| Biographical Non-Fiction posted January 30, 2022 | Chapters: |
...144 145 -146- 147... 
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I am called to serve on a jury.
A chapter in the book Remembering Yesterday
Jury Duty
by BethShelby
For new readers, who may not have read my author notes, this is written in a conversational way as I talk to my deceased husband. When I refer to someone just as "you" this means I am addressing my husband, Evan.
During the month of March, Don and Kimberly were talking about moving to Michigan. Don thought it was the state where he wanted to start his chiropractic practice. Kimberly’s sister lived there with her husband. We never knew all the details, but when her sister, Shana, left Chattanooga, she severed her ties with Jane, their mother. Kimberly and Shana remained close, and her sister bought a lot of cute and expensive outfits for the baby. She had a good job in Michigan, and she told Kimberly she would be guaranteed a job if they would move there.
We didn’t say anything negative about the move when they mentioned it, but we were hoping they wouldn’t move so far away. I know Jane didn’t want them to move. Since she wasn’t welcome in Michigan by Shana, she was unlikely to see much of her first grandchild.
In the middle of March, I was called back in to court to fill out the application for the jury duty. The computer had picked 120 people at random to serve, or give reasons why they couldn’t serve. I was one of sixty who wasn’t eliminated and was told to return the following Tuesday. When I returned, they were down to 60 prospective jurors, from which they would pick twelve and four alternates for the upcoming trial. I didn’t expect to be chosen, but mine was the sixth name called, out of thirty-five who would be questioned by the judge and the trial lawyers.
The trial was a criminal case with five defendants and three federal lawyers, who were the prosecuting attorneys. There were five defense lawyers; one for each of the five people who were accused. One of the accused was a renowned University of Tennessee professor of Space Technology. He owned a business which operated using government contracts. Another man, also implicated, was a professor emeritus, and he too had a business that benefited from government contracts.
These two men were accused of granting three students, who were working on master degrees, their degrees, without them doing the required work. The prosecution claimed these students were in a position of being able to swing government contracts in exchange for their degrees. They were charged with having their thesis and dissertations given to them to pass off as their own work. The professors and the students would be charged on numerous counts, and the trial was expected to last a month or more.
The judge and six of the lawyers questioned all thirty-five of us extensively. The lawyers kept dismissing certain individuals for reasons I didn’t understand. Finally, there were only sixteen of us left. I was assigned to be one of the twelve who would serve and the four others were alternates. By the time the questioning was over, I had a splitting headache. It was a combination of tension from the questions I had to answer, and the fact the early spring pollen count was extremely high. Earlier, I was eager to be chosen, but by this time, I was starting to have serious doubts.
They dismissed us for lunch, and I went with a couple of the other ladies. Food helped ease my headache. I was on a starvation diet and trying to lose weight for an upcoming class reunion in May. From that day on, one of the ladies started bringing food for us to munch on during the breaks, and other members pitched in for doughnuts with our free morning coffee. My diet went down the drain.
The afternoon session consisted of caution from the judge to not discuss the trial among ourselves or anyone else. We were to avoid newspapers and other media stories concerning the case. Afterward, the lawyers gave their opening statements. The judge was a likable man who joked a lot, much to my surprise. All of the lawyers seemed pleasant, as well. The jurors were a general assortment from all ages and walks of life. My opinion regarding them was still out at this point.
The following day, the prosecution began calling witnesses. The first was a very nervous student who had flunked out of the doctorate program. He was in the Navy at the space station in Florida. He claimed the professor had hinted that if he had influence sending government contracts to certain businesses, he could have a doctorate dissertation written for him, which would guarantee him a degree.
The prosecution had many witnesses and their testimonies were long and often very boring. One was from a lady employed by the professor’s business. She told about the day the FBI came, seized documents, and asked the professor to leave. She claimed he refused to leave and got on his computer and began erasing everything. The FBI eventually took all the computers and closed the business down.
After each witness was questioned, the defense got their turn. Often they were able to make it seem the witness was lying, or had something to gain by testifying for the prosecution. Only two of the three students on trial were present. The third student was in hospice with terminal cancer, so less was said implicating him than for the other two.
The case against the professors was compelling, but the two students claimed the work they turned in was their own, and that they were never approached by the professors and never agreed to send any government work their way. Both of the students seemed very intelligent. I found it hard to believe they would agree to such an arrangement. One was a lady in her twenties and the other was a man in his late thirties.
The testimonies and questioning went on from nine in the morning until around five in the afternoon every week day, for six long weeks. We got a much needed fifteen or twenty-minute break in the mornings and afternoons.
It seemed to me by the time the defense got around to presenting their case, most of the jurors were tired and had made up their minds that everyone was guilty. They were ready for this trial to be over.
When the students took the stand, I was impressed with their testimonies and the fact that the prosecution wasn’t able to shake them. They claimed the professor had changed some of the wording on their work, in order to make it seem he was doing them a favor. They asserted they had no intention of sending any work his way. No work was ever proven to have been given to the professors. I was disappointed in the judge, because it seemed to me, he was prejudiced in favor of the prosecution. He was giving the defense lawyers a hard time.
On the nineteenth of April, something happened that shook us all. As we were about to be dismissed for lunch the judge informed us that there had been a bombing at a courthouse in Oklahoma. Security was being tightened in all the courthouses around the nation. We learned more about the Oklahoma bombing later in the day.
The following morning when we came in, there were guards around the courthouse and a camera and scanners had been installed. Each of us had a metal detector run over our bodies as we entered. This was the beginning of a tightening of security which has only continued to increase over time.
This Is Us:
Evan is 66 and a retired drafting supervisor from Chevron Oil.
Beth is 57 and has had a variety of jobs. She is presently working temporary jobs.
Carol is 32, recently divorced, and a nurse, working at a hospital in Chattanooga and living in an apartment.
Don is a twin. He is 31, a recent graduate of Life Chiropractic College
Christi is Don’s twin. She is working as a receptionist at a chemical company and doing massages on the side.
Kimberly s Don’s wife. She is a nurse working in Atlanta. She gave birth to their first child in October '94,
Lauren Elizabeth Jane Shelby is Don and Kimberly's new baby (5 mos.)
Connie is our youngest daughter. She is twenty-one. She and a junior in college.
Jane is Kimberly's mother. Shana is Kimberly's sister.
For new readers, who may not have read my author notes, this is written in a conversational way as I talk to my deceased husband. When I refer to someone just as "you" this means I am addressing my husband, Evan.
During the month of March, Don and Kimberly were talking about moving to Michigan. Don thought it was the state where he wanted to start his chiropractic practice. Kimberly’s sister lived there with her husband. We never knew all the details, but when her sister, Shana, left Chattanooga, she severed her ties with Jane, their mother. Kimberly and Shana remained close, and her sister bought a lot of cute and expensive outfits for the baby. She had a good job in Michigan, and she told Kimberly she would be guaranteed a job if they would move there.
We didn’t say anything negative about the move when they mentioned it, but we were hoping they wouldn’t move so far away. I know Jane didn’t want them to move. Since she wasn’t welcome in Michigan by Shana, she was unlikely to see much of her first grandchild.
In the middle of March, I was called back in to court to fill out the application for the jury duty. The computer had picked 120 people at random to serve, or give reasons why they couldn’t serve. I was one of sixty who wasn’t eliminated and was told to return the following Tuesday. When I returned, they were down to 60 prospective jurors, from which they would pick twelve and four alternates for the upcoming trial. I didn’t expect to be chosen, but mine was the sixth name called, out of thirty-five who would be questioned by the judge and the trial lawyers.
The trial was a criminal case with five defendants and three federal lawyers, who were the prosecuting attorneys. There were five defense lawyers; one for each of the five people who were accused. One of the accused was a renowned University of Tennessee professor of Space Technology. He owned a business which operated using government contracts. Another man, also implicated, was a professor emeritus, and he too had a business that benefited from government contracts.
These two men were accused of granting three students, who were working on master degrees, their degrees, without them doing the required work. The prosecution claimed these students were in a position of being able to swing government contracts in exchange for their degrees. They were charged with having their thesis and dissertations given to them to pass off as their own work. The professors and the students would be charged on numerous counts, and the trial was expected to last a month or more.
The judge and six of the lawyers questioned all thirty-five of us extensively. The lawyers kept dismissing certain individuals for reasons I didn’t understand. Finally, there were only sixteen of us left. I was assigned to be one of the twelve who would serve and the four others were alternates. By the time the questioning was over, I had a splitting headache. It was a combination of tension from the questions I had to answer, and the fact the early spring pollen count was extremely high. Earlier, I was eager to be chosen, but by this time, I was starting to have serious doubts.
They dismissed us for lunch, and I went with a couple of the other ladies. Food helped ease my headache. I was on a starvation diet and trying to lose weight for an upcoming class reunion in May. From that day on, one of the ladies started bringing food for us to munch on during the breaks, and other members pitched in for doughnuts with our free morning coffee. My diet went down the drain.
The afternoon session consisted of caution from the judge to not discuss the trial among ourselves or anyone else. We were to avoid newspapers and other media stories concerning the case. Afterward, the lawyers gave their opening statements. The judge was a likable man who joked a lot, much to my surprise. All of the lawyers seemed pleasant, as well. The jurors were a general assortment from all ages and walks of life. My opinion regarding them was still out at this point.
The following day, the prosecution began calling witnesses. The first was a very nervous student who had flunked out of the doctorate program. He was in the Navy at the space station in Florida. He claimed the professor had hinted that if he had influence sending government contracts to certain businesses, he could have a doctorate dissertation written for him, which would guarantee him a degree.
The prosecution had many witnesses and their testimonies were long and often very boring. One was from a lady employed by the professor’s business. She told about the day the FBI came, seized documents, and asked the professor to leave. She claimed he refused to leave and got on his computer and began erasing everything. The FBI eventually took all the computers and closed the business down.
After each witness was questioned, the defense got their turn. Often they were able to make it seem the witness was lying, or had something to gain by testifying for the prosecution. Only two of the three students on trial were present. The third student was in hospice with terminal cancer, so less was said implicating him than for the other two.
The case against the professors was compelling, but the two students claimed the work they turned in was their own, and that they were never approached by the professors and never agreed to send any government work their way. Both of the students seemed very intelligent. I found it hard to believe they would agree to such an arrangement. One was a lady in her twenties and the other was a man in his late thirties.
The testimonies and questioning went on from nine in the morning until around five in the afternoon every week day, for six long weeks. We got a much needed fifteen or twenty-minute break in the mornings and afternoons.
It seemed to me by the time the defense got around to presenting their case, most of the jurors were tired and had made up their minds that everyone was guilty. They were ready for this trial to be over.
When the students took the stand, I was impressed with their testimonies and the fact that the prosecution wasn’t able to shake them. They claimed the professor had changed some of the wording on their work, in order to make it seem he was doing them a favor. They asserted they had no intention of sending any work his way. No work was ever proven to have been given to the professors. I was disappointed in the judge, because it seemed to me, he was prejudiced in favor of the prosecution. He was giving the defense lawyers a hard time.
On the nineteenth of April, something happened that shook us all. As we were about to be dismissed for lunch the judge informed us that there had been a bombing at a courthouse in Oklahoma. Security was being tightened in all the courthouses around the nation. We learned more about the Oklahoma bombing later in the day.
The following morning when we came in, there were guards around the courthouse and a camera and scanners had been installed. Each of us had a metal detector run over our bodies as we entered. This was the beginning of a tightening of security which has only continued to increase over time.
This Is Us:
Evan is 66 and a retired drafting supervisor from Chevron Oil.
Beth is 57 and has had a variety of jobs. She is presently working temporary jobs.
Carol is 32, recently divorced, and a nurse, working at a hospital in Chattanooga and living in an apartment.
Don is a twin. He is 31, a recent graduate of Life Chiropractic College
Christi is Don’s twin. She is working as a receptionist at a chemical company and doing massages on the side.
Kimberly s Don’s wife. She is a nurse working in Atlanta. She gave birth to their first child in October '94,
Lauren Elizabeth Jane Shelby is Don and Kimberly's new baby (5 mos.)
Connie is our youngest daughter. She is twenty-one. She and a junior in college.
Jane is Kimberly's mother. Shana is Kimberly's sister.
During the month of March, Don and Kimberly were talking about moving to Michigan. Don thought it was the state where he wanted to start his chiropractic practice. Kimberly’s sister lived there with her husband. We never knew all the details, but when her sister, Shana, left Chattanooga, she severed her ties with Jane, their mother. Kimberly and Shana remained close, and her sister bought a lot of cute and expensive outfits for the baby. She had a good job in Michigan, and she told Kimberly she would be guaranteed a job if they would move there.
We didn’t say anything negative about the move when they mentioned it, but we were hoping they wouldn’t move so far away. I know Jane didn’t want them to move. Since she wasn’t welcome in Michigan by Shana, she was unlikely to see much of her first grandchild.
In the middle of March, I was called back in to court to fill out the application for the jury duty. The computer had picked 120 people at random to serve, or give reasons why they couldn’t serve. I was one of sixty who wasn’t eliminated and was told to return the following Tuesday. When I returned, they were down to 60 prospective jurors, from which they would pick twelve and four alternates for the upcoming trial. I didn’t expect to be chosen, but mine was the sixth name called, out of thirty-five who would be questioned by the judge and the trial lawyers.
The trial was a criminal case with five defendants and three federal lawyers, who were the prosecuting attorneys. There were five defense lawyers; one for each of the five people who were accused. One of the accused was a renowned University of Tennessee professor of Space Technology. He owned a business which operated using government contracts. Another man, also implicated, was a professor emeritus, and he too had a business that benefited from government contracts.
These two men were accused of granting three students, who were working on master degrees, their degrees, without them doing the required work. The prosecution claimed these students were in a position of being able to swing government contracts in exchange for their degrees. They were charged with having their thesis and dissertations given to them to pass off as their own work. The professors and the students would be charged on numerous counts, and the trial was expected to last a month or more.
The judge and six of the lawyers questioned all thirty-five of us extensively. The lawyers kept dismissing certain individuals for reasons I didn’t understand. Finally, there were only sixteen of us left. I was assigned to be one of the twelve who would serve and the four others were alternates. By the time the questioning was over, I had a splitting headache. It was a combination of tension from the questions I had to answer, and the fact the early spring pollen count was extremely high. Earlier, I was eager to be chosen, but by this time, I was starting to have serious doubts.
They dismissed us for lunch, and I went with a couple of the other ladies. Food helped ease my headache. I was on a starvation diet and trying to lose weight for an upcoming class reunion in May. From that day on, one of the ladies started bringing food for us to munch on during the breaks, and other members pitched in for doughnuts with our free morning coffee. My diet went down the drain.
The afternoon session consisted of caution from the judge to not discuss the trial among ourselves or anyone else. We were to avoid newspapers and other media stories concerning the case. Afterward, the lawyers gave their opening statements. The judge was a likable man who joked a lot, much to my surprise. All of the lawyers seemed pleasant, as well. The jurors were a general assortment from all ages and walks of life. My opinion regarding them was still out at this point.
The following day, the prosecution began calling witnesses. The first was a very nervous student who had flunked out of the doctorate program. He was in the Navy at the space station in Florida. He claimed the professor had hinted that if he had influence sending government contracts to certain businesses, he could have a doctorate dissertation written for him, which would guarantee him a degree.
The prosecution had many witnesses and their testimonies were long and often very boring. One was from a lady employed by the professor’s business. She told about the day the FBI came, seized documents, and asked the professor to leave. She claimed he refused to leave and got on his computer and began erasing everything. The FBI eventually took all the computers and closed the business down.
After each witness was questioned, the defense got their turn. Often they were able to make it seem the witness was lying, or had something to gain by testifying for the prosecution. Only two of the three students on trial were present. The third student was in hospice with terminal cancer, so less was said implicating him than for the other two.
The case against the professors was compelling, but the two students claimed the work they turned in was their own, and that they were never approached by the professors and never agreed to send any government work their way. Both of the students seemed very intelligent. I found it hard to believe they would agree to such an arrangement. One was a lady in her twenties and the other was a man in his late thirties.
The testimonies and questioning went on from nine in the morning until around five in the afternoon every week day, for six long weeks. We got a much needed fifteen or twenty-minute break in the mornings and afternoons.
It seemed to me by the time the defense got around to presenting their case, most of the jurors were tired and had made up their minds that everyone was guilty. They were ready for this trial to be over.
When the students took the stand, I was impressed with their testimonies and the fact that the prosecution wasn’t able to shake them. They claimed the professor had changed some of the wording on their work, in order to make it seem he was doing them a favor. They asserted they had no intention of sending any work his way. No work was ever proven to have been given to the professors. I was disappointed in the judge, because it seemed to me, he was prejudiced in favor of the prosecution. He was giving the defense lawyers a hard time.
On the nineteenth of April, something happened that shook us all. As we were about to be dismissed for lunch the judge informed us that there had been a bombing at a courthouse in Oklahoma. Security was being tightened in all the courthouses around the nation. We learned more about the Oklahoma bombing later in the day.
The following morning when we came in, there were guards around the courthouse and a camera and scanners had been installed. Each of us had a metal detector run over our bodies as we entered. This was the beginning of a tightening of security which has only continued to increase over time.
This Is Us:
Evan is 66 and a retired drafting supervisor from Chevron Oil.
Beth is 57 and has had a variety of jobs. She is presently working temporary jobs.
Carol is 32, recently divorced, and a nurse, working at a hospital in Chattanooga and living in an apartment.
Don is a twin. He is 31, a recent graduate of Life Chiropractic College
Christi is Don’s twin. She is working as a receptionist at a chemical company and doing massages on the side.
Kimberly s Don’s wife. She is a nurse working in Atlanta. She gave birth to their first child in October '94,
Lauren Elizabeth Jane Shelby is Don and Kimberly's new baby (5 mos.)
Connie is our youngest daughter. She is twenty-one. She and a junior in college.
Jane is Kimberly's mother. Shana is Kimberly's sister.
I'm continuing to recall memories of life with my deceased husband, Evan, as if I am talking aloud to him. I'm doing this because I want my children to know us as we knew each other and not just as their parents.
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