Day Two

We are supposed to be at the courtroom by nine. I, and the others in the jury box, have comfortable chairs. I do not envy the people left in the hard wooden pews waiting to see if they will be called.

Seat #11 becomes the hot seat. Someone would be called and they would sit there, run through the questionnaire, and then the defense attorney would dismiss him/her.

Interesting moments from juror selection:

An old gentleman is called. The judge orders him to approach the bench where they have a hushed conversation. The new juror was a client of the judge several years back when the judge practiced law.

This same juror is seventy-four years old. He has a fifteen year-old daughter in high school. Everyone thinks they didn't hear that correctly.

When a new juror is asked if he knew the attorneys, the defendant, or any of the witnesses, he says the defendant looked familiar, but he can't place him. A bit later in the jury selection, the juror's eyes open really big and a second later the prosecutor dismisses him.

Another odd thing: Each juror has to introduce him/herself, state what they do, if they are married, what the spouse does, where the spouse works, if we have any children, their ages, and what, if anything, they do. This is in front of the defendant. The defendant (if he were such a person) now can escape prison and track us down and kill us. How nice.

The black lady finally takes a seat. When asked if she knows any police officer, she says, "dozens and dozens". She's a clerk in this courthouse.

It is now lunchtime. I walk outside and hear two clerks discussing The Sopranos. It turns out there is a television crew just a block away filming an episode. I watch Christopher and Paulie Walnuts come out of a building, carrying a rolled up rug with a body hidden inside. They dash over to a car and dump the rug/body in the trunk. It takes them about an hour to shoot a fifteen second segment.

The judge is standing behind me as the actors work. He tells us that last summer, they filmed April run over the pizza shop guy in an alley just over here and that over there is the actual pizza shop. Someone else says that they filmed a bit with Tony Soprano this morning. (He's walking around getting mad on a cell phone.) Apparently James Gandofinli is a really nice guy and made certain that everyone who showed up that morning received an autograph.

What was filmed will be in episode eleven this season.

Just after two, the jury is finalized. There are only sixteen people left in the unpicked pool. Only four of the original fourteen are left in the jury box. I am Juror #5.

We are all sworn in and hear what the charges are. The prosecutor begins his opening statement, which takes about twenty to thirty minutes. The defense attorney then gives us his opening statement, which seems even longer.

This is the case:

About fourteen months ago, there was a drug sting operation in a housing projects.

According to the state, the defendant, Mr. E_____, pulled into a parking place, is believed to have engaged in a drug transaction, and drove off. The narcotics officer, Sgt. B_____, radioed to other officers to stop Mr. E_____'s vehicle. Three unmarked police cars pulled up behind Mr. E_____ with sirens and lights going and chased him down a major highway for two miles where the defendant finally stopped his vehicle due to heavy traffic conditions. There, Mr. E_____ refused to get out of his vehicle, punching and striking Investigator F_____ who was trying to pull Mr. E_____ from the car. Mr. E_____ then slammed the car door on Inv. F_____'s arm twice. During the punching and striking, Inv. F_____ did punch Mr. E_____ twice in the face. Mr. E_____ then was dragged from his car by Sgts. S_____ and W_____, who were also involved in the chase. A search of Mr. E_____'s vehicle and person turned up no drugs. Mr. E_____ is charged with Evasion (the chase), Resisting Arrest (not getting out of the car), and Aggravated Assault (slamming the door).

According to the defense, Mr. E_____, a automobile wholesaler/retailer, known in the projects, was flagged down by someone in the projects who wanted to know if the car Mr. E_____ was driving was for sale. Mr. E_____ said yes, and was going to drive to his office to pick up the title when, somewhere down the major highway, he noticed that there were several police cars behind him. A good citizen, Mr. E_____ pulled over, three police officers ran up to his car, opened the door, Inv. F_____ assaulted him, then he was pulled from the car and thrown on the ground, handcuffed, and kicked. The police made a mistake. They were enraged after they thought a black man in the projects, who just purchased narcotics was running from the police. They stopped him, ran up to him and beat him because Mr. E_____ is a Bad Guy.

The State calls the first witness: Investigator F____. Inv. F_____ had prepared the original incident report in which he made several errors at worst or miscalculations at best. He admits to punching Mr. E_____ in the face twice. Inv. F_____ has trouble with the map of Paterson where the drug sting operation took place. He testifies that the vehicle driven by Sgt. S_____ was directly behind Mr. E_____'s vehicle when it turned onto the major highway. The prosecution ends questioning and we recess until the morning.

I realize what is familiar about the judge. He looks like Judd Hirsch without the grey hair.

-Faux "from Taxi" Pas