He Will Haunt My Memory - Part Two

This is the 2nd Part of my Jury Duty story. Part one can be found HERE...

Then it was time for Caves to present his case and prove to us that Mr. Chriss had a severe mental disorder that was not in remission and could not be kept in remission without further treatment and why he posed a threat and a danger to the public.

He called to the stand his only witness, a Forensic Psychologist who analyzed the medical records of Mr. Chriss. A Forensic Psychologist will often study and analyze research or records from other professionals as well as conduct their own research and examinations. The doctor was a large imposing man who was well spoken and confident. He proceeded to tell us his expert opinion of Mr. Chriss and his mental disorder. The diagnosis for Mr. Chriss was Schizophrenia. 

First off it was made quite plain to us that the psychologist had not personally interviewed Mr. Chriss. The offer was made to meet, but Mr. Chriss refused. Score one for Attorney Caves. The psychologist said that normally individuals that are interested in being released are willing to meet with him to show that they have progressed and are now stable and  mentally healthier due to therapy and drugs. 

He then proceeded to tell us; being prompted by questions from Attorney Caves, that he had studied the notes of 10 or so doctors and multiple therapists and health personnel at the facility that had made notes of events and behaviors of Mr. Chriss. He said that the files that he studied easily measured a foot and half in height. 

He told us that Mr. Chriss refused to partake in any of the therapy classes that were available and offered to him. The only thing he did do at times would be to go to Bingo Night or Movie Night. Mainly Mr. Chriss would keep to himself in his room when he wasn't at his job as a janitor. While in his room it was noted several times that Mr. Chriss would talk loudly, yelling at times and screaming and chanting. He would beat himself up and he would become agitated by others on the unit. He had gotten physical with another patient and a nurse. 

He told us the Mr. Chriss refused medical treatment, he refused to have his vitals checked, he refused his medication, he refused to go to group meetings. He would yell obscenities at nurses, doctors and other patients. I watched Mr. Chriss closely while the doctor was testifying to gauge his reactions and it was like he wasn't even there. He didn't react, he didn't look at the doctor, he didn't try to engage any of the jurors. I thought how I would react if that were me and I would definitely be trying to talk to my attorney to get him to explain things. I would have glared at the doctor, I would have made eye contact with the jurors. He just looked down and shrugged his shoulders now and then and continued to do that sucking thing with his mouth.

The doctor also told us that it was disconcerting that Mr. Chriss had made several odd statements to the staff and other doctors, statements like "I have a son that can be in two places at one time" and "My family is better off if I'm not released". He also said that several times Mr. Chriss insinuated that he was God and that he followed a religion that was beyond what humans could understand.

Then it was Attorney Kendall's turn (Mr. Chriss' attorney) to ask his questions of the doctor. He didn't really question or try to explain all the refusals of treatment and/or meds, he basically just wanted the doctor to confirm that Mr. Chriss had a job as a janitor and that he did his job and that he obviously wasn't dangerous because he was given cleaning supplies and chemicals and mops and things that he could injure people with and he didn't. He also tried to make it clear that the chanting and yelling was Mr. Chriss practicing his religion. He also made one clear error that I saw in that he asked the doctor if he had physically ever met or examined Mr. Chriss personally or did he base all his thoughts and testimony simply on things written by multiple people through the years that could or could not have been true. This is where the psychologist plainly said, "No, I never personally examined or met Mr. Chriss but it was because of his refusal to do so." Strike Two!

Finally the doctor was done and he was allowed to leave. It was surprising to me that he just left, he didn't know how this was going to turn out and he had no personal stake in this, he was just doing his job. But he had testified that he did these examinations all the time, he wasn't paid extra if the person was found to still have a mental disorder, he was just being clinical and giving his expert opinion without prejudice. That resounded loudly with me. He wasn't lying, he wasn't interested in punishing Mr. Chriss...he was just doing his job. 

Then it was Attorney Kendall's turn to present his case and he said that he had not expected for Mr. Chriss to take the witness stand because it was not their job to prove anything and he felt that we should all realize after listening to the doctor that Mr. Chriss did not have a mental disorder, but that Mr. Chriss decided he did want to take the stand and state his side of the story...

Again, this is getting long, so I will end here and proceed with Part Three which I hope will be the last part. To be continued...

He Will Haunt My Memory - Part One

When I walked into the court room he was the last person I noticed. In fact, until the judge introduced him to us I didn’t even know he was there. He was a slender man seated at the table next to his attorney, his hair was cropped short and he wore a dingy white dress shirt, his skin almost the same color as his shirt. His eyes were sunken deeply into the eye sockets and he kept pursing his mouth into a pout, sort of like he was sucking on a piece of hard candy. He looked hard, like someone that had suffered in his life and instead of time and life having mellowed him, they had hardened him and his features.

You wouldn’t think that someone so nondescript would stay on your mind for so long. Maybe it wasn’t him, instead it was the reason for meeting him and his story. Regardless, his memory haunts me…this is the story of Mr. Chriss.

Last week I was called in for jury duty. The last time I went was in 2008, you can read about that trial here…it was a doozy! Once I finished with that trial and I wrote that post I was over and done with it and never gave it a second thought…this one won’t be so easy to forget.

This one was unique. Not a criminal trial, not a civil trail, instead this one was a civil commitment hearing for an individual who is considered a Mentally Disordered Offender or MDO. We 60 individals, had been called into the courtroom to go through the process of choosing a jury to decide three things:

1. Did the respondent have a Severe Mental Disorder?

2. Is the Mental Disorder in remission or able to be kept in remission with further treatment?

3. Is the individual a danger to the general public?

It was our job to make those decisions and they had to be unanimous, either all true or all false. We could not say numbers 1 and 2 were true but not number 3. All or nothing!

If you’ve never been to jury duty I strongly urge you to go next time you are called. It’s such a great learning experience. It’s not easy to know you hold the future of someone in your hands, but it’s such a privilege to know that no matter what you do, in our country you will have your day in court and you will be able to tell your side of the story.

I had hoped to not be chosen for the jury only because there was so much going on at work and I felt guilty dropping it into the lap of my coworker. But it’s not as easy to get out of being on a jury as it used to be. I had no real hardship. The company I worked for respects our duty to complete jury duty so they pay us our regular pay. 

After two days of voir dire (a preliminary examination of juror by judge and counsel) I was chosen as juror number 6. That was Monday and Tuesday. Wednesday was the day the attorneys had a chance to give their opening statements, to call witnesses and to present their case.

Unlike a civil or criminal case where you have a plaintiff and a defendant, in this case you had the petitioner which was The People of The State of California, represented by Attorney Caves and the respondent, Mr. Chriss who was represented by his counsel, Attorney Kendall. The burden of proof was on the State of California, who had to prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that the three questions above were all true as regards Mr. Chriss.

Caves gave his opening statement first. A very handsome young man, very soft spoken. I would have been happier if he had looked us in the eye more and spoken with more authority. He also introduced Mr. Chriss to us and explained to us what the judge had already told us multiple times, that we had to base our decision only on the evidence and the evidence is only what was said by the person on the stand. He said he would provide a witness that would give us the medical facts that we would need to come to the agreement that all three of the questions that we were to deliberate would and could only be answered as true.

Then Kendall gave his opening statement in which he also told us what we had to base our decision on and he informed us that Mr. Chriss had no burden of proof, it was not up to him and Mr. Chriss to prove to us that any of the three questions were either true or false, that was the job of Mr. Caves. He proceeded to tell us a little bit about Mr. Chriss.

Mr. Chriss had been sent to prison for physical assault on an individual. It was never made clear to us if he did his time in prison and then was committed or if he was committed after a second physical assault on an individual, but for the past nine years he had lived quietly in his unit at the Coalinga State Mental Hospital. He had a job at the hospital as a janitor and lived his life quietly, causing no further problems.

Part two to follow...(this was just getting too long)