A fair and impartial juror.

• Author: Levco, Stan

I'VE BEEN SELECTED for the upcoming jury pool.

I realize my chances of actually serving on the jury are about the same as President Obama's selecting Sarah Palin as his running mate for 2012. However, that doesn't absolve me of playing the game and filling out my questionnaire completely and honestly.

There were 29 questions. I breezed through all of them other than Question #27, which asked, "Do you know of any valid reason that would disqualify you from jury service or why you could not serve as a fair and impartial juror?"

Hmmm. My fairness and impartiality have certainly been questioned by others, but is that a valid reason for disqualification. I know some defense attorneys who may think so.

Do you realize, Mr. Levco, the fact that a charge has been filed against my client raises no presumption of his guilt?

Sure, I realize that. I also realize that a charge couldn't have been filed unless a neutral and detached magistrate determined there was probable cause to believe your client was guilty. But even knowing that, I can set that aside and not consider it in my deliberations.

And if we choose to do so, we could present no evidence, not question a single witness and make no statement to the jury. How would you feel about that?

If you did that, I'd think you were an idiot or deliberately trying to set up grounds for appeal. I know there's no way you'll do nothing and if you did, it would get reversed in a heartbeat on appeal for ineffective assistance of counsel. But, bottom line, if you really did nothing and the case isn't proven, I'd have no problem with a not guilty verdict.

You don't believe the fact that a charge has been filed means my client is guilty, do you?

No. I think that would only be true well over 90% of the time. But hey, each case is different and even though I know it's highly likely your client is guilty, I realize it's possible he may not be or more probably that it can't be proven beyond a reasonable...