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Popular Threads
If it is ok for the ruling class to invalidate the actions of their past and state it has no bearing on the present, why can't everyone else?
There are no standards anymore, Rich. Everything is grey. So get off your high horse. You have no right to sit in judgement of these people no matter how much they 'disgust' you.
And beleive me, Ryan will not serve one day in the pen, and it won't be because of these jurors.
Many a pundit has complained that Fitzgerald is criminalizing politics. I'd argue there is a movement afoot to criminalize jury duty.
If George is unsuccessful on his appeal I look forward to the apologies offered by those that are demonizing the jurors. The apologies will probably come right after George finally and publicly accepts responsibility for his misdeeds.
I only wish there had been one-tenth of the outrage in the 1990s over George Ryan's crimes while in public office as we are seeing now about the conduct of regular citizens sitting in a jury box. Maybe we could have avoided this whole disaster if Ryan had been hounded from office back then.
I was sickened when they were interviewing the jurors after the trial and one was asked "Was it hard to stay away from the news?" and he replied, "No, that's why they picked me." I don't know if George is innocent or guilty, but I don't want idiots making that decision.
12 people spoke with one voice after the two dissenters were kicked off.
If only one of them had been left on there probably on there would have been no verdict.
I think Ryan is guilty but he should and probably will get off in the interest of fairness and the "process".
• The salvation of our judicial system is criminal background checks. We can thank George Ryan for exposing this glaring weakness and helping us to find the solution. But wait, the questionnaire was huge and criminal history is only a fraction of the information needed.
• Criminal background checks will not always show information regarding driving violations including driving with a suspended, expired or revoked license, speeding ECT. Running MVR’s is vital when determining a fit jurist.
• We will need to get their accident reports from the insurance CLUE system. This information is neccessary to determine if the jurist has ever been sued for bodily injury or property damage.
• Come to think of it, we better check to see if he has any unpaid parking tickets, city sticker violations or run ins with municipalities which might influence the jurist decisions. Let’s not forget about building code violations. Those can also prejudice a jurist.
• There are financial questions regarding judgments, bankruptcies and collections etc. will be verified by a credit report.
• Medical questions will be verified via the insurance health and life insurance reporting history. That information is usually incomplete, however, so ordering medical records will be vital to determining truthfulness and fitness for service.
• Employment questions will need to be verified by an outside firm but we can save money by having the same firm verify education statements.
• I know this can be touchy but we will need to determine the mental health of the jurists. This can be difficult because many times this is not reported. A qualified private investigative firm can interview family, friends and neighbors to determine any unusual behavior. If a jurist is suspected of being mentally unstable a qualified analyst will determine truthfulness and fitness.
• We will need to verify foreign born citizen’s historical information which will be quite costly and we should possibly consider only allowing US born citizens to serve.
• Individuals suspected of being of mixed race will need DNA testing to determine what percentage of each particular race they are.
• Background checks to determine whether jurist belong to any subversive groups will need to be performed to ascertain whether the jurist can fairly render a decision.
• Question involving the use of illegal drugs will need to be verified by standard drug testing.
They lied. And subsequently, compromised a case.
I don't know what it is about people these days who a) don't own up to their mistakes, and b) don't realize or acknowledge that their mistakes can and will affect others. No man is an island unto himself.
Let's say you were hauled in (mistakenly) for battery. You are innocent but you get booked, finger printed, post bond and go home with a court date. Your court date comes along and the jury finds you innocent of smacking that police officer in the mouth. You would be a happy camper wouldn't you? It was the correct verdict after all. But wait. Two weeks later you get summonded to go back and redo the whole thing because there were some idiot jurors who lied on their forms. So there you are staring at a possible guilty verdict, quality time in the county lock-up, extra lawyer costs, the whole ball of wax, just because some idiot "forgot" they beat the crap out of their sister. Leave the Ryan case out of this. This is just you as an individual. Wouldn't you be a bit upset at getting a double hosing because of a juror or two who are lying idiots or worse, pathalogical liars? Or would you just shrug your shoulders and say "Oh well, s**t happens."
You would be wondering why no one checked this out before your first trial. No doubt about it. If the jurors committed perjury and it jeopardizes a verdict, what can possibly be right about the juror's illegal actions? Nothing - you just don't do it, you don't commit an illegal act when you are responsible for deciding another persons future. Whether guilty of innocent.
It would make me worried to be judged and have my future decided by my "peers" when they can't even figure out the difference between right and wrong when filling out a slip of paper.
Former assistant state's attorney?
"purjor"?
Can you use "Spiel Chuck"?
Nobody in this country is promised a perfect trial, only a fair one. Can anyone argue that George Ryan with his free $15 million defense team (don't forget the 10 million figure was from months ago) didn't receive a fair trial. Give me a break.
Frankly, if there's anyone to blame for this jury problem, it's the defense counsel (who I don't think did a particularly good job anyway). You know they spent gobs of money on jury consultants. They couldn't spend a few hundred to run quickie background checks on the jurors AT THE START OF THE TRIAL. That was the right time to investigate this and complain about it where appropriate. This was all available to even the lamest investigators.
These problems are no reason for the Ryan defense team to be putting the jurors through the public mill like this. It's disgraceful. Jury service is not a gift, it's a chore and in the case of a multi-month trial, it's an enormous chore. Who can afford to give up that kind of time? I've got jury duty next week and I can't even afford to give up the day.
I think these people should be thanked for their service, and gently chastised about being more forthcoming in the future. The court and the lawyers should then learn their lessons and move on because NONE of the questions raised change the facts of the case and they shouldn't change the result.
And while we're at it, George better start demonstrating a little bit of contrition if he doesn't want to die in jail. Right now, he has an audience of one (Pallmeyer) and he needs to start playing to that audience.
Very funny - I noticed that myself. Maybe that's why he's a "former" state's attorney.
You're right - their motions were made before. But not until after the trial was over and the deliberations were underway. I still say it was way too late for that and they should have done their homework at the beginning. And if you think it's not the defense lawyers leaking this stuff to the press I've got a few lovely bridges to sell you over the Chicago River. They have a great view and I own the title. Really I do.
Journalist are great at holding others accountable, but they're not so tough on themselves.
And, by the way, is the Tribune going to explain why they were successful in finding dirt on jurors who just so happened to be sympathetic to Ryan (which led to them being dismissed,) and not so successful in exposing the past of jurors who voted to convict? Was it sloppy reporting? Or, as Rich Miller and others are wondering, was the information on the dismissed jurors leaked to them by the feds?
Please explain, Tower dwellers.
"According to court records, U.S. District Judge Rebecca Pallmeyer ordered FBI background checks on jurors after issues were brought up in the press about the alleged criminal records of two jurors during deliberations. The two jurors were removed, and deliberations restarted.
The checks apparently led to revelations about the pasts of four other jurors who did not reveal previous court issues on the surveys used by attorneys picking the panel. Those jurors were not removed, despite defense arguments for a mistrial."
"Nobody's prefect."
"But it seems that Pallmeyer removed the ones where their lies could have created unfair prejudices for or against (particularly the one where the person repeatedly had their license suspended by the SOS office)."
This statment doesn't hold water because that was not the ONLY juror removed. Im not so sure what the Judge was thinking, but I'm sure she's reviewing transcripts as we speak, trying to figure it out. Once again, a lie is a lie is a lie, no matter what the substance!!!!!!
However, I do like the basic concept that if I do lots of good things I should qualify for a get out of jail card for whatever offense I did. Yeah, that's reality. Maybe George can get a political patronage favor from a follower who will do his jail time. He apparently had lots of people willing to do stuff for him before.
Someone should correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think jury questionnaires are filled out under penalty of perjury. They take an oath when the trial begins, but that's different. You can't prosecute someone for perjury based on what they wrote on a jury form. Perhaps they should, though that seems a bit extreme. I still say the onus is on the lawyers in the case.
In order to better evaluate this situation, it would be best to review whatever transcripts may exist of the voir dire of the jury pool for this trial. Perhaps an enterprising journalist like Rich Miller could begin to dig into it. It would help us all understand how we ended up with this specific jury.
Rich, I am with you on this one. This is a very serious issue.
He lost.
For those who don't like it "Boo freakin hoo"