Jury Duty in SRPMIC: What to Expect
So this is where our stories diverge because so it's so crazy because I kinda have some similar story, and we've never
Alane:shared this. We've never talked about this at all.
Kierstin:Yeah. So the thing is here,
Kierstin:what I've learned today is if you want advice about this, you send them to Alane. You don't send them to me. Hi, friends. Welcome to Ask and Answered. This is Kierstin Anderson.
Kierstin:I'm joined today by my sidekick, Alane Breland.
Alane:Hello.
Kierstin:Today we're going to talk about jury duty, and we're going to talk about jury duty in the community, not stateside jury duty. So all of this information is only subject to Salt River jury duty. So, Alane, what do you want to share? Sure.
Alane:Please, leave that in
Kierstin:So, Alane, what would you like to share about jury duty? I guess, you know, that's a loaded question. What is jury duty, actually?
Alane:Yeah. So, you know, before we before we started today's podcast, we were all sort of in the lobby talking about how as attorneys, we all really wish we could serve on jury duty because we think it would be such a learning experience, but no one's ever gonna choose a lawyer. Yeah. So, essentially, as a a member of a jury panel, you are sort of a central piece in the criminal justice system and civil justice system of American jurisprudence, or in this case, tribal jurisprudence where, you you are the finder of fact. You are the person who listens to the witnesses and you decides who decides, you know, is this person credible?
Alane:Is this person not credible? Is this piece of evidence credible? Is this piece of evidence not credible? And ultimately, you're deciding, is a person guilty or is a person not guilty? Is a person responsible for We're giving them a tour or damage?
Alane:Is this person not responsible? If it's a landlord tenant case, is the landlord right? Is the tenant correct? You really sort of, as a juror, have the power to decide who is right and what is the just outcome for a case. So it is a really important role.
Kierstin:So if an individual is called for jury duty, the likelihood is that they could be called for criminal versus civil. Is it more likely to be called for criminal cases? You know, we probably don't know the frequency.
Alane:You know what? I don't actually know the answer to that question because I can tell you that we only have, you know, a handful, at most half a dozen criminal trials in a year. I don't know how many civil cases go to trial.
Kierstin:Well, I was just
Kierstin:gonna say we don't really we we don't really have it. Since I've been here, we haven't had any civil juries basically. And it's not that it's not a right within the code because it is a right. It's just that most people do not opt in for a jury in civil cases and or people settle before going to
Alane:It's the same in criminal. A jury trial is a right that any any defendant who's charged with a criminal offense where they're facing jail time Mhmm. They can request it. And that's across the board. But the vast, vast, vast majority of our cases resolve with plea agreements, which is good because both sides get a benefit in that way.
Alane:And it also is just efficient, and it's just efficient.
Kierstin:Okay. So let's fast forward let's fast forward and assume that you get called for jury duty. One, how many people serve on a jury here in the community? And I guess then we'll go and launch into that second part. What do you do when you get called for jury duty?
Alane:Sure. So the court might summon a panel that is 60 or a 100 people. Out of those, maybe not all of them will show up, but of the ones who do, eventually, they will be selected down to a jury of six. And then in criminal cases, we also often seat alternates, and that's just to allow for just in case a person has you know, if a if a trial is more than one day and a person has a medical emergency or emergency with their children or family member or something that prevents them from coming back to court the next day, it ensures that the trial can keep moving forward because we have that alternate person.
Alane:So the way that that works is you seat seven, and you don't know until the jury is about to go back to deliberate who that who that alternate person is.
Kierstin:Oh, so during that process, you don't even know you're a alternate?
Alane:You don't. You don't. And the idea behind that is just so that everyone's paying equal attention. Everyone is making the same notes at the same times because everyone may be the people who were called back. And then just before the the jury is is released to go back and deliberate, the alternate is informed, you're the alternate.
Alane:Please don't talk to anybody about this case. You might be called in later, but for now, you won't be part of deliberations, basically.
Kierstin:That totally makes sense. I get that because I can see if I thought, Oh, I'm the alternate, then I don't really need to pay attention.
Alane:Right. I'm just holding down this chair for the next duration of this trial.
Kierstin:In case someone calls in sick. Right?
Alane:But we absolutely have had cases where even in the middle of deliberation, someone had to leave. They either had a medical emergency. I can't remember exactly what it was. If they had a medical emergency or a family member did, they had to leave. Wow.
Alane:And so in the middle of deliberations, we had to stop, re empanel, get the alternate alternate in, and then restart deliberations.
Kierstin:Okay. So you had mentioned within your answer that you could get 60 to 70 people called, and it's whittled down to six.
Alane:Mhmm.
Kierstin:So all 60 people need to show up, or what happens if you can't show up, or what does that look like?
Alane:I will tell you it's very rare. In fact, I've never had it happen where all 60 people actually showed up. Realistically, if you summon 60 people, we get maybe 25 or 30. Okay. Which, you know, it's a small community.
Alane:And so the more people who show up, the better because you obviously wanna seat a jury that is unbiased. And that means, you know, they didn't have an idea of what the case was about. They don't have a bias against or for any of the people, you know, the police officers or the defendant or any of the witnesses. Or maybe even the issue. Right?
Alane:Or the issue. Exactly. Like, we have people all the time who tell us, you know, I I don't know any of these people, but gosh, I just don't think that I can mentally sit on a child abuse case. Right. Which is understandable.
Alane:And we don't want to traumatize people by having them do jury duty. And so those those types of things are always very understandable.
Kierstin:Right. Especially if you have personal trauma as to to the the subject matter or whatever, it doesn't seem like you'd be a good fit for the jury.
Alane:Exactly. Like, you want people who can be unbiased in every way. So that has to do with it doesn't mean that you have never seen the person before. I mean, this is a small community. People went to school together.
Alane:They're gonna know each other, and that's fine. Mhmm. But just that you don't have a preconceived idea of what the results should be before you hear the evidence. Right. And we have people who are very honestly tell us, if they're accused of child abuse, I can't be fair.
Alane:And we say, okay. Thank you for telling us that. You're released. And of course that makes sense, right?
Kierstin:Right. Yeah, so going back to whatever, the list is 60 people, 30 people show up, and then eventually, what does that process look like to whittle it down to six?
Alane:That process is called voir dire. This is a very legal term. It's a very legal term. You might also hear it referred to as jury selection.
Kierstin:Okay. That's a less legal term.
Alane:A less legal term. It's still a legal term, but it's not in Latin. Right? Lawyers love to use Latin. We never know what it means.
Alane:We just know voir dire is the process of jury selection. But that is the opportunity where the judge and then to some extent, the practitioners, so the prosecutor and the defense advocate or defense attorney, have a chance to ask questions of all the people who are on the panel just to ensure that they can be unbiased. And it might be, you know, do you know me? Do you know me, Alane? Have you have we had an experience that might make you biased for or against the prosecution?
Alane:What about these police officers? Do you know them? Do you have any bias against police officers in general? Mhmm. And then likewise, do you know the defendant?
Alane:Do you know their family? Do you have a bias for or against the defendant? And the goal in all of this is just to really seat the six people in the jury box who know the very least about the people who were gonna be presenting the case, the least about the people involved in the case, the defendant and and the victims, if there are any, and the least about the topic in general. Because the newer the information is to you, the more it feels like you're making the decision based on what you're hearing, not based on, you know, preconceived bias.
Kierstin:One of the things you said is that you started off that as an attorney, lots of us want to serve on a jury. Yes. But maybe as a lay individual, you may not want to serve on a jury. Do you have the, I guess, the option to opt out?
Alane:You can't opt out just because you want to. Right. This is a civil service that all of us are called to, maybe not in the community, but, you know, Kierstin, you and I are on jury lists in the county and and in in the federal system. So it is kind of one of those things that, like, we pay taxes as citizens. We also can be called to jury duty.
Alane:You're required. Right. Now there are certain circumstances, of course, where you can ask to be excused. And medical reasons, things like that, the court can can take those requests, and and the the judge will make those decisions. And you can be permanently excused from jury duty for for good reasons, for good cause.
Alane:But I don't want to really isn't going to be one of those.
Kierstin:I don't want to serve on the jury.
Alane:I don't like it. That's not they're going to say, I'm very sorry. Please sit back down.
Kierstin:Well, what about if I really want to? I'm like, Please pick me. And I guess as far as if I'm in the jury box and I'm like, Please pick me. What's going on with the attorneys as far as that selection? I know you talked about you're going to pick the individuals that appear to be the least biased, appear to not know the parties or whatever, but maybe a little insight on I guess analysis or maybe like some of the thought process with the attorneys that are looking at their jurors.
Alane:I will say I've never encountered a situation where I just had someone who just really, really wanted to be on a jury. I think I would welcome it. Uh-huh. But, you know, there is this John Grisham book called The Runaway Jury where the whole premise of the story is that these people infiltrate juries to try to get them to go one way or another. Okay.
Alane:So maybe if you seemed a little bit too eager, maybe we'd be like, what's going on here?
Kierstin:There might be a problem with this individual because they might wanna be infiltrating the the jury process.
Alane:But at the same time, I think that it would be welcome to have someone who openly didn't mind or openly was positive about serving on the jury because, you know, certainly, there are going to be people who can be unbiased, but also they have to pick up their kids from school at 03:00. And this really would be a hardship for them. Even if they could be unbiased, even if technically it is their civic responsibility, this still would present a hardship to that person. And we don't wanna do that.
Alane:Right? Like, we we don't want to end up in a situation where everyone sitting in the in the jury box just really doesn't wanna be there. Right? And so I think that, you know, unless it seems unless it seems a little too eager, unless it crosses that line into too eager, I think it probably would be a very welcome thing to encounter that you had people who wanted to be there.
Kierstin:Yeah. And serve their civic duty. Right? So it is part of serving that duty and sitting in the the juror or whatever or
Alane:It is.
Kierstin:So let's just imagine that I get called for Jury Duty. I can't do come because I have a surgery that's scheduled. What how do I handle that? So when you get your summons, there will will be information on it regarding, obviously, the date and time that you're summoned for.
Alane:But there will also be ways to contact the court. Okay. You're gonna wanna contact the court anyway because we send out summonses all the time for jury trials that end up being vacated or canceled. And so you're gonna want to pay attention when you get the order or, excuse me, when you get the summons because you're gonna wanna call a day or two before anyway and find out is this trial even gonna happen. Right.
Alane:Chances are it probably isn't because, like I said, we only do four or five or six a year. But also the people who who answer that phone are very helpful, and they will walk you through the process of asking for and to be excused by the judge beforehand, that sort of thing. We all know that people have lives. We know that people have illnesses. We know that people have responsibilities, trips, that sort of thing.
Alane:And so the court is very understanding. They're accustomed to handling those requests. It will not seem odd if you call them. So just just call and ask for help.
Kierstin:But what if I forgot to call and I I didn't show up? My understanding, I could have an order show cause.
Alane:Yes. An order show cause is when the court gives you a new date to come back and explain, hey. Why didn't you come to court?
Kierstin:And you were summoned to come to court and you didn't.
Alane:We served you and you didn't come. Right. And it sounds very scary. Right?
Kierstin:Mhmm.
Alane:And maybe it is scary for people who don't spend all their days in court like we do. Right. But in fact, it's not. It really is just the court asking you to answer that question. They'll they'll call you up, and they'll ask you, hey.
Alane:Why didn't you come to court? And you will, of course, very honestly explain, I forgot or my tire was flat and I couldn't get a ride or whatever the case might be. I was ill and I was in the emergency room, whatever.
Kierstin:Mhmm.
Alane:And chances are the judge will admonish you to do better next time, and that will be the end of that. The order to show cost process really is not there to scare people or to be a punishment. It really is just to make sure that people understand their civil responsibility Mhmm. And take it seriously. But it's not meant to, you know.
Kierstin:And if you were summoned to court, you need to follow the court
Alane:You do need to follow the court order.
Kierstin:Yeah. One of the other questions that I think of is how do I show up to court? Like as far as and I know, like, well, you show up by driving in your car and going to the court. I guess what I'm saying is, what do I wear?
Alane:So when I am counseling victims and witnesses who are laypeople who are not police officers on how they should dress to come to court, I tell them I ask them, you know, do you go to church? And if I do, I just say, where you were to church on Sunday? If they don't go to church, I tell them, which is it doesn't matter either way. But that's just the easiest way that I can tell people, like, wear your Sunday best.
Kierstin:I was just gonna say Sunday best. Right?
Alane:Yeah. So a nice dress is fine, but it is not necessary to wear a dress. You just wanna make sure that you look respectful that you are covered, that your body is covered. So no shorts, no low curt no low cut tops for guys, no sleeveless tops. You don't really wanna wear your jeans that have holes all in them.
Alane:Mhmm. You know, jeans are fine, but, you know, maybe like a business style top or for men, like a button down. You don't really wanna wear open toed shoes. Part of that is because it can be a little bit cold in the courthouse, but part of it is just because, you know, you wanna wear close toed shoes. You wanna be kind of business appropriate.
Alane:So I would say, like, business to business casual is probably the best the best way I can describe it.
Kierstin:Yeah. And, you know, I'm just thinking in my head, it's kind of hot. So I would yes. And so to me, not being able to wear my shorts so you're telling me I can't wear my shorts and tank top?
Alane:Don't wear your shorts and tank top. You got to put on long pants and, you know, a short sleeve top. Bring a fan if you need to.
Kierstin:Okay. She threw me off on the van. You got to cut that out.
Alane:They're very popular now. You haven't seen all these people with their little purse fans? You didn't watch Paris Fashion Week and everyone has a van in their purse?
Kierstin:Oh, my goodness. And also, I guess you can't be wearing any gang attire or
Alane:That is just a rule across the board in community buildings of all kinds, not just the courthouse. So no gang colors, no gang bandanas, no gang type shirts with insignia on them, logos, that type of thing.
Kierstin:No. And I think just for listeners' knowledge, this information is in an administrative order that the court has issued with regarding the dress code, right?
Alane:Right. You and I did not make this up. Right. We have to abide by it just as the public does.
Kierstin:Right. Right. And probably within our show notes, could refer to the actual administrative order so that individuals can Yes. Review it on their own as well.
Alane:For sure.
Kierstin:Let's see. I'm just trying to think what else I need to ask about jury duty. Like
Alane:Well, we can talk for a second about in criminal cases. So I think probably our audience is mostly community members. But on the chance that we have some noncommunity member employees who listen, you also are subject to jury duty here in the community That's right. As a condition of your employment. So not for every case, only certain cases.
Alane:When community council chose to adopt special tribal criminal jurisdiction under the Violence Against Women Act, one of the conditions was that the jury pool had to reflect a fair cross section of the community, including anyone who who lives here. So not just community members, but also noncommunity member tribal members, other tribes, and non Native Americans.
Kierstin:And some of you may have heard this referred to as VAWA.
Alane:Yes. So you might have heard this talked about as VAWA jurisdiction or VAWA prosecution. And the reason that council adopted it was because it allows the tribe to prosecute non Native American offenders who commit crimes here on the reservation against Native American victims. When those cases go to trial, just those cases Mhmm. We're talking about things like domestic violence, some child abuse, some child sexual abuse, some obstruction of justice, those types of cases.
Alane:When those go to trial, their jury is different than the jury for all the other criminal cases. And so if you are a community employee, then you might be summoned to serve as a juror on one of those cases. We have not had any of those trials yet because, thus far, all the cases that we have charged have resolved with plea agreements. Okay. But it is possible.
Kierstin:And so as as an employee, I can get called to jury duty within the community.
Alane:Mhmm.
Kierstin:And that's been in place for quite some time. Right?
Alane:A few years. So tribal council passed special domestic violence criminal jurisdiction in early twenty twenty two, and then VAWA itself was revised that same year but in October. And so that is when the next year in 2023, tribal council passed VAWA 2022, we call it Okay. Which is special tribal criminal jurisdiction. And the only difference is the first iteration of VAWA only pertained to domestic violence cases, and the 2022 reauthorization broadened the covered crimes to include all the ones I just mentioned, child abuse, sexual assault of adults, and many others.
Kierstin:And maybe this is another podcast that we could talk about VAWA and go into some But more details or the point being is that as an employee, you could serve on that jury if you have a case that involves an individual that's being charged. So with that, I think we've covered everything we wanted to talk about today.
Alane:I think so, yeah.
Kierstin:So thank you for listening to us today. And as a reminder, if you have any questions that you'd like for us to talk about or answer, you can always email us at askedandansweredsrpmic nsn dot gov. And we're here to answer Yeah. Your do that. So until next time, we will see you later.
Alane:Bye, y'all.