I was a juror in a murder trial at the Montreal courthouse exactly eight years ago. A sordid tale of drug-addicted neighbors in Pointe-aux-Trembles who slept together for a “little $20” and culminated in murder by strangulation after an evening of partying with hard drugs.
Published at 1:22 am. Updated at 7:15 a.m.
So a little Wednesday.
If you’re wondering what a typical day in the life of a juror looks like, I would answer: like during the trial of police officer Maxime Dubois (Mathieu Baron) in TVA’s “Indefensible,” but with a lot less acting, sir.
The five episodes of “Indefensible,” dedicated to the work of a jury and set in the middle of the deliberation room, were very realistic.
Your Honor, I exclude from this statement the burlesque scene in which the President of the Jury was electrocuted while leaning on a ladder on the roof of his suburban home. Besides, it passes the credibility test.
As in “Indefensible,” the defendant’s family, just a few meters away from us, cries almost every day. Obviously, these repeated sobs weigh on your morale and crush your heart.
As in “Indefensible,” a juror debates very precise legal ideas with eleven other novices whose socioeconomic backgrounds do not often meet. I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve almost lost my temper after a person on the jury didn’t understand quickly (the worst!), took up too much space for their ability (unpleasant at best), or limited themselves to defending an idea that was in no way logical (patience, Hugo, patience).
But seriously, guys, let’s switch it up, let’s kick it into gear, because we’re not going to spend three months here, OK?
As we saw in “Indefensible,” the tension escalates quickly when twelve strangers remain in a windowless room, agitated by very bad coffee. During the six weeks that my trial lasted in the fall of 2015, I witnessed it all: fatigue, discouragement, bouts of anxiety, personality conflicts among jurors, impatience, disgust, the over-motivated jurors playing at the top of the class, the others, the blaming themselves or those slowing down the group, too happy to have put their real work on hold.
Some of my comrades were pleased to be chosen as judges for this grim case in which the victim’s body contained 41 old needles that had been “forgotten” during heroin trips over several years. Others, including me, would have wanted to flee to Alberta with Mr. Frédéric Legrand (Martin-David Peters) to escape this annoyingly slow process.
Because at $103 a day, being a jury member is a long, very long time. It’s tedious, routine, there are a lot of rules to follow and I’ll spare you the sterile debates in which the jury asked endless questions about reimbursement for their subway ticket. Sigh.
As in “Indefensible,” a juror returns home after his day at the courthouse. The sequestration occurs at the very end, when the jury decides on the final verdict after the evidence has been taken.
Without cell phones, television, radio, tablet, newspaper or internet access, we slept in a hotel in Longueuil on the majestic Highway 20, always ate with the 12 jurors and two police officers made sure that no one discussed the conversation at the table. The same applies to transport in the minibus between the hotel and the courthouse: prohibition on talking about the defendant, his victim, his powder supplier or the thief of the Maxi at Place Versailles (true story).
In the end we run out of small talk, but we only talk about justice when the door to our little room is closed, never before.
As in “Indefensible,” we vote periodically to see which way the scales are tipping. Eight against four, nine against three, it’s good, we’re getting closer to a verdict. As I recall, we were in seclusion for two days before we agreed (guilty of premeditated murder).
PICTURE FROM THE SHOW
Marie-Laurence Lévesque in a scene from “Indefensible.”
As in “Indefensible,” it’s easy to determine who on the jury is easily convinced or who resists the longest.
Clemente Monterosso has been a criminal defense attorney for 40 years and has defended Vito Rizzuto all the way to the Supreme Court. He has followed the adventures of the law firm of Lapointe, Macdonald and Desjardins from the beginning. “It is very realistic, especially in terms of the legal ideas, the objections formulated and the comments of the judges. It’s consistent with what we see in the courthouse, it’s not overly romanticized. And the show explains the legal rules well, it’s almost educational,” notes the Montreal lawyer.
Crown prosecutors, who lose a lot on “Indefensible,” a series co-created by defense lawyer Richard Dubé, would say the opposite, but hey.
Who wants to ignite the anger of Me Biron (Marie-Laurence Lévesque), the DPCQ’s most predatory prosecutor? Not me.
Like Mathieu Baron for two weeks, I play with an inconspicuous, contrite appearance and a neutral expression.