COULD YOU PASS A “COURT OF LAW” BENCHMARK? Qualified to Decide

I was called for jury duty this year. In the State of Colorado this is one of the duties of every citizen and each year I am always hoping that I will be in town and have the time for it if I’m called. Over the years I’ve been on three juries, the foreman each time, and have been through 7 or 8 court processes without being on the final jury. In the US democracy, everybody has the right to have a court hearing and often the choice for “a jury of your peers” trial rather than a trial solely by a judge.

Anyway in October this year, 55 of us were called in and we sat through 7 hours of court procedures for a criminal case. In the process, the District Judge of the case, Thomas Deister, so happened to be a personal friend and actually one of four key persons who brought me to Grand Junction originally in 1984. While Tom is my age, his hair has turned completely white and with his full white beard which is very nicely trimmed, he is the picture of a wise judge.