My life as a "We, the Jury" participant

What's hot, steamy and wet, and has low light and visibility? Careful now, watch that imagination.

While you're ponder that, define this: the co-efficient of friction.

Give up?

The answer to the first question is a steam room; the answer to the second has something to do with the slip resistance of a given surface. I learned all that stuff and more while servicing as a juror a while back ago in the 22nd Circuit Court for the City of St. Louis.

Jury duty is not all bad. You learn new and exciting things, like having a description of a steam room forever imprinted upon your mind. And you meet interesting people, if only briefly, to share a common cause.

Jury duty gives you a chance to participate in a system of justice that, despite it bugs, and, in my opinion, is the greatest legal system in the world. I came away with a fresh appreciation of "We The People" and the role you and I must play to make the system work.

The trial in which I was involved was a civil case and took three days to complete. Twelve jurors, including myself, and one alternate listened to hours of testimony about whether a local health clubs was at fault for a hip injury sustained by a man who was a visitor to the club's steam room.

The man either slipped or misstepped while getting off the three deck tile tiers, or platforms in the steam room. Counsel for the plaintiff argued that different colored tile could have prevented the accident. The defense position was that the health club employed the necessary safety precautions. It argued that colored tile wouldn't have made a difference because the low visibility in the steam room would have made the tiles impossible to see beyond 3 feet.

Attorneys for the plaintiff and defense were good. They each presented the facts, as they saw them, in a clear and concise manner. The cross-examination of witnesses, both in deposition and in-person, was thorough.

Exhibits such as photographs of the steam room, 4-inch-long, bolt-like pins used to hold the man's fractured him together and a drawing of the injury were relevant. The lawyers for the defense and the plaintiff represented their respective clients in a professional manner.

After all the evidence had been presented, and the attorneys gave their final arguments, it was our turn - the jury - to decide the case. Based on what had been heard and seen, we 12 jurors had to reach a verdict. An agreement involving nine jurors constituted a valid verdict. Ten jurors decided the health club was not at fault.

The jury members, including myself, felt compassion for the man who had suffered physically because of the fall and might have to undergo hip replacement surgery. However, in a court of law, facts dictate over compassion. The defense attorneys delivered evidence that led to enough jurors putting together the facts that showed that the plaintiff was entirely to blame for his injury.

My experience as a juror will be a lasting one. I'm glad my life was disrupted for a few days while I fulfilled my civic duty. I learned about the law as well as a practical application for the co-efficient of friction: how slippery a surface is sometimes depends on a person's feet - and all feet are not the same.