It doesn’t happen very often. A mistrial is declared in the process of picking a jury. 

This past week in Colquitt County Superior Court, a potential jury was asked if he knew the defendant. He said yes. Asked how, he said he arrested him when he was in law enforcement.

The gavel fell immediately and a mistrial was declared because the comment could have prejudiced the jury.

Here’s how that goes down. The potential juror was proper in his response. He was asked a question and he answered honestly … something participants in a jury trial are sworn to do.

And yes, the judge was proper in his declaration of a mistrial, because indeed a jury might have been influenced by the remarks. 

Bottom line, nothing was done wrong here. And actually it became a moot point because the defendant pled guilty the same day which saved the taxpayers a bunch of money.

Mistrials most often are declared when a jury is deadlocked and simply can’t reach a verdict or when some significant breach of process happens during testimony.

Our system of jurisprudence produces such circumstances occasionally. The system is not perfect but it works more times than it fails. And there are those safety valves that make sure the concept of “due process” dominate the system.

We will take this moment to

uplift our jury system in which a panel of our peers … not a panel of judges hear the evidence. Occasionally, a defendant will request a bench trial in which a judge will make the call. But that’s the defendant’s choice. It’s not forced upon him.

Understanding the importance of our jury system requires that we also understand the importance of intelligent people being willing to serve. It’s not unusual to hear someone offering advice on how to get out of jury duty. That’s sad given the importance of what is at stake …. sometimes it’s someone’s life. 

Our jury system is a key ingredient in our recipe for democracy. If we don’t fully embrace it, it could atrophy. Think about it.