Jury Duty

Monday, July 22: Today I reported for one of those obligations we citizens owe back to our government: jury duty.

I have done so many times over the past 40 years here in San Francisco. The closest I ever got to be chosen to actually sit on a jury, I was rejected by the prosecution once they found out I had worked as an investigative reporter.

I guess it is never a good thing to be the kind of person who finds out too much, especially when what we find out doesn't help your client, or your political philosophy, or your deep-seated biases.

Anyway, the jury panel I was selected for today was for a civil case that actually interests me. It was brought on behalf of family members of four deceased workers who died from mesothelioma, which is a lung disease caused by exposure to asbestos.

I was dismissed due to the obvious financial hardship it would cause for me to sit on a jury for the next two-and-a-half months, as I'm about to assume my first full-time job in years.

But even if I had not filed a financial hardship form, I would have been rejected later on in the process. Why? Because many years ago I worked as an investigative reporter to document how here in California, third-party exposure to asbestos had long ago been recognized by our labor courts as cause for compensation based on developing mesothelioma.

So I would be a biased jury member, under the law, because I made my own judgements based on the evidence. I have always had a personal bias in favor of working class people in any matter -- something I freely admit. A child of the working class, I know how hard life can be, how unfairly the decks are stacked, and how deadly the risks of doing the kinds of jobs mesothelioma victims really are.

But, as an honest journalist, I would never allow myself to be placed in a situation where my past work, or opinions, could affect the outcome of a legal case. See, that's the deal. I do not get the luxury of being biased, opinionated, or favoring one party over another. I don't get any of that stuff. I just have to stay above the fray, as neutral as I can be, and try to tell the truth as I see it.



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