And now, my take-aways from last week's Herman Thomas
verdict, in which the former circuit judge walked out of
court a free man.
--You'll hear lawyers say that juries "usually get
it right." But you'll hear the same lawyers say
"you never know what a jury will do."
Apparently, jury deliberations are like sausage-making: Most
of the time the end product turns out fine, but it's
better if you don't watch.
I get the feeling that the Herman Thomas jurors got tired of
chopping and grinding, and convinced themselves that they
could acquit Thomas on some charges and kick the rest back
to the district attorney for another trial in front of
another jury.
When the remaining charges were instead dismissed, some of
them decided they didn't like how the sausage had
turned out, but it was too late.
--To hear some people say, after the verdict, that Thomas
"got off" because the blacks on the jury
wouldn't convict a fellow African-American would be
amusing if it weren't so insulting.
Such an attitude says that black Americans cannot or will
not hold themselves to the high standards of fairness and
impartiality required of jurors. Whites, on the other hand,
according to the same line of thought, have no trouble
ruling honestly and fairly.
That's not funny; that's racist.
--In addition to being a good defense attorney, Robert
"Cowboy Bob" Clark is a good performer, and his
talent paid off for his client.
It's incumbent upon prosecutors, who must prove the
charges beyond a reasonable doubt, to be serious and
methodical, even tedious, in laying out their case.