A lot of effort is involved in keeping our jurors insulated from any outside influences that could affect their opinion of the case. The Court gives them instructions that jurors cannot do any independent investigation, cannot look up or research the people involed on the internet, or do any research on legal concepts. Lawyers and investigators and ordered not to speak directly to jurors at all. Not even a “good morning” or a “hello.” We have to avoid even the appearance of inpropriety.
A jury trial is supposed to take place inside a bubble. The lawyers guide the facts as allowed by the judge and the Court instructs the jurors on the law. It’s the jury’s job to apply the law to the facts in that little bubble to see if a crime was committed-proving that is a prosecutor’s job beyond a reasonable doubt.
#8 was a battery case between two women who were involved in a road rage incident. The defendant got mad because she thought the victim’s vehicle cut her off and then refused to let the defendant pass as both vehicles traveled own Forbestown Road in rural Butte County. The defendant followed the victim into the parking lot of a grocery store and confronted the driver about it. The victim, got out of the car and between defendant and the driver, telling defendant to leave. Defendant then grabbed the victim by the hair and punched her in the face numerous times, leaving a bruise over the left eye and a clump of hair pulled out.
At trial the defendant claimed self-defense saying the victim struck first by chest bumping the defendant numerous times forcing the defendant to stand her ground.
In assaultive crimes the prosecution has to prove that it was not self-defense, which can be a tricky thing to prove. How do you prove a negative? We usually rely on the facts and circumstances of the incident-who threw the first punch, who intiated the negative conduct, the severity of injuries or their location, past history between the two parties etc. We use circumstantial evidence to show that the only reasonable conclusion was that this was not self-defense.
Defense can bring in character evidence of the victim showing they have a tendency to be violent and only then can we rebut that with character evidence of the defendant doing the same.
Self-defense is tricky. And in this case, the only witness we had who was not directly involved in the road rage incident did not see the beginning of the fight. To further complicate matters every witness in this case, including the defendant, provided slightly different versions of events; the case was three years old by the time it got to trial and while everyone tried their best to remember what happened, details fade as time passes on.
Our victim in this case testified and was put through a rather brutal cross-examination regarding her tendency towards violence. She got a little heated with defense counsel on the stand but overall handled the pressure well. What happened outside the courtroom after she was done testifying ultimately swayed this jury to a not-guilty verdict. The jury had been released for lunch and was walking out to their cars. As they did they saw our victim yelling at someone on her cell phone while standing in the hallway of the courthouse. The jury later told me they beleived that the victim was quick to anger based on how she conducted herself in their presence.
In a perfect world the jury would not have seen victim out in the hallway yelling on her cell phone. It was not part of the trial, it was not evidence, and it should not have been considered. But we don’t try cases in a perfect world and the fact of the matter is that everything that happens in a jury’s presence can and will effect the outcome. This one was outside of my control and while the inability to control this behavior was frustrating, it also taught me to be aware of what everyone involved in the trial is doing at any point in the jury trial, because we want to preserve the bubble as best we can.
Hopelessly Devoted 