"My next computer will have a Voir dire 1394b port in it!"
Posted on 04/25/2003 6:36:04 PM PDT by FourPeas
Jail term won't alter juror's defiant attitude Friday, April 25, 2003By Barton Deiters and Doug Guthrie
Every day, defendants leave the downtown court building to head to jail, but Thursday, it was a juror who went to the county lockup. Brian Scott Lett, a 23-year-old Alto resident who failed to show up for jury duty earlier this month, was hauled before Kent County Circuit Judge Donald Johnston Thursday and found in contempt of court. Lett was handcuffed and taken to Kent County Jail, where he remains today. Lett failed to show up for three consecutive days of jury duty starting April 7, then left an obscenity-laced response on the court's answering machine, using the F-word to indicate that he had no intention of serving on a jury. Johnston said when Lett came to court Thursday, he was abrasive and unrepentant. "Basically, he said he was too busy to be bothered with jury duty, and he just had a terrible attitude," said Johnston, who said this was the first time he could remember locking up a potential juror for contempt in his 24 years on the bench. "This was the most egregious example of the complete reverse of a sense of civic responsibility." Johnston said the three-day sentence is largely symbolic -- he could have sentenced Lett to 30 days -- but he hopes the Lowell High School graduate gets the message after his anger passes. But at least as of Thursday night, Lett had not cooled down. "I brought money expecting to pay a fine. I never thought I'd end up in jail," Lett said from jail. "It's unfair that they are locking someone up and keeping them from their work because the judge had a bad day." He said he could not show up because he had no car and it would have cost him $40 to take a cab. He also had to care for his 1-year-old daughter and did not want to miss time at his maintenance job. Lett's name was called, along with about 100 other Kent County residents, to report for duty at the Kent County Courthouse April 7-9. When jurors fail to show up for court-appointed duty and court workers cannot reach them by phone to discover the reason for their absence, an order is issued for them to appear before a judge. The judge then is the one asking the questions at a show-cause hearing. "Typically, the judge makes arrangements at the show cause for the person to serve and it's over," Circuit Court Administrator Kim Foster said. "There may be a fine here and there, but jail time is rare." Johnston said he has chewed people out from the bench who did not show up and also given out fines. Lett responded to written and telephone inquiries with two calls to the court, according to Circuit Court Jury Clerk Gail VanTimmeren. Lett originally responded by leaving an obscenity-laced message on VanTimmeren's voice-mail. "We are willing to consider some reasonable requests for exclusion from jury duty, but we don't consider, '(Expletive) jury duty, bitch,' a statement we can work with," VanTimmeren said. "We always try to be very solicitous," VanTimmeren added. "His responses were rather nasty. He was reached at his job and he said, 'I'm not coming in.'" Lett claims he had no idea that his statement was being taped and he did not mean to direct the comment at anyone in particular. VanTimmeren, who has served as jury clerk for eight years, said most people are hesitant about jury service at first. "I've had so many tell me there weren't interested in duty until they did it," she said. "At the very least, they say it was interesting. They get a taste of government they haven't had since high school civics class. There's usually a sense of pride when they finish." Johnston said he hoped Lett would learn the importance of jury duty -- a civic responsibility people have fought and died for. "I hope next time he is called, he'll show up 15 minutes early," he said. But Lett is not making the honor roll in this particular civics lesson. He said he would refuse to eat the "nasty" food in jail while he is there through Saturday. He also said he had no intention of serving on a jury. "Next time, I'm going to tell them I'm a racist mother------ and get out of it that way," Lett said.
The Grand Rapids Press
I can't imagine trying to say this with a straight face.
Then you go back to ******* jail.
I've never been a big fan of forcing people to serve. Wish they could take volunteers. I was called up for jury duty and I went (because I didn't think it was worth going through what this guy is now--jail isn't a nice place, I hear). Fortunately they didn't need me, I sat in a room with like 20 other people all day (the TV was set to Rosie O'Donnell's show, of all things) and at the end of the day they told us all we could go home.
A military draft on the other hand, and I'm sure I could come up with even more expletives than this guy did.
This is a poor blue collar guy minding a kid, with no car.
Honest jurors are removed by voir dire (jury selection).
I agree with you. Americans need to have more of a defiant spirit--if they had it, the government wouldn't get away with half the things it does. I admire the guy because he certainly has more guts than I did in that situation. Although, as I said earlier, that level of passion would be more understandable were it a military draft they wanted him for than the jury--because then they're seriously taking his life in the name of the State.
At the same time, he could have been a little more diplomatic in his phrasing, because his profanity is now being used by the media and the other goody two-shoes "civic duty" types to make him look bad.
That's true--tons of people don't show up and they don't have the resources to track them all down. He's in trouble for "making himself known" to those authorities personally--same thing that got Iraqi citizens in trouble under the Ba'athist regime--in that environment, you didn't want to be "noticed" as a dissident by the authorities.
I was once asked by a cop, while stone cold sober, if I had been drinking. Sure, I could have said, "(explative) your field sobriety test, bitch". I was completely sober, so it wasn't like I was in the wrong.
But I didn't, and if this jerk had just held his tongue, he wouldn't be in lockup. Case closed.
Johnston said when Lett came to court Thursday, he was abrasive and unrepentant.
"Basically, he said he was too busy to be bothered with jury duty, and he just had a terrible attitude," said Johnston, who said this was the first time he could remember locking up a potential juror for contempt in his 24 years on the bench. "This was the most egregious example of the complete reverse of a sense of civic responsibility."
What'd I tell you about this?
The disgraceful Circuit Judge Donald Johnston was unnecessarily cruel and should not have put this non-criminal into jail.
"My next computer will have a Voir dire 1394b port in it!"
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.