about facts vs law...Douglas4517noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2439647783347819362.post-48600865450632514502013-02-09T09:07:07.321-05:002013-02-09T09:07:07.321-05:00Independent Cuss:
Welcome back; it's been a w...Independent Cuss:<br /><br />Welcome back; it's been a while. You wrote:<br /><br />"Human beings are flawed." To the talking heads, news commentators, and politicians, this is certainly a novel concept. They would have us believe that everyone (or is it everything?) should perform like a well-oiled machine or computer, as was the case in the 1950s.<br /><br />Accepting for purposes of this discussion that humans are flawed, are there things that we, as a society, can do to the jury system to ensure that verdicts come out "right," if we can agree upon which constitutes "right?" Perhaps making the system "better" might be an achievable goal. <br /><br />We should always keep in mind that there is a difference between being "right" and being "accurate," and to many, being "right" is more important.<br /><br />Totally apart from the role played by jurors in our system of criminal jurisprudence, other human participants include victims and other witnesses, not to mention other humans related to them. We previously wrote about the potentially devastating effects flowing from human flaws in our piece, <i><a href="http://tinyurl.com/d7aru8" rel="nofollow">When the Surfboard Hits the Wall</a></i>. It is worth re-visiting the issues raised again.<br /><br />Thanks again for checking in. We missed your insightful comments.<br /><br />P.S. We do feel honored. Interestingly, earlier in the day prior to your comment. we had the same conversation with another friend who is starting her own blog. Additionally, Chrome has a built-in language translator enabling one to read foreign language blogs.InspectorClouseauhttp://www.theviewfromoutsidemytinywindow.blogspot.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2439647783347819362.post-55497790206989687682013-02-08T22:49:22.132-05:002013-02-08T22:49:22.132-05:00Aside from the fact that I had not heard of Jodi A...Aside from the fact that I had not heard of Jodi Arias or her unfortunately kinky late boyfriend until I read about them here: juries are comprised of human beings . . . and human beings are flawed. End of story.<br /><br /> <br /><br />Can you imagine the can of worms which would be popped open if we began administering litmus tests for jury eligibility? It would add another layer to our already-too-complex system of jurisprudence, and<br />calculating lawyers (but I repeat myself) and perhaps even judges would have a field day exploiting such a system in the attempt to ensure that the verdict came<br />out “right”. <br /><br /> <br /><br />Please feel honored: I finally downloaded Google Chrome expressly so that I can comment on this forum.<br /><br /><br /><br />The Independent CussThe Independent Cussnoreply@blogger.com