A
trial had been scheduled in a small town, but the court clerk had forgotten
to call in a jury panel. Rather than adjourning what he thought was an exceptionally
simple case, the judge ordered his bailiff to go through the courthouse and
round up enough people to form a jury. The bailiff returned with a group of
lawyers.
The
prosecutor felt that it would be an interesting experiment to try a case before
a jury of lawyers, and the defense counsel had no objection, so a jury was impaneled.
And the trial went very quickly -- after only an hour of testimony, and very
short closing arguments, both sides rested. The jury was then instructed by
the judge, and was sent back to the jury room to deliberate.
After
nearly six hours, the trial court was concerned that the jury had not returned
with a verdict. The case had in fact turned out to be every bit as simple as
he had expected, and it seemed to him that they should have been back in minutes.
He sent the bailiff to the jury room, to see if they needed anything.
The
bailiff returned, and the judge asked, "Are they close to reaching a verdict?"
The
bailiff shook his head, and replied, "Your honor, they're still doing nomination
speeches for the position of foreman."
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