Baseball

Quote of the Day: And Steroids Are Obviously a Critical Tool of the American Baseball System

Coffee is essential during trials -- how else are the jurors supposed to stay awake?

By Staci Zaretsky on May 16, 2012 1:46 pm

Coffee is a critical tool of the American justice system.

— Daniel C. Richman, a professor at Columbia Law School, commenting on the need for jurors to have access to caffeine during trials. This topic arose after recent happenings in the Roger Clemens trial.

(What happened during Roger Clemens’s trial that would elicit such a response? Find out, after the jump.)

Apparently real-life trials just aren’t as exciting as those portrayed in episodes of Law and Order. The Clemens trial is in its fifth week, and two jurors have already been dismissed for falling asleep during testimony. The New York Times has the snooze-worthy details:

The first juror excused by the judge, Reggie Walton of United States District Court, was a 27-year-old chronically unemployed man who was let go last week. During juror questioning, he told prosecutors that he would “rather be asleep” than serve on the jury. In the end, he tried to do both but failed.

That guy couldn’t tell you who’s on first, because quite frankly, he didn’t give a damn. So who else was caught dozing off in the jury box this week?

Another juror, a young woman who works as a cashier at a supermarket . . . nodded off on Monday — the day [Brian] McNamee, Clemens’s former trainer, began his testimony — and was dismissed by Walton on Tuesday.

Memo to jurors: the court doesn’t even get to three strikes when you’re on jury duty — you’re just out.

As Clemens Trial Drags, Jury Keeps Dozing [New York Times]
Two Jurors in Clemens Case Are Dismissed for Sleeping During Testimony [ABA Journal]