Enraged Brooklyn Federal Court Judge Gives Racist Woman Indefinite Jury Duty

[cali]

Enraged Brooklyn Federal Court Judge Gives Racist Woman Indefinite Jury Duty


An incensed federal judge sentenced a racist Brooklyn woman to indefinite jury duty on Tuesday after she trashed the NYPD and minorities.

"This is an outrage, and so are you!" Federal Judge Nicholas Garaufis told the woman, holding up her bile-filled juror questionnaire.

Juror No. 799, an Asian woman in her 20s who said she works in the garment industry, was up for jury duty in the death penalty trial of Bonanno crime boss Vincent (Vinny Gorgeous) Basciano.

It didn't take long for her to start looking worse than the defendant. Asked to name three people she least admired, she wrote on her questionnaire: "African-Americans, Hispanics and Haitians."

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http://origin.nydailynews.com/blogs/dailypolitics/2011/04/enraged-brooklyn-federal-court-judge-gives-racist-woman-indefinite-jury-duty

well, she'll be in jury purgatory. She'll keep getting kicked off juries for cause.

[joeybee12]

1. I bet she did it so she thought she could get out of jury duty by

never getting picked...

[ejpoeta]

2. i bet you are right. this was probably her attempt to get out of jury duty.

my question is, how can she be a good juror if she is forced to be a perpetual juror?

[Lyric]

4. She probably won't ever actually serve during a trial.

She'll just be in the jury pool, which means enormous inconvenience, until she learns to be respectful of our jury process.

[tuckessee]

12. It's hard to respect a jury process which is used as punishment.

Especially when the "crime" is a thought crime.

[Lyric]

13. I think you misunderstand. The "crime" isn't a thought crime.

This is a Mafia trial; people commonly say crazy things on their jury questionnaires in order to get out of having to serve. The judge obviously believes that she's saying crazy shit to get out of jury duty, and is trying to make an example of her. We all need to share that burden fairly. Sure, it's a scary prospect sometimes, especially with organized crime trials--but trying to lie your way out of it is just selfish and irresponsible. You're putting the burden on someone else and failing to shoulder your fair share of it.

[tuckessee]

17. I see what you're saying.

Thanks!:)

[Lyric]

18. Welcome!

The headline is certainly easy to misinterpret. :hi:

[backscatter712]

23. If I were the judge, I would have given her a few days of jail for contempt.

She's obviously unsuitable to be a member of a jury, so I'd screen her out, but at the same time, I wouldn't just let her go. Jail's a good place for her.

And I agree that jury duty should not be used as a punishment. Like I said, that's what jail is for.

[Nye Bevan]

32. Seriously? You want someone to go to jail for being a racist?

I don't like racists either, but I do like the First Amendment.

[backscatter712]

35. Or for trying to weasel out of the jury pool instead of doing her civic duty. n/t

[Nye Bevan]

37. How do you know that she's not really a racist?

I think it's perfectly plausible that she has those views as I have encountered people with similar attitudes myself.

It's fine to enforce the concept of jury service. But not to throw people in jail for saying they don't like people of a particular race.

[backscatter712]

38. For all we know, she may be racist AND trying to weasel out of serving on a jury.

But she's not the first person who's tried saying or writing outrageous things during jury selection on the forms or to the judge & lawyers in order to try to weasel out of being selected.

But the judge, who happens to be the person in the position to make such determinations, and granted the authority to do so, apparently decided she was trying to shirk jury duty, with the old "I'm a racist asshole so I can't rule fairly" gambit and called her out on it.

[SoCalDem]

6. I participate every year and have NEVER been picked..

but even if I were, I would probably be excused if it was a gun case, since I was robbed at gunpoint.. That lady sounds like a real piece of work..

[ejpoeta]

7. i went in for jury duty. thankfully my sister could watch my baby for me.

I am a stay at home mom and really had no child care options. I went in and watched the video. watched the stream of people go up with their excuses. then we sat for a couple hours waiting and then there was a plea deal i guess and we were all excused and safe for five years. I laughed about the people that got the exuses. Personally, save the child care issue I have no problem being on a jury. As a stay at home mom I would think of it as a vacation.

[blondeatlast]

5. That occurred to me as well. Oopsie. nt

[JackRiddler]

26. for sure.

[closeupready]

3. OMG, I was on a jury during a trial where he was the presiding judge.

He's a terrific guy, IMHO. Very fair and professional.

Big city but small world.

[David__77]

8. I don't agree with this.

There is no provision in law intended to provide for "jury duty punishment" for political offenses. Perhaps there should be. But it seems to me that she was being forthright, at least. I prefer that to the many closet racists who actually serve on juries. People should feel free to air their prejudices so they can be excluded from the jury by counsel, if need be.

[blondeatlast]

11. She was likely trying her best to get out of jury duty. I'm a HUGE fan

of poetic justice.

[Lyric]

14. She wasn't being forthright.

When the judge questioned her more closely, she even tried to claim that maybe she should have written that she was racist against her OWN race (Asian). She's obviously lying to try and get out of her civic duty.

[David__77]

19. Well, in principle...

I can understand people getting pissed with the jury duty process. It's required, but there's insufficient compensation, which makes it a real burden for many people, and skews juries toward the relatively affluent. Many people I know have tried various things to get off juries, and I understand it. What about jury nullification? That's "legal," certainly, but there have been cases of judges trying to penalize potential jurors for advocating it. Judges need to stay within their purview, in my opinion.

[Lyric]

22. This is a mafia trial.

She was trying to get out of it so that someone ELSE could be put in danger. That's the height of selfishness and cowardice. The judge saw right through her, and I agree with what he decided. Shirking your share of the burden (and the risks) of being a citizen is not behavior that should be ignored or let slide. It's natural to be afraid. It's sickening to indulge that fear at someone else's expense, especially when your chosen method is to be as offensive as possible.

I don't have a shred of sympathy for her.

[MilesColtrane]

29. Good point.

What they pay for jury duty where i live doesn't cover parking and the gas to get downtown and back, much less lost wages.

It makes it hard to contract for services when you get a jury notice.

Do you go ahead and schedule regular work around the appearance date in the hope that you won't be selected? (Of course, if you are selected, you end up canceling your work with clients who may never call you again because you're a "flake" who can't keep his word.)

Or, do you clear three or four days of all work in anticipation that you will serve? (Tough to do when you are living gig to gig and really can't turn any work that comes along.)

[Johonny]

24. I agree

making Jury duty sound like A PUNISHMENT, does nothing to help its image. And it has a pretty horrible image already with most people.

[backscatter712]

31. I agree with you on this.

Jury duty is that - a duty that is expected of all citizens. Not a punishment.

If I were the judge, I would have found the woman in contempt and thrown her in jail for what she did. Jail IS intended as punishment.

[hobbit709]

9. Maybe we'll see her on World's Dumbest.

[Generic Other]

10. Assimilationist racist!

:grr:

[Renew Deal]

15. Sounds like a half baked way to get out of jury duty.

The punishment is funny.

[Renew Deal]

16. Sounds like NY judges are tired of the excuses

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=215x176669

[myrna minx]

20. She should have never opened the lament configuration.

:D

[Donald Ian Rankin]

21. This sounds like it could get the judge into severe trouble on two counts.

1) I very much doubt jury duty is meant to be used as punishment.
2) What if she actually gets assigned to a case with a non-white plaintiff or defendant?

[cali]

25. I don't think so

and she'd just be excused for cause.

[WolverineDG]

27. Yes, but she'd have to keep showing up for jury duty

which would keep her from going to work.

Sure the judge is pissed off, & rightly so, but you can't put someone on "indefinite" jury duty as a punishment.

dg

[leveymg]

28. There was an episode of "Becker" like this. Actually, several.

Becker was stuck in the jury pool for weeks after he sounded off to the Judge on several issues of personal concern. Finally learned to keep his mouth shut and how to love daytime drama. Miss that show.

"Harry's Law" is also great, but it doesn't quite have as much strength on the bench.

[BrightKnight]

30. I had jury duty for a capital murder trial that could have lasted a very long time.

I spent all day from early morning to late afternoon filling out forms and answering very personal questions. There is no way my employer would have tolerated a long trial. I was being told to probably lose my job and house because some guy got high and probably murdered someone.

I noted that I would do my duty and that I could be fair but that the potential impact on my life was unreasonably high.

[Dawson Leery]

33. It is absurd that one could lose their career and house

because of jury duty.

[BrightKnight]

34. You don't appear to know anything about real world labor practices.

I called in sick on day in the past 5 years and they retaliated. Almost anyone that gets sick for any length of time is gone. People that use a lot of FMLA disappear. I actually talked to the person I report to before jury duty and there was NO doubt that an extended outage would not be tolerated. If I messed up her numbers she was going to get me.

The company rarely lays people off. The almost always find a way to terminate people for cause so that they don't have to pay unemployment. They have systems in place to do that.

I have done IT work for a very large company for more than 10 years. I work on many accounts that everyone would recognize.

I know people that have lost their jobs and homes. I am a single guy. How the hell am I going to pay my mortgage without a paycheck?

[Snoutport]

36. so get rid of juries?

[BrightKnight]

39. I said that "I would do my duty" and that "I could be fair."

I complied with every request to the best of may ability. Jury trials are essential.

I am in no way responsible for the unreasonable pressure that my employer puts on me. Law enforcement and the judicial system could control it if they wanted to. "Pro Business" repugs politicians don't give a damn.

There are people that are able to participate in very long trials. It is my understanding that the jury pools for such trials is very large to account for this. I hope that they are not selecting jurors with substantial real world issues.

[NYC Liberal]

40. Jury duty as a punishment? That will work out great I'm sure.

I doubt this will be held up.

[Rex]

41. I don't see how he can force undue hardship on the lady for having no class.

Sounds like he might have gone too far.

[dkf]

42. I guess being PC is so expected that expressing views contrary to that is seen as being non serious.

It beats me how anyone can tell if she was lying or not.

[backscatter712]

43. I suppose you'd have to ask the judge.

Personally, I think she was trying to bullshit her way out of jury duty. Apparently, so did the judge. She's not the first to try, and won't be the last.

[dkf]

45. I wonder what would have happened if it was a white male who said the same things.

[JonLP24]

44. If the motive isn't clear

Then I don't know the point. I'd rather people be upfront rather than hide their true feelings and be in a trial.