A Jury of One’s Peers

It’s unlikely in the unlikely event that I should be tried for a crime, that a jury of my peers would be seated. Old, white, middle class women? I think not.

First of all, in this state if you are my age you are excused from serving on a jury. I think that’s a huge mistake. Here we are: experienced women, wise, learned, retired, former nurses, teachers, secretaries, having raised many children, available and willing.

Originally, the “founding fathers” envisioned old, white, wealthy men making up juries. Today, that describes Donald Trump’s peers.

The judge set to try his case was appointed to the bench by him.

And in Dade county, who will make up the jury pool? I am thinking more of a sampling of that population rather rich, white men. I hope so.

Trump’s attorney Alina Habba, who is not part of the team representing him in the classified documents case, told Fox News on Sunday that Trump would not plan to seek a plea deal — “especially when he’s not done anything wrong,” she added. “He would never admit guilt.”

People who cannot see that they ever made a mistake, small or great, terrify me. There are always extenuating circumstances, rules that make no sense so they need not be honored.

“Honor” is a meaningful word here. Every screws up. Owning up is the honorable thing. Saying sorry is the automatic response for most of us.

When a boy grows up never having had his errors pointed out to him by loving parents, he becomes a narcissist. A colleague who is a narcissist is damn annoying. When it’s the most powerful man in the world, it is literally earth-shaking.