Juries can be fascinating. I had noted earlier about the one juror who refused to wear the red Valentine’s Day shirts. And I also noted that her excusal by the court was likely bad for Libby, as stubborn jurors are more apt to hold out longer for their beliefs, destroying unanimity.
Now we know why she was excused, and based on this snippet from a blog posting by another juror, those traits of individualism seemed evident:
As I said, the original 16 jurors – 12 regulars, four alternates, got along famously with one exception. Let’s call the exception RJ (Runaway Juror). She broke the first rule by flashing another juror a page in her notebook during court testimony. Fortunately the message, Look at that eye candy in the third row! wasn’t top secret stuff. She also bothered Court clerk Mattie about the lunch menu, and inserted herself into others’ conversations. All that was easily tolerated. But one day before we were called to court, she approached three jurors and semi-whispered, “My mother told me that reporters are writing stories about how we….” Before she could say more, all three told her to “STOP.”
So this Monday morning, Court clerk Mattie (who hadn’t repeated a single item of clothing in the first three weeks of the trial, according to our fashion consultants) calls RJ into the hall. A few minutes later, she’s collecting her belongings. “It was just something I heard,” she says. We call goodbyes from a distance. As soon as the door closes, four jurors pump their fists.