Livin’ Large’s Jury Duty Experience
February 8, 2012 3:35 PM 
My jury duty ended at 7:05 Tuesday night. It was two full days of doing my civic duty. On Monday I showed up for my jury duty appointment where I was selected as one of the twelve jurors for a felony robbery trial.
On October 15, 2011, Sonny Reese, 22, entered the home of a disabled man, Scott Luptak, at 6th and Howard and beat him with what was said to be a “meat tenderizer mallet”. A cell phone, cash and medical marijuana were stolen after the 10 minute attack. After several weeks in the hospital, the victim who walks with a “quad” cane is recovering at home. Scott Luptak and Sonny Reese have known each other for about 6 years. The verdict was guilty. The Billings Gazette covered the entire trial.
I enjoyed the banter back and forth between the two attorneys, and the soft spoken judge, Ingrid Gustafson. Soft spoken, yes, but she controlled the court room with grace and flare.
At 2:05 p.m., we entered the jury room to deliberate. After intelligent dialogue, a meal delivered by Tiny’s and more discussion, we had a verdict! The deliberation process took about 5 hours.
Some people think serving on a jury is a waste of time, but if you have never done it and you are requested, it is a great learning experience. It is your civic duty. Tomorrow I’ll be sharing “things I overheard in the jury room”. You would not believe what I heard!
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