From: [p--ck--r] at [fermi.gsfc.nasa.gov] (Charles Packer)
Newsgroups: misc.legal,alt.society.civil-liberty,sci.psychology,dc.general
Subject: Odd jury experience
Date: 16 Jun 1994 15:17:17 GMT


It was an episode like one of Milgram's* experiments: In a
Federal court in Washington, a panel of citizens summoned for
biennial jury duty, including me, was warned that the jury to
be selected from among us might have to sit for as long as
eight weeks in a complex civil trial. Then we were required to
answer a long, complicated questionnaire that probed into our
personal lives to determine our ability to be impartial
jurors. The next day, however, the judge told us that the
suit, which was several years old, had been settled overnight
and our term of duty was over.

The questionnaire dealt with the traditional concerns of =voir
dire=, such as whether we knew any of the attorneys on the
case or had any connection with the parties to the suit.
Although the suit was over a mere breach of contract, its
origins were in a publicized dispute between the parties over
the safety and effectiveness of a well-known psycotropic drug,
Prozac. Therefore, the questionnaire went on to ask us if we
had read a certain article in Time magazaine, had ever used
Prozac, had ever been to a psychiatrist or had been in an
"est" group. Then, because, the plaintiff organization was
founded by a writer, L. Ron Hubbard, we were asked if we had
read certain of his books, and, if so, what our opinions were
of them. We were asked if we had ever studied Dianetics. Most
of the questions, if answered in the affirmative, asked for
details or opinion. On and on they went, for 25 pages, and
seemed to push the limits of what a citizen should be expected
to disclose in the performance of a routine civic obligation.

It was odd that this case wasn't being heard by a judge only.
Ostensibly it was over an alleged breach of contract when the
public relations firm Hill and Knowlton dropped the Church of
Scientology, the plaintiff, as a client. Hardly an issue that
either party would want to entrust to a jury of bored citizens
whose summer vacation plans had been disrupted. Maybe the
Scientologists had some interesting cards to play. They had
hired as their chief counsel Kenneth Munday, famous for being
Marion Barry's attorney. Now we'll never know...



*Stanley Milgram is a psychologist known for his ingenious
set-ups that demonstrated the willingness of people submit to
authority.