Too Close for Comfort

Ironically I chose the title for this post prior to reading the story regarding jury deliberations that follows. I have to wonder if the jury would have taken more time if Judge Ebert had not hurried them along with the news he had plans to take a motorcyle trip.

Here's my post followed by the Channel 3000 story.

Many thanks to Charlie Sykes, Jessica Bucher and I Am the Force for their insightful posts regarding the verdicts against Scott Jensen and Sherry Schultz.

I spent the majority of the last three weeks inside Judge Ebert’s court watching this travesty unfold. Aside from observing oral arguments before the U.S. Supreme Court in January this was my first time inside a courtroom.

I made the decision to invest the time because I really care about these people and wanted to be supportive. I had no idea how truly horrifying the whole experience would be.

We all knew the deck was stacked against Scott and Sherry when this trial began, but after watching Judge Ebert and the prosecutors collaborate to destroy any chance these two had to put on a defense, I no longer have any faith in the criminal justice system.

When I called Scott yesterday, he was in the middle of changing his son's diaper. I said it must be one of the more pleasant things he’s done in recent weeks.

Scott said he has been buoyed by the support of friends, family and the community that re-elected him twice since the charges were filed against him.

Now it’s time for those of us who are frightened and angry to do whatever we can to help Scott and Sherry. Scott and Sherry both have significant legal bills and have established legal defense funds.

Sherry Schultz Legal Defense Fund
Murphy Desmond
Manchester Place
2 East Mifflin Street, Suite 800
Madison, WI 53703

Scott Jensen Legal Defense Fund
Stephen J. Meyer
Meyer Law Office
10 E. Doty St. #507,
Madison, WI 53703


CHANNEL 3000

http://www.channel3000.com/news/7948156/detail.html

Jensen Jury Foreman Calls Experience Intense Jury Felt Empathy For Defendants

POSTED: 10:16 pm CST March 12, 2006UPDATED: 10:58 pm CST March 12, 2006

MADISON, Wis. -- Steve Struss called his experience on the Jensen jury, "intense," knowing at every moment one man's future rested in their hands."All the jurors took notes to pay attention and stay awake," said Struss. "We chewed a lot of gum and ate a lot of candy."Over the course of two weeks jurors heard stories from 41 witnesses.When it came time to make a decision, Struss led the 12 as the jury foreman.

"We didn't take a lot of breaks," said Struss. "Even when we ate dinner, they'd bring it in and we'd eat a little bit and get back to work, even as we finished eating."
While public opinion might be easy to form when you're on the outside looking in, on the inside it took hours of deliberation because the decision had to be unanimous.

"A majority would be for guilty but quite a few would be for not guilty on the first votes on each of the counts," said Struss.That meant pulling out and reviewing notes on what witnesses said, then discussing the specifics of the charges and whether those specifics were met in the hopes of swaying someone either way.

"The pressure, the weight of that on us was quite intense," said Struss. "We had a lot of people with headaches, a lot of people with upset stomachs. It was taking a physical toll on us by the end."

It took 17 hours of deliberation to get the five guilty verdicts.And while it was a relief to hand down the verdicts, jury members said they would keep a part of the case with them forever.

"It was quite difficult for a number of jurors," said Struss. "There were tears shed because we felt empathy for the two defendants."The final two counts took most convincing for jurors.
In fact, Struss admits at one point he was ready to write a note to the judge of a hung jury. Instead, the charges were clarified and eventually 10 people swung from a vote of not guilty to guilty.