More Show Trials

We have more U.S. show trials coming soon to a theater [court] near you. Why pay to go to the movies when you can view surrealistic fictional events in courtrooms all over the country any week day?


The odds are set high against any defendant that opts to go to trial in a U.S. kangaroo court. Court participants are often angered at the audacity of the defendant to exercise the right to trial, and if that defendant loses, the sentence is usually 10 times any previously offered plea deal. This is, of course, why 95% of defendants in criminal cases succumb to the plea bargain; regardless of innocence or guilt.

If the defendant wins in a jury trial the intelligence level of the jurors is questioned and often the win is attributed to the inability of prosecutors to include specific evidence in the presentation to the jury. What about the defense being denied the inclusion of evidence favorable to the defendant? In my own trial jurors never got to read Dusty's Sworn Statement, and prosecutors proceeded on the pretense that all witnesses were there voluntarily knowing that it was a lie. Of course that was far from the only false pretense of this trial.

Admittedly, taking a case to trial is scary from any defendant's perspective. The trial has little to do with innocence, guilt, or anything in-between. It is all in the presentation to the jury and the jurors' perception of the presentation by defense attorneys and prosecutors. Perception of the level of deceit proffered by either side is what sways the opinion of most jurors, though there are some that decide the case before the trial actually begins – this is the problem juror that a defense attorney must weed-out and exclude during voir dire.

Choosing the jury is of main importance in any trial. It has been stated that once the jury is selected the trial is almost over. Indeed this is true as defense attorneys and prosecutors are not necessarily seeking total impartiality. There are not many people that are absolutely impartial. Our past experiences in life make us the people that we are, thus eliminating total impartiality. Selecting the jury is an exercise is psychology, a give and take, and an understanding that open-minded fairness is probable for the potential juror.

I often wonder what type of jury my attackers believe that I had. From the moment that I was acquitted I have heard a variety of misconceptions concerning the trial jury. I rarely, if ever, speak about the jury in the case in respect for their privacy, but there's nothing disrespectful about offering a general fact now and again. One of my jurors was in her sixties and retired from the Orange County Sheriff's Office. Remember now – the jury reached "not guilty" verdicts on both counts in less than an hour after listening to the state for 8 days and me for 1 day, and of course the opening and closing statements.

What does that tell you about jury perception of the State of Florida's case and its prosecutors?

Coming soon - a discussion of trial witnesses