Editorial: Jury trial at 34th District Court was a real treat

We haven’t been to a jury trial at 34th District Court since before the pandemic and before the court moved into its new building. It was a real treat.
We’ve been watching court via zoom or YouTube since then and hadn’t seen a jury trial in person for a long time.
On Monday morning, May 22, there were real people crowded into a real courtroom. One young man had a baby in tow in a carrier. He said he didn’t have a sitter. Actually, he was one of the ones that was chosen to sit on the jury. The baby cried a little during testimony, but at the end was sitting up in the jury box and smiling.
One man was excused because he had a health problem, was in pain which caused him to have to lie down from time to time.
Another elderly man described his friend of 20 years who was dying and he wanted to be at his bedside.
These were real people with real lives and it was so nice to be among them instead of in front of a computer screen.
The jury listened attentively to the testimony, had lunch, got instructions from the judge, and then went into the jury room to deliberate. They were out in less than an hour’s time with their not-guilty verdict. And, that was it.
A Sumpter Township resident was given a jury of her peers and they listened to all the evidence presented and did what they were supposed to do. Gave their verdict.
It was great to see a jury in action again.