The Jury.

The entire time I've been a lawyer. . . well, no, well before that, I've been told that one of the "greatest" things about "the world's greatest judicial system" is that it uses juries.

Most legal systems do not, and those that do, have tended to pick it up from the English Common Law system, often through American influence.  Save for Louisiana, we use the English system, and the English system has long used juries.  

The system has evolved over time.  Originally it was an effort to gather those from the area where an event occured, and was truly a jury of peers. The danger was that they actually knew you, and therefore may be inclined to judge your guilt or innocence based on that, which was part of why it was conceived of as a good system. Over time, while it was still supposed to be a jury of your peers, they were picked, through the voir dire process, for their fairness.

I'm not about to say that juries always get everything right. They don't.  But lawyers are taught to respect the process and the juries, and for good reason.  Frankly, more often than not, juries are right.  Not always, but holding them in contempt is wrong.

The jury that found Donald Trump guilty of 34 felonies this past week in Manhattan was made up seven men and five women, and included two attorneys, a software engineer, an e-commerce sales professional, a security engineer, a teacher, a speech therapist, an investment banker and a retired wealth manager.   That is a highly educated jury, and frankly that probably truly is a jury of Trump's peers.  Leaving two lawyers on the jury is bizarre, as lawyers only rarely make a jury panel, although I've known one who did.  I've been called for jury duty once and did not get picked, as I didn't expect to be.  Having two lawyers on the panel is phenomenal.

It'd be interesting to know how that occured.  Trump's defense team may have thought that the lawyers would regard the charges as strained in regard to election interference, which a lot of legal analysts did.  They may have, instead, helped the jury wade through the piles of stuff they had and arrive at the conclusion which they did.

Anyway you look at it, they arrived at the opinion they arrived at, and that needs to be respected.

Which Wyoming's elected officials are not.

The jury has been slammed by all of our Congressional delegation, two of whom are lawyers, the Governor and the Secretary of State.

It's tragic.

Wyoming makes frequent recourse to the courts as a state, and now it's attacking the judicial system.  There's utterly nothing whatsoever to question the nature of this jury on.  It appears to have been well qualified for its role.  There's no reason to suspect that New York's legal system is deficient in any way.

It's inexcusable to attack the jury.

Natrona County Townsend Justice Center

e

This set of photographs is a bit unusual, as you can see the courthouse actually being built, or rather rebuilt.

This is the Townsend Justice Center in Casper, Natrona County, Wyoming. The courthouse houses the state district and circuit courts for the county, those being the courts of the Seventh Judicial District.

This courthouse was the subject of a great deal of controversy. The old Natrona County Courthouse stands across the street, and was much admired by residents of the county. The district court, however, had outgrown the courthouse, and the circuit courts were located in yet another building. There was, therefore, a need to add a courthouse or revise the existing one, particularly after the addition of a third judge. Early efforts proved unpopular with the county's voters, but ultimately the state took the unusual step of funding reconstruction at this structure.

The building itself had been a downtown hotel built in the 1920s, in the golden era of tall hotels. The building had served in this capacity for many years, but entered a slow period of decline in the 1960s. By the late 1970s, the hotel was principally the residence of those down and out on their luck, or of street walkers, but the restaurant remained popular with downtown businessmen. The Petroleum Club, a long time popular club, was attached to it, but was actually in a neighboring building but with access through the Townsend.

After the Petroleum Club moved, the owners of the Townsend finally closed it and it remained vacant for over two decades. When the court needed to move, however, a deal was struck whereby the building was acquired for a nominal fee, and re construction began.

Today, the new and old parts of the building house an ultra modern courthouse, but some of the old signs remain, a written record of its origin as a hotel.

For what it is worth, if you are summoned to jury duty in the District Court for the 7th Judicial District, or the Circuit Court for the 7th Judicial District, this is where you want to go.

The photos added immediately above were taken quite some time after the originals, and were taken while I was waiting for a Circuit Court hearing.  This depicts one of the Circuit Court, courtrooms. The District Court courtrooms are quite a bit bigger.

The courtrooms in this courthouse are quite modern in the District Court, and perhaps when I get he opportunity I'll add a photograph of one. They were designed to be high tech and are.

Natrona County Hall of Justice

Fairly typical example of modern multi purpose courthouse. This building housed the Natrona County Court, later the 7th Judicial District Circuit Court, and the City of Casper Court, from some point in the 1970s until recently. Now only the City of Casper Court is located here. Administrative offices for various county law enforcement agencies are also located here.

The back of the old Natrona County Courthouse can be seen to the right of the photograph.

Only city court is now held here, so if you are reporting for jury duty here, it has to be only for a city court trial. District court and circuit court is elsewhere.

Ewing T. Kerr Federal Courthouse, Casper Wyoming

This is another Depression Era Wyoming courthouse, although it's roots are to be found in the era of oil fueled economic expansion that started during World War One. Funding for the courthouse came from a 1926 appropriations act that funded a variety of courthouses around the nation. The cornerstone, however, was set in 1931 and the courthouse completed in 1932.

This courthouse actually has seen as much use as a post office as it has as a courthouse. The original building housed all of the principal Federal offices in Casper, Wyoming, including the post office (my father worked there in the mid 1940s). A courtroom was a feature of the building, but the concept of a Federal courthouse was somewhat different at the time. There was no sitting Federal judge and the courtroom was instead simply available for a Federal judge, the concept being that the single Federal judge in Cheyenne would need to travel to outlying towns and cities to hear cases. There were also Federal courthouses, in this era, in Green River, Lander, and Yellowstone National Park. This courthouse also housed such Federal employees as the Army, Navy, and Marine Corps recruiters.

In the 1970s the post office moved to a new large Federal building that was built some blocks away. At that time, the enormous Depression era murals that were in the building were removed and reinstalled in the new post office. The mail boxes, which dominated the first floor, were also moved. A few Federal offices remained in the building, however, such as the United States Geological Survey which I briefly worked for in the 1980s.

By the late 1980s Wyoming's Federal Courts had expanded to the point where there were then three sitting Federal judges, all in Cheyenne. This then lead to the view that it was time to relocate one of the judges to Casper. The courthouse was remodeled in the late 80s with this in mind, and it is now a purpose designated courthouse, with offices limited to the judiciary or the U.S. Attorneys. The Federal District Court courtroom is widely regarded as one of the most attractive in Wyoming, and a second smaller courtroom, used principally by the Bankruptcy Court, is also well appointed, if quite small.

The building obtained its current name after the remodeling, and it is now named for longtime late Federal Judge, Ewing T. Kerr.

If you are summoned to a Federal (not state) jury in Casper, Wyoming, this is where you go.

Federal Courthouse, as viewed from my office in the Consolidated Royalty Building.

Natrona County Courthouse

This is a courthouse with no courtrooms, at least it no longer has any receiving that use.

This Great Depression era courthouse originally housed the 7th Judicial District and Natrona County courts. In later years, however, the district court's growth meant that the county court moved into an adjoining building, and the district court used a large and small courtroom. In the last decade, however, the addition of a third district court judge meant there was no longer sufficient room for the district court, and the Townsend Hotel was remodeled into a courthouse, as depicted below. Today this courthouse is used for county offices.

This courthouse does feature one very large, and beautiful, 1930s vintage courtroom. The jury box was uniquely cast at an angle, so the jury sat facing the witnesses and the judge. Unlike almost every other courtroom, the opposing parties sat essentially side by side, on the same side of the courtroom. Off hand, it's the only courtroom configured in this style I can recall.

The small courtroom was a dismal affair, being very tiny. It was nice looking, having been obviously built at the same time the county court had been moved to new quarters, but it was entirely too small, even though it could accommodate a very cramped jury.

This building was built by the WPA and features a number of bas reliefs depicting the history of the region.

Do not go here for jury duty, if you live in Natrona County and are summoned to jury duty. This building no longer functions as a courthouse. Go instead to the Townsend Justice Center if you are reporting for district court or circuit court jury duty.