Most people consider jury duty an incredible hassle; something they try to avoid at all costs. The aversion is high enough to warrant distaste for courthouses in general, but what if you work at one, defending those accused of crimes? And then, if you are chosen as a juror on a San Francisco murder case, is that conflict of interest or a new form of job training?
According to SFGate, public defender defense lawyer (thanks, TK!) Tony Tamburello will be in that exact position. The slaying, which occurred on May 8, 2009, is said to have occurred when the defendant, Mikel Harris, allegedly “cut” Andre Fluker out of “reflex” after Fluker had slapped him. The struggle occurred while Fluker was retrieving property he had stored at Harris’ Turk Street apartment.
Despite the severity of the crime and Tamburello’s legal expertise as a defender, many see no problem in Tamburello’s task as juror. Tamburello believes he’ll be fair and SF DA’s office spokeswoman Erica Derryck noted that all seated jurors expressed the same fairness and impartiality about their skills as well.
Although there are many ways to get out of jury duty, apparently being in a legal-minded profession isn’t one of them. Regardless of unbiasedness, with Tamburello’s experience and the odd occurrence of his serving on the jury of a murder trial, do you think his presence will help or hinder the defendant’s case?
