06-18-2026, 04:25 PM
I didn't get picked for the actual jury. I was picked as an alternate. I was told to report on Monday June 15th, showed up on June 16th and was released on June 18th.
The whole thing went really fast. When we were doing orientation in the Jury room of the Madera Superior Court, the judge was already asking for us to come up to his courtroom. We spent the rest of the day doing Voir Dire to impanel the jury. It took forever. While waiting to be seated I played the time honored game of picking who was going to get kicked off the jury. There was one guy who was on trial already and knew the defense attorney. There were a couple of people who very familiar with the circumstances of the defendant. I was picked second to last as the alternate. The final alternate wasn't chosen until Wednesday and then we jumped right into trial.
It was a drunk driving case where no one ever witnessed the defendant driving the vehicle. The Sheriff department rolled up on him as he was changing a flat tire because his car blocked the road. He was arrested and determined to have a blood alcohol level of .2. He claimed he had one 32oz corona about 3 hours before the blood test. Defense and prosecution stipulated to the fact he was drunk. The case hinged on whether he actually drove the car. The defendant claimed his girlfriend was driving the car, not him.
The girlfriend was the first witness. I use the term girlfriend loosely. She barely knew the defendant. According to her they were just hanging out for the first time. They had gone to Reno to a casino and were on their way back to Modesto when they go their flat tire in Madera. At the time the defendant thought they were in Sacramento. Now would be a good time to look at a map. I had tons of questions about their travel but nothing was brought up at trial.
The defendant had the keys to the car in his pocket. The defendant's phone was in the pocket in the driver's side door. When the girlfriend was put in the driver's side seat, she could barely reach the pedals. We saw video footage from the CHP officer's body cam and read transcripts where the defendant said "I pulled the car over" or "I was going to drop my girl home" or "I hit the curb". But the defendant also said multiple times my girlfriend was driving.
And that was the case. Who drove. If it was the defendant, he was drunk driving. If it was the girlfriend, the defendant goes free.
The one time girlfriend didn't seem pleased to be thrown under the bus in this case. She testified her and the defendant were doing at least five shots of Hennesy. The only inconsistency in her testimony was she said the police pulled them over rather than coming up to them after they had stopped to change the tire.
This also happened in 2020, so it's been awhile and I wonder what took so long for this to get to trial.
If I was on the jury, I would have voted to convict. But the jury, in their wisdom, came back undecided. The trial continues without me.
I think I did have one of the best moments in the court, though. No one wants to be there so I think the judge goes out of the way to be personable. He and the Prosecutor both were keen to ask personal questions during Voir Dire. If you mentioned a particular hobby, they did a couple of follow ups. They liked to ask about families and jobs. When they got to me, I got to say I was working on a Qigong martial art that focused on the groin. I was trying to be delicate. I did mention the title was Iron Crotch. And the judge kind of stopped and processed that information and said "I don't know if I want to ask any questions about that". I told him not to be afraid. He moved on to other subjects.
Although, it was over a 100º outside, I could have worn a jacket in the courtroom. It was freezing. My knees were not happy going up the stairs to the courtroom multiple times. On the first day, security confiscated my metal spoon, that I brought to eat my lunchtime yogurt, because utensils are not allowed in the courthouse.
The whole thing went really fast. When we were doing orientation in the Jury room of the Madera Superior Court, the judge was already asking for us to come up to his courtroom. We spent the rest of the day doing Voir Dire to impanel the jury. It took forever. While waiting to be seated I played the time honored game of picking who was going to get kicked off the jury. There was one guy who was on trial already and knew the defense attorney. There were a couple of people who very familiar with the circumstances of the defendant. I was picked second to last as the alternate. The final alternate wasn't chosen until Wednesday and then we jumped right into trial.
It was a drunk driving case where no one ever witnessed the defendant driving the vehicle. The Sheriff department rolled up on him as he was changing a flat tire because his car blocked the road. He was arrested and determined to have a blood alcohol level of .2. He claimed he had one 32oz corona about 3 hours before the blood test. Defense and prosecution stipulated to the fact he was drunk. The case hinged on whether he actually drove the car. The defendant claimed his girlfriend was driving the car, not him.
The girlfriend was the first witness. I use the term girlfriend loosely. She barely knew the defendant. According to her they were just hanging out for the first time. They had gone to Reno to a casino and were on their way back to Modesto when they go their flat tire in Madera. At the time the defendant thought they were in Sacramento. Now would be a good time to look at a map. I had tons of questions about their travel but nothing was brought up at trial.
The defendant had the keys to the car in his pocket. The defendant's phone was in the pocket in the driver's side door. When the girlfriend was put in the driver's side seat, she could barely reach the pedals. We saw video footage from the CHP officer's body cam and read transcripts where the defendant said "I pulled the car over" or "I was going to drop my girl home" or "I hit the curb". But the defendant also said multiple times my girlfriend was driving.
And that was the case. Who drove. If it was the defendant, he was drunk driving. If it was the girlfriend, the defendant goes free.
The one time girlfriend didn't seem pleased to be thrown under the bus in this case. She testified her and the defendant were doing at least five shots of Hennesy. The only inconsistency in her testimony was she said the police pulled them over rather than coming up to them after they had stopped to change the tire.
This also happened in 2020, so it's been awhile and I wonder what took so long for this to get to trial.
If I was on the jury, I would have voted to convict. But the jury, in their wisdom, came back undecided. The trial continues without me.
I think I did have one of the best moments in the court, though. No one wants to be there so I think the judge goes out of the way to be personable. He and the Prosecutor both were keen to ask personal questions during Voir Dire. If you mentioned a particular hobby, they did a couple of follow ups. They liked to ask about families and jobs. When they got to me, I got to say I was working on a Qigong martial art that focused on the groin. I was trying to be delicate. I did mention the title was Iron Crotch. And the judge kind of stopped and processed that information and said "I don't know if I want to ask any questions about that". I told him not to be afraid. He moved on to other subjects.
Although, it was over a 100º outside, I could have worn a jacket in the courtroom. It was freezing. My knees were not happy going up the stairs to the courtroom multiple times. On the first day, security confiscated my metal spoon, that I brought to eat my lunchtime yogurt, because utensils are not allowed in the courthouse.
As a matter of fact, my anger does keep me warm
