Have grave concerns about the prison pipeline? Serve on a jury.

[ck4829]

As an assistant public defender in Baltimore, I am tasked with selecting a jury to decide the case against my client. For my clients, this is a terrifying leap of faith. Often, individuals with objections to the brutal and racist reality of the carceral state (a view that I happen to share) arrive at the bench and voice those objections to the court and the parties. They are then summarily and unceremoniously struck for cause by the prosecution or the court. I’m not sure why Ariel Ludwig believes an option to conscientiously object to jury service would be any more meaningful than that (”‘I will not be party to this violent system’: An abolitionist against jailing gets a jury summons in Baltimore City,” Nov. 3). It certainly does nothing at all to support my client who is pursuing the one and only avenue available to them to fight the crushing machinery of the state.

Conscientious objection to the carceral state is accomplished by participating in jury service, not by avoiding it. Jury service is a form of direct democracy. Jury nullification, though not recognized as a legal defense in Maryland, is a means through which jurors can voice their objections to the brutality of the state. Despite its lack of recognition, jury nullification has a long history in the United States for ill and for good. It is simply a tool.

Abstention, on the other hand, does nothing more than further concentrate the pool of jurors who have no such scruples regarding the carceral state. For that reason, abstention does not actually keep one’s hands clean; refusal to participate in the system is its own kind of participation. It may ease the conscience of the Florence Levy Kay Post-Doctoral Fellow in Machine Learning, Law, and Racial Justice at Brandeis University, but that’s cold comfort to my clients.

https://www.baltimoresun.com/opinion/readers-respond/bs-ed-rr-jury-duty-letter-20221107-nil5cszwjvhq7bop5delbqmyym-story.html

Against the war on (some) drugs? Serve on a jury.

Are you upset that something is now illegal because Samuel Alito had a seance with a jurist who murdered women? Serve on a jury.

[msongs]

1. yeah let serial killers go free. no problem nt

[ck4829]

3. 1850's: "Whoa, do you really wanna let those renegades helping slaves escape go free?"

[ret5hd]

4. Yes! That is exactly what he was saying!

So glad we didn’t miss that.

[Shrike47]

6. That happens so often, doesn't it?

Sarcasm.

[MLAA]

2. I'm serving February 28th 2023

Had to delay since I’m still recovering from foot surgery and can barely walk and can’t drive so my Superior Court had no problem delaying my summons a little over 3 months. Looking forward to it.

[Salviati]

5. Served on a superior court trial a few years ago.

It lasted about 3 weeks. Tough case, though we decided on a not guilty verdict. It's not illegal to be an immoral asshole, and we decided that the prosecutor didn't prove beyond a reasonable doubt that what they had done was illegal, according to the law as written.

Aside from the actual case, the experiance overall was positive though, everyone on the jury took their responsibility very seriously, and wanted to do a good job.

[drmeow]

7. Judges often ask about Jury nullification

and dismiss potential jurors who say it is legit - it happened to me.

[3Hotdogs]

8. I guess it was long about 30 years ago. I received jury summons.

I get voir dire on a drug case. I state that I think the entire war on drugs is a waste of taxpayer money and lives and I cannot in conscience, vote to convict anyone for a drug offense. Then, I went on to recite the drugs I abused.

My purpose was to maybe give the judge and prosecutor second thoughts about prosecuting future drug cases... if more people like me.....

Of course, I was bounced off the case. I haven't received a notice for jury duty since.