Jury Pool

This country gives every citizen the opportunity to vote. It's an opportunity individuals have the freedom to accept or not. Because jury duty is tied to voter registration, it, too, has become an option people can accept or evade.It ought not to be. Jury duty isn't an exercise for the civic-minded only. It is an essential part of this country's system of justice and a responsibility common to every adult who lives here.That is a good reason to support Anne Arundel County public defender Alan R. Friedman's suggestion that the juror pool be expanded beyond voter registration lists to include Motor Vehicle Administration registration lists as well.

Nothing, besides the approach of a snowstorm or a rush-hour fender-bender on the Beltway, elicits more groans from Baltimoreans than the summons to jury duty, and I'm not sure why, except that we like to bellyache about stuff. When you think about it, we're not asked to do that much as citizens - separate trash from recyclables and set them on the curb, vote every couple of years, pay our taxes on time, sit on a jury once in a great while (more frequently if you live in the city)

WASHINGTON -- Two Marine Corps officers in the jury pool for the sexual misconduct military trial of a former Naval Academy football player said yesterday that they believe the school's superintendent wants a guilty verdict in the case. "I think he's already made up his mind," said one officer, who added that he suspected Vice Adm. Rodney P. Rempt had brought charges to make an example out of Kenny Ray Morrison, 24. After declaring that his perception would not influence him as a juror, the officer was added to the panel.

About 320 Anne Arundel County residents were scheduled to complete jury questionnaires Friday in preparation for the upcoming criminal trial of County Executive John R. Leopold. Leopold, in the midst of his second term, is fighting charges that he used his taxpayer-funded police security detail to arrange sexual liaisons and to defeat political opponents. His trial on four counts of misconduct in office and fraudulent misappropriation is scheduled to begin in mid-January. Advance questionnaires for potential jurors are typically used in high-profile, death penalty or complicated cases in which a large number of people will be called for jury duty.

With a murder trial due to begin next week in the starvation death of 9-year-old Rita Denise Fisher, the Baltimore County Circuit Court is preparing to question 300 potential jurors -- one of the largest pools in county history."

Nothing, besides the approach of a snowstorm or a rush-hour fender-bender on the Beltway, elicits more groans from Baltimoreans than the summons to jury duty, and I'm not sure why, except that we like to bellyache about stuff. When you think about it, we're not asked to do that much as citizens - separate trash from recyclables and set them on the curb, vote every couple of years, pay our taxes on time, sit on a jury once in a great while (more frequently if you live in the city)

The Web site and sales pitch solicited something unusual: jurors. Through the official Web site of the Baltimore Circuit Court and by spreading the word in courthouse hallways during one month this year, a jury commissioner and a judge sought volunteers as a way to fill the city's shallow jury pool. "Some citizens who have not been randomly selected in recent years to serve as a Petit Juror may wish to volunteer their service," a printable form on the Internet site read. "Such civic consciousness is greatly appreciated."

It was Jury Duty: Celebrity Edition in Baltimore Circuit Court on Tuesday. Both Michael Phelps and Duff Goldman had their numbers picked for the jury pool at the downtown courthouse. Phelps' presence created such a buzz that other prospective jurors and employees throughout the courthouse started streaming in to take his picture, according to Maj. Sam Cogen of the sheriff's office. “People were using their cell phones [to take pictures], bothering him - including police,” Cogen said.

A Baltimore Circuit Court judge reprimanded three people yesterday for not showing up for jury duty this year, ordering them to appear for a day's service in June or serve time in jail. Judge John C. Themelis, who oversees the city's jurors, also said he plans to hold monthly hearings to deal with the growing problem of deadbeat jurors, estimated to be in the hundreds each day. "You are going to appear for jury duty," Themelis told the three jurors. "And if you don't show up, you will be detained until I see you, and then I'll put you in jail."

EASTON -- Jury selection began yesterday for the sentencing of a North Carolina man who pleaded guilty to the October fatal shooting of a state trooper in Somerset County.Attorneys for Ivan F. Lovell, 25, requested that a jury decide whether he will face life imprisonment or the death penalty for shooting Trooper Edward A. Plank Jr. during a traffic stop near Westover.In death penalty cases, the defendant is allowed to choose whether a judge or jury will pronounce sentence. If the jury chooses death, the verdict must be unanimous.

It was Jury Duty: Celebrity Edition in Baltimore Circuit Court on Tuesday. Both Michael Phelps and Duff Goldman had their numbers picked for the jury pool at the downtown courthouse. Phelps' presence created such a buzz that other prospective jurors and employees throughout the courthouse started streaming in to take his picture, according to Maj. Sam Cogen of the sheriff's office. “People were using their cell phones [to take pictures], bothering him - including police,” Cogen said.

There was a time when city residents only had to do jury duty every 18 months if they reported for duty and weren't selected for a trial. If they served on a jury they weren't called for another three years. Now residents are called for duty every year. My co-worker received a summons for late summer after having served last fall. When she called the courthouse she was informed there was a "new system" that did not include the dates of residents' previous service, so that many people were being called back within a year.

Jury selection began Wednesday in the retrial of Travers and Tremayne Johnson, brothers accused of setting fire to a pit bull, and it was expected to be a challenge given media coverage of the case. Baltimore Circuit Judge Emanuel Brown called a pool of about 80 potential jurors, about 40 more than usual, because he expects many to be disqualified for having previous knowledge of or opinions on the case. A hung jury caused a mistrial in 2011, covered extensively in newspapers and on local television.

Opening statements in the high-profile trial of George W. Huguely V, charged with murder in the death of his former University of Virginia girlfriend, are expected Wednesday in Charlottesville Circuit Court. Attorneys plan to complete the jury selection process first thing in the morning. They spent the past two days methodically selecting potential jurors from a pool of about 160, working well beyond business hours to find objective candidates who hadn't already formed an opinion about Huguely's guilt or innocence based on media reports.

At 7:40 p.m. Jan. 17, a police officer pulled his marked cruiser to a corner on Woodbine Avenue in Northwest Baltimore, got out and approached Antonio Walker-Bey, a face so familiar he knew him by his nickname. The officer, standing three to five feet away, said he saw the young man toss something to the ground and quickly walk away. Officer Alexi A. Correa picked up three small ziplock bags. One contained three pieces of crack cocaine, another, seven pieces of crack, and the third, five caps of heroin.

Baltimore Circuit Judge Wanda K. Heard knew it would be difficult to find a panel of jurors who hadn't heard about the case of Mark Castillo, who is charged with murder in the drowning deaths of his three children at an Inner Harbor hotel last year. But if Thursday was an indicator, it might just be impossible. Jury selection began about 10:30 a.m., when 145 people filed into Room 400 of the Clarence M. Mitchell Jr. Courthouse, two floors down from Heard's usual courtroom and at least two times bigger.

Republican Del. Tanya Thornton Shewell, who was appointed to the General Assembly in August 2004, will campaign for the District 5A seat this year. "I have learned that I can do the job and that I can accomplish things for the people of Carroll County," Shewell said. "Carroll County has a set of values and issues that are unique to it. I match those well, especially in terms of families." Shewell, 61, has worked behind the scenes in the Republican Party for nearly all of the 30 years she has lived in the county.

About 320 Anne Arundel County residents were scheduled to complete jury questionnaires Friday in preparation for the upcoming criminal trial of County Executive John R. Leopold. Leopold, in the midst of his second term, is fighting charges that he used his taxpayer-funded police security detail to arrange sexual liaisons and to defeat political opponents. His trial on four counts of misconduct in office and fraudulent misappropriation is scheduled to begin in mid-January. Advance questionnaires for potential jurors are typically used in high-profile, death penalty or complicated cases in which a large number of people will be called for jury duty.

The day after a man with a history of escape attempts tried to flee a courtroom as his murder trial was getting under way, a Howard County Circuit Court judge dismissed the entire jury pool and asked the lawyers whether he should recuse himself from the case. Brandon T. Morris, 21, tried to escape from Judge Dennis M. Sweeney's courtroom during jury selection Thursday. Two sheriff's deputies and two potential jurors received minor injuries during the ruckus, which resulted in Morris being wrestled to the floor by security officers.

WASHINGTON -- Two Marine Corps officers in the jury pool for the sexual misconduct military trial of a former Naval Academy football player said yesterday that they believe the school's superintendent wants a guilty verdict in the case. "I think he's already made up his mind," said one officer, who added that he suspected Vice Adm. Rodney P. Rempt had brought charges to make an example out of Kenny Ray Morrison, 24. After declaring that his perception would not influence him as a juror, the officer was added to the panel.