Jury Duty: Key West Style

A New Mac Travis Adventure is born

I received my first jury summons as a full time resident of the Keys. I’ve been called before, in California and Tampa. Both times were a near miss to be selected. That was okay with me. This time I actually wanted to get selected. I hoped to get a story and some characters out of the experience and I got both.

The 68 prospective jurors were quickly and randomly whittled down to thirty. As the clerk called names I was okay heading home as it was of course a nicer than usual day. I was starting to plan my fishing trip when my number was among the last few called.

The remaining 30 of us were ushered to a different courtroom where the judge had each of us answer a series of questions. I was a little wary about stating my profession as an author. I did but emphasized my 30 years as a general contractor. The judge mentioned that there were quite a few characters around the room.

I wasn’t sure if I would select me to serve, but someone did, and I was called to be one of the seven (six jurors and one alternate) jurors.

The prosecutor gave her opening statement laying out the charges and how she intended to prove them. Then things got interesting. The defendant, who chose to represent himself, though I have no idea why, stood up and went on a rant. He claimed his innocence and how the charges had already been dropped, but now he was in jail and on trial. Aside from the show, he offered no evidence to contradict the prosecutor.

The defendant did not say a word after the opening statement. He presented no case or evidence so our decision came down to whether the prosecution had established his guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

The witness are all character worthy, but I’ve got spots for Mac and Trufante.

The verdict was quick and easy relieving me of any feeling that I had done the wrong thing.

I’m not sure how many past or future jurors will get a novels worth of inspiration from a two day trial.