Apr 25

Written by: Joe Longo
Friday, April 25, 2008 

Last month I was called to jury duty in Welland but then told I wasn’t needed. I had prepared the best way I know by consulting a variety of library materials.

Laura Van Wormer’s novel “Jury Duty” is about a sensational Manhattan murder case where the defendant, the son of a rich business tycoon, is accused of murdering a beautiful model.
Novelist Libby Winslow shows up for jury duty and finds the experience worthy of another book,  especially as two fellow jurors develop a romantic interest in her.

Just arrived is a book of short stories called “The Deadly Bride” which includes twenty one of the year’s finest crime and mystery stories. One story is called "Jury Duty" by Kristine Kathryn Rusch. This juror has a secret that makes her very sympathetic with a man accused of murdering his entire family. She despises her fellow jurors and only afterwards learns of a secret of the defendant’s lawyer.

We have the DVD of the complete first season of the television show “All in the Family” which has one show about Edith’s jury duty originally broadcast in 1971.

“12 Angry Men” is probably the best movie ever about jury duty. The drama is about the trial of a boy accused of killing his father when one man on the jury stands between him and capital punishment.

The library has two versions. Our DVD is the original 1957 motion picture directed by Sidney Lumet and starring Henry Fonda, Lee J. Cobb, E.G. Marshall and Jack Warden. The other is on videotape and was originally released on television in 1997. Directed by William Friedkin, it stars Ossie Davis, George C. Scott, James Gandolfini, Jack Lemmon, Tony Danza and Hume Cronyn.

Many could be spared jury duty if more people read “You Be the Judge : The Complete Canadian Guide to Resolving Legal Disputes Out of Court” by Norman Ross which resolves legal disputes using mediation or Alternative Dispute Resolution. It’s helpful whether the dispute involves an insurance claim, family inheritance, wrongful dismissal, construction matters, a commercial problem, divorce, or any other kind of civil case.

The next Philosophers' Cafe at the Victoria Avenue Library will be held on May 5 at 7pm. The theme is "What is communication?" Considerations for discussion include: How does communication affect our lives? Are there instances of mass communication being controlled by a small group of people? Is there such a thing as too much information? The facilitator will be jim agar.