So, yesterday I arrived at the courthouse right at 8am. I was the 10th person to get the the jury room. Once all 13 of us were there we buzzed the judge's chambers. Then we waited. And we waited. And we waited. An hour went by. Another half hour. At this point I have read my book, used the bathroom, drank water, eaten a few bits of beef jerky, played poker and backgammon on my cell phone, text messaged Desi and talked a bit with some fellow jurors. 10 minutes later the judge comes in and tells us that he and the lawyers had been discussing the case. The D.A. had changed their charge against the defendant Monday so the laws that applied to the case had changed and therefore the judge called a mis-trial. YIPPEEEE! He said that it's not over, just over for us and we were free to go! You might imagine how happy we were!
I had decided on Monday to pray and seek God's will and that I'd just have a good attitude through it all. So I chose to trust that this was what God had for me and it probably meant our plans for kitchen re-modeling had to be post-poned. Bummer, but I figured it was God's plan. He really gave me faith to just trust and enjoy each day. So, all's well that end's well and Desi and I removed the tile from one countertop last night. We'll continue with demo over the next few days. We'll remove the tile from the countertops and the disgusting floor from the kitchen. I'll take pics and post updates as I can. Thanks for all who prayed regarding this jury duty service! I am so thankful it's over!
Here's some info I pulled from Wikipedia about trials if you're interested.
~Rose
Criminal trial
A criminal trial is designed to resolve accusations brought by the government against a person accused of a crime. In common law systems, most criminal defendants are entitled to a trial held before a jury. Because the state is attempting to use its power to deprive the accused of life, liberty, or property, criminal defendants are afforded greater leeway to defend themselves than parties to a civil suit.
Mistrials
A judge may cancel a trial prior to the return of a verdict; legal parlance designates this as a mistrial.
A judge may declare a mistrial due to:
- The court determining that it lacks jurisdiction over a case,
- Evidence being admitted improperly,
- Misconduct by a party, juror, or an outside actor, if it prevents due process,
- A hung jury which cannot reach a verdict with the required degree of unanimity
- Disqualification of a juror after the jury is impanelled, if no alternate juror is available and the litigants do not agree to proceed with the remaining jurors.
A declaration of a mistrial generally means that the court must hold a retrial on the same subject.
An important exception occurs in criminal cases in the United States. If the court erroneously declares a mistrial, or if prosecutorial misconduct goaded the defendant into moving for a mistrial, then the US Constitution's protection against double jeopardy bars any retrial; so the prosecution must be terminated.
Here's our kitchen sink and yuckkie tiles. I found little bugs under the tiles to the left of the sink! Sooooo gross! This room is empty now (save the cupboards on the wall).
The next three pics Micah took of Levi on his birthday. They are amazing.
Opening gifts with the help of siblings of course!
The snake cake...yum!
I'll post more pics as I have time. We'll be staying at my parents for awhile since our house is a mess! Thanks to the great-grandparents for the gifts for Levi. He loves his new toothbrush and toothpaste from Nana, new piggy bank toy and car toy from the Nelsons, new jammies and cups from the Garvey's and a new farm animals fridge toy from the Gillis'. Des and Jan will be out Monday to help us with the kitchen adventure. We look forward to spending a wonderful week with them!
