📄 Jury scheduling — Wednesday, October 23, 1996
Address:
C:\DEPT103\CIVIL\1996\OCT\23\JURY-SCHEDULING.DOC
TRIAL
▲ Day 1 of 57

Jury scheduling

Date: Wednesday, October 23, 1996 • Utterances: 17
Judge Fujisaki discussed the court calendar with jurors, covering holiday recesses for Thanksgiving, Christmas, Veterans Day, and MLK Day. The main discussion centered on whether to adjust the Thanksgiving recess dates for travel, prompted by Juror 78's tentative out-of-town plans. The judge also addressed Election Day, opting to hold a full session since polls stay open until 8pm.
1 THE COURT:

Ladies and gentlemen, I understand that there was inquiry of the clerk or bailiff when the court will be dark. At the outset, when we went through hardship, we gave you a schedule on the back of the hardship declaration. The only substantial changes I would see would be the Thanksgiving holiday and Christmas holidays. If you have some definite plans with regards to Thanksgiving that is going to take you out of town the day before Thanksgiving, or you're going to have any difficulty coming back by Sunday night following Thanksgiving, we'll not change the schedule. Originally we scheduled November 27 through December 2 as Thanksgiving, allowing for long-distance travel that family reunions may call for. I know it's difficult to get air flights both out and back from Los Angeles. Do any of the jurors have those plans in mind?

2 (Nod negatively.)
3 THE COURT:

Nobody?

4 (Nod negatively.)
5 THE COURT:

You have plans that --

JUROR 78: They're tentative. I didn't know what dates.

6 THE COURT:

Is it out-of-town traveling?

JUROR 78: Yes, sir.

7 THE COURT:

Would that be by air or...

JUROR 78: Plane.

8 THE COURT:

Would you prefer that it not be changed?

JUROR 78: They took the hardship forms back from us, and at the time, we didn't even know.

9 THE COURT:

The 27TH would be the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, and the 2nd would be the Monday following Thanksgiving. If you need those as travel days, I will leave it as court recess days.

JUROR 78: The Tuesday after Thanksgiving?

KEY QUOTE
10 THE COURT:

No.

JUROR 78: Oh. Monday. That would be fine.

11 THE COURT:

That would be the Wednesday preceding -- before Thanksgiving and the Monday following Thanksgiving. So that would be Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday. Okay. Everybody understand that?

12 (Nod affirmatively.)
13 THE COURT:

I'll have the bailiff give you a written schedule. And then assuming were's still in session at Christmas, that would be December 23 through January 3. Okay. Other than that, the holidays would be Veteran's Day. The courtroom -- the whole court building is dark. That's November 11. And should this case go into January, January 20 is Dr. Martin Luther King holiday. The court building is dark also on that date.

JUROR 266: What about election?

14 THE COURT:

Election day is?

JUROR 266: It's the 5th. It's the 4th.

15 JUROR:

5Th.

16 THE COURT:

It's the 5th. We can adjourn half a day, if you like. Normally the voting places are open, I think, till eight o'clock, so I would like to go the whole day.

JUROR 266: That's fine.

KEY QUOTE
17 THE COURT:

Okay. All right. Then, we shall see you tomorrow morning at 8:30. You're excused. Don't talk about the case with anyone; don't form or express any opinion; don't do any research. Thank you. Counsel, would you remain.

Temperature

routine

Key Quotes (2)

Hiroshi Fujisaki
The 27TH would be the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, and the 2nd would be the Monday following Thanksgiving. If you need those as travel days, I will leave it as court recess days.
Fujisaki accommodating a juror's travel needs, showing attentiveness to juror welfare mid-trial.
Hiroshi Fujisaki
It's the 5th. We can adjourn half a day, if you like. Normally the voting places are open, I think, till eight o'clock, so I would like to go the whole day.
Fujisaki balancing civic participation with trial efficiency, choosing a full session day for Election Day.

Notable Exchanges (2)

Hiroshi FujisakiJUROR 78
Juror 78 raised tentative Thanksgiving travel plans; Fujisaki walked through the specific recess dates and confirmed they covered the necessary travel window.
collaborative
Hiroshi FujisakiJUROR 266
Juror 266 asked about Election Day; Fujisaki and jurors briefly sorted out whether it fell on the 4th or 5th, then Fujisaki decided to hold a full session.
light

Light Moments (1)

JUROR 266 / Juror
Brief confusion among jurors over whether Election Day was November 4th or 5th, with multiple voices chiming in before Fujisaki settled it.

Witness Demeanor

(Nod negatively.)
(Nod negatively.)
(Nod affirmatively.)

Objections

None recorded
Proceeding 7985 • 17 utterances
Civil Trial
Department 103
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📂 OCT 23, 1996 📄 Jury scheduling
OCT 23, 1996 KRT DvH TD