Matt Blaze

Going through the L. Jean Carroll docket, I came across this bit from the SDNY jury instructions where the foreperson has to "clutch the envelope [with the completed verdict form] to your heart" when returning it to the courtroom.

(Both sides included the same language in their proposed instructions.)

May 7, 2023 at 2:11amWeb
Show threadMatt BlazeMay 7, 2023
I've been a juror in SDNY several times (way back when, long before the Kevin Spacey case they cite), once as the foreperson, and I definitely don't remember this.
Show threadsegfaul7May 7, 2023
@mattblaze every time I've been a juror, its been either really boring, or really horrible, but I would do it again!
Show threadAda Ґ.May 7, 2023

@mattblaze

Interesting they refer to using the instructions from the Kevin Spacey case vs any other case.

Edit: Fowler is Spacey which I did not know without looking it up.

Show threadMatt BlazeMay 7, 2023
@adrcatgul Yeah, and that was a recent case, so this seems to be something new (and seems to be unique to SDNY).
Show threadAmanda BMay 7, 2023
@mattblaze weird 🤨
Show threadMatt BlazeMay 7, 2023
@amandacsb2 I mean, it's kind of a neat ceremony.
Show threadriffleMay 7, 2023
@mattblaze Seems like exposing cardiac tissue just to deliver a verdict is inefficient, dangerous, messy, and horribly grisly. I would refuse to be foreperson.
Show threadMatt BlazeMay 7, 2023
@riffle Sensible choice.
Show threadBibbleCoMay 7, 2023
@mattblaze ...and people take the piss out of _us_ for having the occasional slightly weird, arcane, anachronistic yet faintly sinister ritual!
Show threadJonathan HendryMay 7, 2023

@mattblaze

I suspect that’s to prevent anyone getting a scoop, reading the verdict with a zoom lens. But I’d think an envelope would solve that problem.

Show threadDebbie WadeMay 7, 2023
@mattblaze good grief!
Show threadStu Duerson, machina exo deusMay 8, 2023

@mattblaze

It's indeed interesting that the SDNY prohibits a Republican from serving as a jury foreman!

Quite obviously, if the foreperson is required to clutch the envelope to their heart, they must first have a heart.