Tuckahoe Village Departments

TUCKAHOE TALK
With Mayor John Fitzpatrick

Horatio, Where art thou?

March 12, 2009

The unrealistic television show, "CSI Miami", and other shows of that kind never cease to drive me crazy. In fact, I am beginning to worry they might eventually be responsible for unraveling a part of the fabric of society. Now that may seem overly critical to the point of being over the top. But I will have you know, this charge is not merely referencing the overacting of characters like the redheaded guy, Horatio. And for the record, I am even annoyed by the feeble attempt of the show's creators to legitimize this character by naming him after Hamlet's sidekick who is charged at the end of the play with informing the unknowing world as to the reason for the plots, murders, and unnatural acts that have transpired.

While the above-mentioned may be enough reason to never watch this show, one may feel it still falls short of the solid cause for concern. Well, the real reason I am critical of this show and those like it, is the potential harm it can have on citizens who maybe prospective jurors. Obviously, I don't mean all residents, just the ones who cannot distinguish TV from reality. To some this may not seem like a rational topic or fear but I must report that Tuckahoe village in the last several months has had three jury trials. More than a decade had passed without a single jury trial, and suddenly three in short succession.

Any person accused of either a misdemeanor or felony is entitled to a trial. Cities may hold felony trials; however, the county serves the towns and villages for this function. Villages may hold misdemeanor trials if requested by the accused. This can be trial by judge or jury. Unlike felony juries of twelve, a misdemeanor trial is just six of one's peers. Amusingly, many residents find it odd they have been summoned to jury duty in our village, but all juries selected for service in Tuckahoe are comprised of eligible residents from Bronxville, Eastchester or Tuckahoe.

Here are the outcomes of these latest trials: Two of the accused were found not guilty, and the third cut a deal (or copped a plea or whatever the right term is) prior to a verdict. This is obviously not a stellar batting average for the Assistant District Attorney from the County who was assigned to handle this business, but I guess, "You can't win 'em all".

I peeked in for various moments of all three trials and made a few personal observations. The most alarming is that the public is generally leery of the police and their power. The defense obviously exploits this notion while the prosecution is forced to counter this suspicion. Knowing two of the jurors who participated, and after the culmination of the trials, I had an opportunity to ask what they thought of the process. For the record, both of these people are intelligent, non - knuckleheads and each had strong opinions regarding the testimony of the incidents.

So why is it that people have an idea of how testimony should look when most have never served as a juror? Their observations have to be skewed by some unconscious conditioning. I believe it's TV and Film. Unfortunately, the reality of officers testifying looks vastly different from that of actors. Law enforcement officials are trained to keep notes on each incident and often refer to these notes during testimony. On the other hand, TV counterparts can recall bizarre obscure facts that are always the key to a conviction. I have noticed other residents suffering from a TV mentality; for instance, several came to my office to complain that blood from a neighborhood teen fight wasn't analyzed for DNA.

The law, how it is administered and its ramifications within Tuckahoe have factored into many of my writings throughout the years. I always considered the law of Tuckahoe to be a triptych in a sense with the Village Board writing the law, Chief Costanzo and the Police enforcing the law and Judge Fuller and Judge O'Toole overseeing its administration. Clearly this has been flawed thinking since I excluded the residents who comprise the potential jury.

So what is it that I and other Tuckahoe residents can best hope for in the imperfect world of jury trials? We can expect people to think freely and we must hope they believe in the officers who protect us. And so, to the prospective jurors of tomorrow, I will leave you with this thought: nothing is exact; nothing is foolproof, including the search for order and justice. As Leonard Cohen sings "There is a crack in everything - that's how the light gets in."