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McBride Trial -- Day 1, 11/26/01 The first day of the trial was dedicated to jury selection. I was there for the entire day (which is only from 10 to 4, so that's a good racket for the lawyers and judges). The full jury of twelve, plus two alternates, was selected without too much trouble. The defense rejected five or six jurors, and I don't recall the prosecution rejecting any. The judge asked the usual questions about previous experiences with the law, either as a defendant or a crime victim, and also asked each juror if they knew anyone who was a bike messenger (only a few did, and they were rejected by the defense). Bob Matter and I got pulled aside by the state's attorneys (prosecutors) at the end of the session, and they castigated us for wearing our Critical Mass T-shirts (the ones with the CCM logo on the front and "one less car" on the back). They were concerned that this could result in a mistrial. They said that the defense could wait until the end of the trial and then motion for a mistrial if the defendant is convicted, based on our show of support unduly influencing the jury. They said this was similar to when the victim's family wears buttons with the victim's picture on them, as if there is something wrong with putting a human face on the crime. Bob and I actually ended up sitting right in front of the jury box during the selection process, instead of in the public viewing area behind the tinted glass, but we were just sitting where the bailiff told us to sit. He probably thought that we were prospective jurors, but we weren't wearing "juror" stickers. In our defense, we just sat where we were told, and nobody told us there was a dress code. It's not like we wore shirts saying "He's Guilty." Would a Ford T-shirt unduly influence the jury? And aren't we allowed to show our support, and not just by sitting there so that nobody can tell whose "side" we are on? What good does it do to come to the trial if we can't show support in a recognizable way? That said, I certainly don't want to be the cause of a mistrial, so I guess I'll hold my proverbial tongue and wear something less political tomorrow. The prosecutors did say we could bring our bike helmets, so I'll make sure that mine gets seen. (I left my pump and air horn and other accoutrements at home and locked my seat with my bike.) They also encouraged more of us to come and sit with the McBrides, which I guess is a less overt way of showing support. Some other observations: I didn't realize until today that the victim was white and the defendant is black. I hope that race doesn't factor into the jury's ruling, but I'm not so naïve as to think that it's not an issue for some people. Also, I was amazed at how many of the prospective jurors were either ex-cons or had been victims of crime. I suppose that I don't see the same cross-section of people in my everyday yuppie life as a group randomly selected from the whole county, and people don't usually talk about such things either. Carnell Fitzpatrick himself looked like a decent, clean-cut looking guy, but then, looks don't mean much. He is out on bail, so he didn't have to show up in prison garb like some of the apparently less well-off defendants in the morning's hearings. His family was there, as was Tom McBride's. Anyway, I found the whole experience very interesting and educational, although it did get a bit monotonous. Things should pick up tomorrow when the trial really begins. I don't know if Mr. Fitzpatrick is going to take the stand. He wasn't listed as a potential witness, but Tom McBride's mother was. Come out to the trial if you can. You have to sit in the public viewing area, which is separated from the rest of the courtroom by oddly tinted glass, but there is a PA that lets you hear from the microphone on the judge's desk. (I will be sitting out there with the McBrides; I don't think I'll be able to sit right in the courtroom again.) You can bring a book for the slow parts, but they don't like newspapers. You can lock your bike to the railings in front of the courthouse (no racks were seen) and take your lights and helmet in, but I wouldn't try to bring in anything else. I didn't try to bring a backpack, but I don't think it's worth the trouble. -- Dan Korn
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