McDivitt Law Firm breaks down the hilarious show Jury Duty and discusses elements that are relatable to a real-life courtroom experience.
During this episode we really start to get into the trial and the plaintiff begins to call witnesses to the stand to be examined by both defense and plaintiff’s counsel. During this time, we also begin to see how sequestration and jury duty has begun to affect the members of the jury. There are two themes that stand out in this episode, the first is the role the foreperson plays during the process of jury duty and the second is how the members of the jury deal with being away from their normal lives during the sequestration. Each of these themes are representations of issues that can come up during the jury’s time throughout the life of a trial in real life.
The Role of a Foreperson
The theme of how the foreperson interacts with the jury is one of the things that stood out in this episode. Ronald is chosen by the judge as the foreperson and throughout the episode he has multiple interactions with the judge regarding his role as the foreperson. The first interaction is surrounding Todd and his eccentric and innovative clothing. Todd decided to create something he called chair pants, which were two crutches attached to a pair of pants which allowed him to be able to sit when there were no available chairs or seats for him. The big problem with his invention is that he brought it into the court room and the judge considered them to be a distraction and instructed him to remove the crutches from his pants and not to wear them again. The judge tells Ronald that in his role as the foreperson he needs to be able to make sure that his fellow jurors are not becoming a distraction to the process.
Towards the end of the episode Ronald and the judge have a similar interaction but this time surrounding Susan. Susan has begun to get bored with the proceedings and starts to fall asleep during the trial multiple times. Similar to the issue with Todd, the judge reminds Ronald that it is his job as the foreperson to ensure that the jury is operating in a manner that does not distract from the trial and that they are all being active participants in their role as a member of the jury.
The Toll of Sequestration
The next theme on display is how the members of the jury deal with being away from their personal lives during the trial due to the sequestration of the jury. The main example that stood out during this episode involves Noah and every single other juror. Throughout the process Noah has been worried that he is missing a vacation with his girlfriend and seems to be struggling with being unable to be with her until the conclusion of the trial. This issue really comes up for him during this episode, because Noah begins talking about his relationship with his girlfriend with the rest of the jurors. Throughout the episode the jurors are able to convince Noah that his girlfriend is cheating on him while she is on vacation without him. It is a representation of how a person deals with being away from their significant other during a time when they are not permitted to interact with anyone outside of the jury. Noah is very clearly in distress, but he is unable to do anything about it because he is unable to be in constant communication with his girlfriend.
While Noah is struggling with his relationship issues, James Marsden shows up to the courthouse with a script that is confidential for a movie role that he is attempting to get. Since he is the only alternate juror left in the pool, he is able to spend his time throughout this episode reading the script while everyone else is participating in the trial. Similar to Noah, James Marsden has allowed for his life outside of jury duty to bleed into his time in the courthouse.
