Voir Dire

We were called by name.
We were asked to remain in position.
We were filed singly and marched up (by elevator) to the fifteenth floor.

"All stand. Jury entering."
We entered the courtroom.
Two lawyers, a special agent, and the defendant peered at us.

We were going to undergo "voir dire."
It is an Anglo-French term for "speaking the truth."

"Ms. X, you are a software engineer?... Numbers have to be exact in your profession, correct?... And yet, you know life is not that clear-cut?"

"Mr. Z, you are a manager?... For how long?.. When a dispute occurs, do you listen to both employees?.. Why?"

As the questions rolled, it was obvious that the lawyers were trying to get a feel of our personalities and principles through our occupations and family backgrounds.

This is voir dire's purpose Judge Reed O'Connor implied in the beginning explanation.
The beauty of the American justice system is every defendant gets a trial by jury.
And lawyers on both sides try to get a jury most sympathetic to their cause.

After the questioning, it was a grueling 2 1/2 hour wait in the corridor.
We all had worries, obligations, and plans weighing on our mind.
No access to newspapers, cell phone, or internet.

Voir dire.
To speak the truth.
To speak your truth.

And hopefully your truth (and eleven others - it was a criminal case and so 12 jurors were needed) will lead to the truth.

ps1. More about the jury system:
http://www.crfc.org/americanjury/voir_dire.html
http://dictionary.law.com/Default.aspx?selected=2229
ps2. I belong to Dallas County and so was under the Northern District of Texas. We met at the Earl Cabell Federal Building. Photo courtesy of http://dallasdiorama.blogspot.com/2007_03_01_archive.html

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Life with Ashes

Image
It was time to move. Goodbye to Allen Parkway and hello to Florin Wood. Our family was moving from Houston to Sacramento. This was over 20 years ago and the day comes back with ashes. And a smell. My dad had piled all our old clothes, furniture, and knick knacks into a huge heap in front of our yard. He poured gasoline generously and lighted it with a smile. My mom looked on regretfully. All seven of us kids were delighted with the dancing flames. The neighbors didn't care. We lived in what they called the ghetto part of the world and since we were not shooting at anyone, we were okay. "We're starting a new life," my dad reassured mom as our van entered the highway. "No need to hang on the old stuff." "It was pretty dinky, wasn't it?" my mom replied hesitantly. Our years in Houston were our first years living in the United States, far away from the land of our origin, Vietnam. What dad burnt was the few possessions we accumulated fro
Read more

Teddy Bear

Image
"Dear God, I love you so much, I want to give you everything. You can have my Mom, my Dad, my sister, my teddy bear. No, I take it back. You can have everyone, but I want to keep my teddy bear." Love, Little Boy. Fr. Roch hardly lost a beat in his lecture of sin as he told his joke. Sin is putting ourselves above God. Not willing to let go. In actuality, God never wants everything. He just wants the teddy bear. What we think is necessary. Photo source: www.funkyfriendsfactory.com
Read more

Bingo!

Image
Sisters at Salerno's Artichoke Lucia.  Baked with Italian cheeses and breadcrumbs. Grilled fillet salmon on a bed of blanched spinach and mushrooms, topped with pine nuts. 8oz. marinated and charbroiled steak topped with sauteed mushrooms; served over linguine. Saturday night at Salerno's. It was time to "open community." Every year we choose a venue to celebrate the beginning of our time together as a religious community.  This year the venue chose us. "Bingo!" An almost audible gasp escaped from the surrounding tables. Sr. Leslie Thu at our table had won another bingo game. A Knight of Columbus member handed her a sealed envelope. Her eyebrows arched in delight. It was a $50 Walmart gift card. We cleared our cards and another round started. It was the Knights of Columbus Sisters Appreciation Luncheon. It was on a early Sunday afternoon. They had sent the invitation two months ago. Sr. Jacinta Ngân had "highly encouraged"
Read more