104: Jami was a juror in a murder trial

Like a lot of people these days, I work from home. And I really enjoy that. But many years ago, I had a more traditional job where I worked in an office building with other people. And there was a thing I liked to do that some of my co-workers thought was a bit odd.

We got an hour off for lunch each day. And sometimes I’d go to the breakroom and eat, or maybe a few of us would get together and go have lunch at a local restaurant. Pretty common stuff. 

But what I did some days is get in my car, maybe eat a sandwich while I’m driving, and go to the Sixth Judicial Court building. In this building are generally two types of people. There are those who are there voluntarily, because they work there. And the others are there, not because they want to be, but because they have to appear in court before a judge. 

These proceedings are pretty much open to the public. It’s just not something that a lot of people think about doing, unless you’re an oddball like me. I’d get there and quietly slip into one of the courtrooms where court was in session, and sit in what’s called the gallery. This is the open seating section where you might see family members of the person on trial, or newspaper reporters covering a case. Or people on their lunch hour with a weird curiosity about these things.

Most of the time, the gallery is mostly empty. One time when I went in and sat down, the judge noticed me, and stopped what he was saying, and asked me why I was there, or how I was connected to this case. I told him I was just there to observe, and he continued with the proceedings.

One of the times that kind of stuck with me was when I watched a sentencing hearing. The defendant had already been found guilty; I don’t remember what he had done. But he was there in the courtroom, in the orange prison jumpsuit, appearing before the judge. And I watched as the judge sentenced this person to spend ten years in prison. There was just something about that, that to me was really intriguing.

And if that’s the kind of thing that YOU find interesting, I think you’ll enjoy this episode. 

My guest today is Jami. She lives in the Los Angeles area, and a few years ago she was opening her mail and found that she had been summoned for jury duty. And the case she was assigned to was a murder. 

Content warning for this episode – this story includes descriptions of violent domestic abuse, and murder. So please be aware of that going in.

In the first half of our conversation, Jami explained the details of the case so you’ll know what happened. Then she’ll go through what she experienced as a juror – not only during the trial, but afterward when she was contacted personally by one of the family members of the murderer. 

Contact Jami through her podcast website (Murderish.com) or on Instagram (@MurderishPodcast).

Jami’s NEW podcast is called Dirty Money Moves: Women in White Collar Crime. This show deep dives into cases involving a more rare type of criminal, women who commit financial crimes. In season one, host Jami takes listeners on a journey to investigate Mary Carole McDonnell, a self-proclaimed heiress and the CEO of a TV production company based in Los Angeles. This new podcast launches April 21, 2022.

This episode is sponsored by the Wake Me Up Podcast – start your day with mindfulness, meditation, and motivation – WakeMeUpPodcast.com. This episode is also sponsored by Ghostbed – get 30% off sitewide at Ghostbed.com/WHAT. This episode is also sponsored by the Jordan Harbinger Show, a podcast I listen to all the time – JordanHarbinger.com/START.

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