Juror 4 was the one yesterday. He/they became momentarily famous on his departure from the “accepted” status on the New York Trump legal proceeding.
We now know all sorts of things about his circumstance. We don’t recall ever knowing this much about participants selected for individual juries. We are sure there have been some, but we watched in wonder as resumes of the selected jurors were discussed in some detail. The table above demonstrates the detail, and captures some of the aura of fame has penetrated another and deeper aspect of the attention flooded into deliberations.
We don’t claim it “started” with the George Floyd Trial in Minneapolis. We do claim that was the first time the personal accounts of how the jurors felt about the reactions in the street to the discussions in the court. The debate erupted in front of Judge Merchen not only about Juror 4 but also Juror 2. Grounds were alleged to be about the impartiality of one and the truthfulness of the other.
(Judge Juan Merchen- L- and former Chief Executive Trump- R. Photo NY Times).
The pair had been selected Tuesday in the matter of the City versus Trump, the so-far most successful of the four proceedings intended to hamstring the former Chief’s campaign to return to the Oval Office. Coordination between the White House and prosecutors in places as disparate as Atlanta, DC and Manhattan. Here is how that activity lines up with the national calendar:
There has never been anything quite like this legal circus before. The strategy appears to be a unified Defense of Democracy by the deliberate coordination of disruption to a political opponent’s public affairs.
The woman identified as Juror #2 raised concerns after Wednesday’s period of contemplation. According to reports in the legacy media, she had been contacted by friends who thought they had identified her due to the plethora of information disclosed in the resume information in the summary that starts this brief account. Judge Merchan was becoming uneasy about the information identifying the panelists and the fact that they were diverting attention from himself to otherwise anonymous citizens.
The Judge has been liberal with his improbable rulings. Mr. Trump has been cited with seven breaches of the Gag order imposed on him. The threat is of a jail term for “contempt” prior to any jury decision. It is part of a litany of previously unseen offenses. He has to be physically present in the courtroom throughout, but is prohibited from commenting in his own defense or the conduct of the proceedings against him.
Mr. Trump is not the only one subject to novel treatment. The Judge summed it up with his instruction to non-participants in the official part of the trial. He asked reporters to “limit their descriptions of potential jurors” after the dismissal of Juror 2. The man identified as Juror #4 possibly answered questions untruthfully about whether he or a close relative had been accused of a crime. Clearly, he should be identified, humiliated and dismissed.
New York Prosecutor Alvin Bragg has been a lightning rod as public face of what was an inappropriate local prosecution of an international figure. This development has enable the transfer of that heat and lightning to a previously unknown deputy. We will doubtless be treated to his moment of fame, just as we will to relacement Jurors 2 and 4. And the others, as they deliberate in the shadow of a nearing national event in which their personal opinion should assume national significance. .
We could probably ask former Officer Derrick Chauvin about that, but we will travel this road to fame or ignomy together. It could have some moments of amusement, you know? We don’t know if Democracy can be saved, since this nation was not set up to be one. We are- or at least were- a Republic governed by a written Constitution. We think that has largely already been overthrown, but we should be able to see why the Founders of the Republic put the popular vote as a secondary means of choosing our leaders.
Judge Merchen will doubtless show us the way!
– Vic
Copyright 2024 Vic Socotra
www.vicsocotra.com