Newsgroups: talk.politics.guns,alt.politics.org.batf,alt.politics.usa.misc From: [w--g--s] at [lonestar.utsa.edu] (William W. Hughes) Subject: Branch Davidian Trial - 23 Jan 94 Date: Tue, 25 Jan 1994 19:33:57 GMT Branch Davidian Trial Update - Sunday, 23 Jan 94 Page 5B [Today's article is short enough that I am just going to transcribe it directly. (I hope the Express-News doesn't get bent out of shape about this...) This article is copyright 1994 by the San Antonio Express-News.] BRANCH JURORS A DIVERSE GROUP by Diana R. Fuentes Express-News Staff Writer While the jury in the murder-conspiracy case of 11 Branch Davidians is anonymous by judicial order, the 18 jurors hardly are faceless. Several months before the trial began, U. S. District Judge Walter S. Smith Jr. of Waco, who is presiding in this case, ordered that the identities of the jurors remain confidential. That means no names, no addresses, and no pictures of the jurors may be used by the media. But the jury isn't behind a screen during the trial. Courtroom observers can clearly see them. In fact, members of the public can sit mere yards away from the jurors as they watch the federal judicial system in action. From the original jury wheel of 16,000 names, 78 people came to the federal courthouse here at the beginning of the trial two weeks ago. That was culled to 18 -- 12 jurors and six alternates. The panel is almost exclusively Mexican-American, and it runs the gamut of ages and occupations from a 21-year-old secretary to an 80-year-old retired banker. [Story continued on page 5B] Subhead: Jurors for Branch Davidian trial a diverse group There are 13 women and five men. All are crowded into a box designed to hold 12 comfortably, and they will all remain until it is time for the deliberation phase of the trial. The jurors don't know who is going to end up on the final panel that decides the case. Traditionally, it is the first 12 people who are chosen. If no one drops out, that would mean eight women and four men. The jurors include one young woman who told the judge before she was chosen that she was afraid to serve because she didn't know anything about the judicial system. But the 80-year-old man, who said he had served on juries before, told Smith he was healthy as a horse and eager to serve again. During individual questioning of potential jurors, the young woman told the judge about her fears the she wouldn't understand what was going on because she had never served on a jury before. Smith told her there has to be a first time, and asked her if she would like to be a juror. "If I have to," the woman said, somewhat reluctantly and with an embarrassed laugh. The other jurors and their ages include: a retired elementary teacher, 60; an administrative clerk, 41; a corporate secretary, 54; a title clerk, 58; an insurance account specialist, 44; a woman who listed herself as a housewife, 44; a medical secretary, 21; a man who simply listed his occupation as retired, 47; a grounds foreman, 45; another retired teacher, 68; an insurance adjuster, 42; a custodian, 29; a file clerk, 28; a teacher, 46; and a woman who said she is a leather inspector, 29. As the trial ended its second week, several distinct personal- ities had emerged. The jurors sit in the same place daily. In one of the corners farthest away from the witness box, a woman with snow white hair sits scrupulously taking notes on the proceedings. She uses a pencil, and every so often, she erases something she has written and carefully writes in something else. A woman with salt-and-pepper hair watches everything that goes on in the courtroom -- except in the spectator's section -- but doesn't take notes. She occasionally adjusts her glasses, as if to get a better view, but there doesn't appear to be a moment when she's not giving her full attention to the proceedings. Then there's the eldest member of the panel. He is more re- laxed, but he, too, pays close attention to what is happening before him. Perhaps because of his previous experience, he tends to pay less attention to introductory, generalized information but always listens to the meat of the testimony. One younger woman watches the proceedings as if it were a tennis match, whipping her head from side to side to look at whoev- er's talking. She listens to the attorney ask a question, then turns to hear the witness answer, then turns back to the attorney as he probes deeper, and then back to the witness, and so forth, nearly all day long. Another young woman often looks at the spectators in the courtroom. Yet another rocks in her chair and fidgets constantly, sometimes looking up as if she is considering something or is bored. =================================================================== Administrivia POSTING USENET: talk.politics.guns, alt.politics.org.batf, alt.politics.usa.misc; distribution - "world" Mailing list Firearms Politics ([firearms politics] at [ns1.rutgers.edu]) (gated to moderated newsgroup info.firearms.politics) Forwarded to alt.conspiracy by "Searchnet Zec", whoever or whatever that is. FIDONET: DEBATE and CONTROVERSY; forwarded by Terry Goodman ([terry goodman] at [support.com] / 1:102/837) LEGAL (non-backbone); forwarded by Lester Garrett (1:125/101) SmartNet: POLIPHIL; forwarded by Lester Garrett (FIDO 1:125/101) Please feel free to forward these updates to any other groups, conferences and networks that you feel may be interested. If anybody is archiving these updates, and/or making them available for ftp, gopher, or other access, please let me know and I will include that information in further Administrivia sections. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= This summary of the Branch Davidian trial is based on articles published in the San Antonio Express-News. The original articles, and any sections quoted herein are copyrighted by the Express-News. The remainder of the summary is copyright 1994 by William W. Hughes. Copying of these summaries, either by hardcopy or electron- ic means, is authorized and encouraged, as long as this notice remains attached and intact. "I do not work for or represent the San Antonio Express-News" =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= -- [w--g--s] at [lonestar.utsa.edu] (William Hughes) | In memory of 85 un-charged, UTSA doesn't agree with me. They're wrong. | un-convicted victims of the U.S. Politicians Prefer Unarmed Peasants | government in Waco, Texas - Politically Incorrect and proud of it! | including over 20 children.