Day 2 Tues Sept 13
1st Witness
After opening remarks and then lunch, we had our first witness. He was Jerry Smith’s brother. Looked exactly like his brother who was dead. He testified that he was in bed asleep at 12:56 am on Dec. 20, 2009 Sunday (actually Sat night into the early morning Sunday). He was so sad as he retold, hearing the shot that woke him out of bed. And hearing his mother scream downstairs as his brother came through the door with blood literally pouring out of both sides of his neck. He tried to put a towel or sheet or shirt around his brother’s neck and the last words were, “they shot me”. The last time he saw his brother alive was earlier that night when his brother asked to borrow his ID so he could get some smokes.
Witness #2 was the store clerk who showed us the store video at the local Circle K where Jerry Smith bought those smokes at 12:48 that night. Eerie, very eerie. Alive one minute, dead the next. It can happen so quickly.
Very soon we heard about the life that these poor kids are living. Two brothers with their mother living in a small poor house with a white girlfriend and two little kids. The cars belong to the girlfriends and the two black boys ages 18 and 20 are NOT working. All the witnesses in this trial all tell the same story.
Witness #3 (I cannot remember the exact order, but more or less) was the first officer on the scene. I very nice man who was shocked at the amount of blood and jumped right in and tried to save the life of the boy until Fire and Rescued arrived. He had to go to the hospital for blood on hands treatment and saw Jerry Smith dead at the hospital and then returned with his dog to look for “tracks” (the smell of people sweating and running away….they claim dogs are good at this….i do not see how without some clothing of the person you are trying to track).
Witness #4 was the second officer on the scene and he tried to secure the area and start taking a “neighborhood survey”…no one saw nothing.
Witness #5 was the officer from the crime lab who labeled all the evidence on the street next to the car and the blood on the front door and inside the house. He also collected the evidence. He also took about 70 photos and we saw about 10 of them. These photos would be used throughout the entire trial.
Witness #6 was the autopsy doctor. She testified about the cause of death and we again saw some photos of Jerry Smith dead with bullet wounds on each side of his neck. She testified that the blood stains on the walls by the front door were consistent with this type of wound. She also testified that it was a large caliber bullet.
Then we had 4 witnesses. The Rimerez brothers (Mexican) who were told by Outlaw (the black defendant) that he killed someone. These two characters looked very shaky to say the least. They also visited the crime scene on Sunday with the driver of the get-a-way truck JT (Jorge Torres). Next came JT (Jorge Torres) the driver of the get-a-way truck. For some reason he was NOT charged with anything.
Since he was there when the shooting happen, he testified that Outlaw had the gun and that there was a third person with them name Daddy Mike “the mexican” who was never founded. It was JT’s testimony that we believed and that convinced us that Outlaw was guilty. It was also JT who testified that Outlaw gave him the gun to get rid of. JT gave to gun to the Rimerez brothers who gave the gun to someone else. The gun was NEVER found.
Finally we got Outlaw’s cousin. This was the worse looking of the bunch. He looked very rough and was very cocky on the witness stand. He denied everything he told the cops. He denied everything he gave in the deposition during the summer months. The judge excused the jury for the day. And court continued. It was our feeling that the judge reminded Outlaw’s cousin that he was under oath and that he was under oath when he gave his deposition….and that he was perjuring himself.
Thursday, June 28, 2012
Tuesday, June 26, 2012
A Jury of Your Peers
A Jury of Your Peers
Sat. Sept. 17, 2011
So many thoughts I have to start somewhere. Today I get an email from Manolo Hidalgo Sr. talking about presidential candidate Perry from Texas who has overseen 250 executions while governor.
And then on TV they have big news where a man in Georgia named Davis is about to be executed for a crime he committed in 1989 (I think ?) and apparently the witnesses have changed their testimonies. Even ex-president Jimmy Carter is involved.
So what topic should I address FIRST ?
Let me start with “A Jury of your Peers”.
I have had to serve jury duty 6 times over the 30 years I have lived in Tampa. 2 times I sat in a room with about 500 people and never got called, told to go home after lunch. 2 times I was called but did not serve and 2 times I served and was foreman.
All 4 times the defendant was black (sorry all my black friends prefer the term black rather than African American….although I like to say my children are German-Cuban-Americans and believe strongly that ALL Americans have a heritage…we are truly the melting pot of the world…especially in Tampa, Florida)
The first time about 20 years ago, I was called and at the time the lobby was across the street from the court house. We had to wait outside in 95 degree weather and with humidity that made it feel way over 100 !! I was wearing a suit and many of the ladies were in nice dresses. After about 5 or 10 minutes of melting in the hot sun, the ladies walking into the A/C lobby of the courthouse…and I followed. WE saw this black man coming down the corridor in an orange jump suit with chains on hands and legs. With his goatee and afro he looked like the devil. HE was guilty of something.
The judge heard that we had seen the defendant before they were able to change him into a nice suit, so he excused us after a slap on the wrist for not waiting outside the courtroom.
The second time it was a car theft trial and about 40 of us were called and questioned before lunch. After lunch we were excused because the judge said the defendant fled during lunch. The cop told us on the way out that the defendant had stolen his lawyer’s car during lunch break. We all laughed.
The third time I was chosen out of 20 people for a civil case involving JC Penny and a black woman.
The woman was suing for 1 million dollars for possible neck injury during scuffle with employee. I was chosen as the foreman and we sided with JC Penny. The jury of 6 only had one young black girl that did not say much. We deliberated for only an hour, but the group was ready to vote in the first 5 mins. The lawyer for the older black woman was terrible and lost the case. The lawyer for JC Penny was great !!
So now 3 years later, I was called to jury duty again. Over 1,000 people sitting around. They called 60 people for a criminal case. We first got asked questions as a group by the State. We had to say out loud if we had records. Some people admitted DUI others domestic violence. Then they asked about family members. Many said their husbands or brothers had been arrested for this or that. Then if we had been victims of crime. I mentioned that our house had been broken into 3 times…everyone laughed. The State asked me if I was satisfied with the police work. I said yes one time and no to the other two times. Almost half the group either had their houses broken into or car stolen. Some were raped, some walked up to the bench and talked to the judge privately.
At this point I was getting a little pissed because there were about 20 people there who should have been let go from the beginning. The guy next to me was a Merchant Marine and his ship was leaving Wed. They made him wait all day and answer all these questions. We all knew he was not going to be on the jury. This lady was pregnant and kept crying (they did left her go home early). Another man could not speak English. One lady said she did not understand anything the lawyers were saying. We ALL laughed.
The prosecutor also got rid of the old ladies who could not hear or would not be able to sit all day because of back or neck problems. Why not let them go RIGHT AWAY. No they sat around all day and answered a bunch of more questions. (In a year I will be talking to the State attorney Mr. Moody and ask him why they did not let people go right away and save us all some time)
The State spent some time asking if we understood what it meant to be a principle in a murder case. Apparently if you are driving the getaway car and someone else pulls the trigger, you are just as guilty (whether you believe in the law of not). Several people said they could NOT condemn a person if they did NOT pull the trigger themselves.
Thank goodness someone asked if this was a capital punishment case. They said NO !! thank goodness because I would refuse to serve on a jury (which is by the way unfair to all those defendants who are possible capital punishment cases).
Then came the defendant attorney. His first question was what newspaper do we read, what news show and what organizations do we belong to. I said Tampa Tribune, St Pete Times, NY Times, CNN and FOX and I belong to the Math Teachers of America. The lawyer made some remark about math.
I was surprised to hear that most of the people did NOT read the newspaper, I heard FOX a lot (very surprised…I guess Tampa is conservative after all) and most belong to Church groups.
Then he asked if we all agreed that the defendant was innocent. What ? yes, he is innocent (of course he meant in a legal sense BEFORE trial). HE asked us what would we think if we saw a person in the back seat of a police car, would we think the person did something. I raised my hand. He called my name…Manuel Suarez. You think if someone is sitting in the back seat of a cop car they did something. I said yes. Some other lady said, she would think the person was going for a car ride. So the defense attorney asked the group. Who agrees with MR. Suarez here (dam he used my name again…that was scary). Half the people rose their hand. Who agrees with Ms. Smith, the other half rose their hand.
I thought this alone would get me off the jury.
Then he asked if we were leaders or followers and if we like to compromise or stand our ground.
I said Leader and Compromise. With 60 people there we got all kinds of answers. Many said Follower and Stand my ground (which did not make sense to me).
I was very surprised that they did not ask us about being prejudice, since that was the first question they asked in the civil law suit case.
Then someone mentioned that they could not look at gory pictures. All hell broke loose. After a little discussion with both attorneys and the judge, they asked if anyone would have a hard time emotionally looking at blood and picture of a dead person. Half the people raised a concern. (Later on in the jury room, I asked the 12 people if anyone had raised concern about gory pictures. Not one, they all got off. That is NOT good for the defendant. He needs passionate, emotional and sensitive people on the jury.
Then they started choosing and I was the only one from the front row who got selected. DAM !! There was one guy at the end of my row who could barely speak English and they kept calling him Mr. Engineer…we all laughed every time they called him. No way his real name was Mr. Engineer.
They got 14 people before getting to the 5th and 6th row of people. The judge gave us some instructions and sent us home for the day. I was already exhausted emotionally and mentally and the trial had NOT even started.
Sat. Sept. 17, 2011
So many thoughts I have to start somewhere. Today I get an email from Manolo Hidalgo Sr. talking about presidential candidate Perry from Texas who has overseen 250 executions while governor.
And then on TV they have big news where a man in Georgia named Davis is about to be executed for a crime he committed in 1989 (I think ?) and apparently the witnesses have changed their testimonies. Even ex-president Jimmy Carter is involved.
So what topic should I address FIRST ?
Let me start with “A Jury of your Peers”.
I have had to serve jury duty 6 times over the 30 years I have lived in Tampa. 2 times I sat in a room with about 500 people and never got called, told to go home after lunch. 2 times I was called but did not serve and 2 times I served and was foreman.
All 4 times the defendant was black (sorry all my black friends prefer the term black rather than African American….although I like to say my children are German-Cuban-Americans and believe strongly that ALL Americans have a heritage…we are truly the melting pot of the world…especially in Tampa, Florida)
The first time about 20 years ago, I was called and at the time the lobby was across the street from the court house. We had to wait outside in 95 degree weather and with humidity that made it feel way over 100 !! I was wearing a suit and many of the ladies were in nice dresses. After about 5 or 10 minutes of melting in the hot sun, the ladies walking into the A/C lobby of the courthouse…and I followed. WE saw this black man coming down the corridor in an orange jump suit with chains on hands and legs. With his goatee and afro he looked like the devil. HE was guilty of something.
The judge heard that we had seen the defendant before they were able to change him into a nice suit, so he excused us after a slap on the wrist for not waiting outside the courtroom.
The second time it was a car theft trial and about 40 of us were called and questioned before lunch. After lunch we were excused because the judge said the defendant fled during lunch. The cop told us on the way out that the defendant had stolen his lawyer’s car during lunch break. We all laughed.
The third time I was chosen out of 20 people for a civil case involving JC Penny and a black woman.
The woman was suing for 1 million dollars for possible neck injury during scuffle with employee. I was chosen as the foreman and we sided with JC Penny. The jury of 6 only had one young black girl that did not say much. We deliberated for only an hour, but the group was ready to vote in the first 5 mins. The lawyer for the older black woman was terrible and lost the case. The lawyer for JC Penny was great !!
So now 3 years later, I was called to jury duty again. Over 1,000 people sitting around. They called 60 people for a criminal case. We first got asked questions as a group by the State. We had to say out loud if we had records. Some people admitted DUI others domestic violence. Then they asked about family members. Many said their husbands or brothers had been arrested for this or that. Then if we had been victims of crime. I mentioned that our house had been broken into 3 times…everyone laughed. The State asked me if I was satisfied with the police work. I said yes one time and no to the other two times. Almost half the group either had their houses broken into or car stolen. Some were raped, some walked up to the bench and talked to the judge privately.
At this point I was getting a little pissed because there were about 20 people there who should have been let go from the beginning. The guy next to me was a Merchant Marine and his ship was leaving Wed. They made him wait all day and answer all these questions. We all knew he was not going to be on the jury. This lady was pregnant and kept crying (they did left her go home early). Another man could not speak English. One lady said she did not understand anything the lawyers were saying. We ALL laughed.
The prosecutor also got rid of the old ladies who could not hear or would not be able to sit all day because of back or neck problems. Why not let them go RIGHT AWAY. No they sat around all day and answered a bunch of more questions. (In a year I will be talking to the State attorney Mr. Moody and ask him why they did not let people go right away and save us all some time)
The State spent some time asking if we understood what it meant to be a principle in a murder case. Apparently if you are driving the getaway car and someone else pulls the trigger, you are just as guilty (whether you believe in the law of not). Several people said they could NOT condemn a person if they did NOT pull the trigger themselves.
Thank goodness someone asked if this was a capital punishment case. They said NO !! thank goodness because I would refuse to serve on a jury (which is by the way unfair to all those defendants who are possible capital punishment cases).
Then came the defendant attorney. His first question was what newspaper do we read, what news show and what organizations do we belong to. I said Tampa Tribune, St Pete Times, NY Times, CNN and FOX and I belong to the Math Teachers of America. The lawyer made some remark about math.
I was surprised to hear that most of the people did NOT read the newspaper, I heard FOX a lot (very surprised…I guess Tampa is conservative after all) and most belong to Church groups.
Then he asked if we all agreed that the defendant was innocent. What ? yes, he is innocent (of course he meant in a legal sense BEFORE trial). HE asked us what would we think if we saw a person in the back seat of a police car, would we think the person did something. I raised my hand. He called my name…Manuel Suarez. You think if someone is sitting in the back seat of a cop car they did something. I said yes. Some other lady said, she would think the person was going for a car ride. So the defense attorney asked the group. Who agrees with MR. Suarez here (dam he used my name again…that was scary). Half the people rose their hand. Who agrees with Ms. Smith, the other half rose their hand.
I thought this alone would get me off the jury.
Then he asked if we were leaders or followers and if we like to compromise or stand our ground.
I said Leader and Compromise. With 60 people there we got all kinds of answers. Many said Follower and Stand my ground (which did not make sense to me).
I was very surprised that they did not ask us about being prejudice, since that was the first question they asked in the civil law suit case.
Then someone mentioned that they could not look at gory pictures. All hell broke loose. After a little discussion with both attorneys and the judge, they asked if anyone would have a hard time emotionally looking at blood and picture of a dead person. Half the people raised a concern. (Later on in the jury room, I asked the 12 people if anyone had raised concern about gory pictures. Not one, they all got off. That is NOT good for the defendant. He needs passionate, emotional and sensitive people on the jury.
Then they started choosing and I was the only one from the front row who got selected. DAM !! There was one guy at the end of my row who could barely speak English and they kept calling him Mr. Engineer…we all laughed every time they called him. No way his real name was Mr. Engineer.
They got 14 people before getting to the 5th and 6th row of people. The judge gave us some instructions and sent us home for the day. I was already exhausted emotionally and mentally and the trial had NOT even started.
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