When juries make sausage, watch out

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.

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