A few months ago, I posted a followup to my Jury Duty series in which I expressed my curiosity about whatever happened to the defendant, whom I called “Jose.” I had been unable to find out what sentence he received.
Well, one of the prosecutors (I think the one I referred to as the “blonde prosecutrix”) just stumbled across that entry:
Imagine my surprise to see a Jury that I prosecuted detailed on a blog I randomly found during a Google search. The Defendant […]–never returned for sentencing and currently has an outstanding warrant for his arrest. The Judge that told you he was looking at Probation for the Aggravated Battery has since this trial revoked each and every person’s bond once convicted because [Jose] blew it for everyone else.
I had just recently discovered that myself.
In the same earlier post, I had mentioned that some of the jurors thought Jose’s needlessly elaborate testimony was a setup for a civil suit. I doubted this because the stakes seemed so small. After all, Jose’s only injury was only a bloody nose.
I hadn’t really thought it through. There’s more to such a suit than just an injury:
You touched on a possible civil suit from the Defense team after this trial–that was very astute. The Defense usually chooses a Jury trial on a case they believe they can win to test their witnesses for a civil jury trial if the defendant is acquitted. They can sue the Town where the officer is employed for false arrest and Civil Rights violations. Usually a town settles because it is cheaper than litigating the case. The defense team you saw pursues these case frequently.
(Note: I have edited the prosecutor’s comments slightly to remove the use of the defendant’s real name.)
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