Year 2004-2005

The Juror

I was once called to serve as a potential juror in a celebrated murder case in Florida. The Defense Lawyer was BIG, meaning, he was one of those consulted by CNN in big cases like OJ Simpson. You can see him in CNN explaining 'lawyerly matters' every now and then.

We were gathered, 150 of us Americans. From 150, 50 of us were selected. From 50, only 8 were selected.

The process of selection for the Jury was probably one of the most beautiful experiences I've had in the US as an American.

The American Justice System called me, an unknown me, to decide on the fate of an American man in Boca accused of shooting a kid, on Halloween, which he claims to be a mistaken identity.

The selection process took nearly 2 weeks. I went through rigourous lecturing and waiting and grilling.

The goal of the Jury selection is to make sure the Juror who sits on the case would be as impartial and objective as possible.

I was rejected in the third and final selection because I told the Judge I do not have sympathy for young men who burglarize houses and cars, because I had that bad experience.

That alone made me impartial.

So many Americans want to experience this, and I'm glad I did.

And this explains my position on many matters now besetting the Philippines.

During the Jury selection, the Judge lectured us about the case: He said, "We Americans are here gathered to experience and apply one of the most fundamental processes of the American Judicial System.

"You, ordinary Americans, whether educated or not, born here or naturalized, are asked to sit on a case we have today...It is a celebrated case, in case you haven't heard of it yet, so we will go through the process of picking the 8 among you that we think are the most impartial and objective. As you know, the Lady Judge will always be blindfolded.

"The impartiality and objectivity is important because there are two people and two families involved here. The accused and the vicitm. If in the end your determination of guilt or non-guilt is wrong, you, for the rest of your lives, will always be haunted by that mistake.

"The crime was committed a year ago. That's why if any of you have been following the case whether on TV or newspapers, you can leave. Those of you who know the defendant or the victim's family, you can leave. And those of you who would remain are instructed to avoid inquiry about the case. You should avoid interviews, discussions, researches, etcetera outside of what we will go through in this court."

And this is how the American Judicial System teaches American citizens - for nearly two weeks I was turned from an opinionated man to one who had to listen.

In those days, I learned to "suspend" judgement all the time. I suspend judgement until I've looked at both sides of the coin. I cannot make any hasty judgement especially when it is based on hazy facts. I cannot presume guilt until found innocent. It should always be the other way around.

The Judge introduced me to terms like 'circumstantial evidences', 'motive', 'hard evidences'.

From that point on, I make sure that before I make a conclusion or a judgement or a verdict, I am given all the facts. I want them presented to me in a scientific way. I want to make sure that whether I turn east, north, south or west, the evidence will be the same. Whether I look at it from top to bottom, the evidence is the same. Whether I turn it upside down, inside out, the evidence is the same.

I've learned to make decisions "BEYOND ANY REASONABLE DOUBT". As long as there exists a doubt, as long as motives and circumstantial events are not well defined and presented, I will refuse to arrive at any conclusion. I will refuse to give any verdict based on feelings, voice from God, hearsay, rumors because if I made a mistake, I will not live in peace knowing I did an INJUSTICE on someone.

I hope Filipinos would understand my position. I never went this far in my life by being wishy-washy. I stick to my principles and you can leave me alone. I will be very very fine.

But I do respect the Filipinos' wish. I am just explaining to you what I think about the heated case in the Philippines today. And how I am treating it.