Immigration issue in a Connecticut courthouse

I  recently served as a juror here in the Northwest Corner, and was named jury foreperson by my fellow jurors.  The drama played out at the Litchfield courthouse, a civil case in which both the plaintiff and defendant were of Latino heritage.  A simple case, really:  a car accident, injuries and damages.

 Then, on the last of two full days of testimony, the defendant’s attorney spoke of the fact that his client, after all, was a longtime resident of Connecticut. He spent a few sentences discussing that fact.  And he then repeated it more than once subsequently before closing arguments.

 Later, during closing arguments, the lawyer for the plaintiff took a moment to express his feelings: “You know, folks, I feel I have to stop  for a moment and say that I’m really rather upset because something odious came into this courtroom today.  In a veiled attempt to bring the immigration issue into this case, my colleague saw fit to tell us more than once that the defendant is a longstanding resident of this state... Well, I just want to say that this is not Arizona!  We’re all the same here!  And I’m very disappointed, angry really, with my colleague.â€�

He then went on to say that just because his client was not a longtime resident of Connecticut did not mean that he was not a decent human being, or that he was less of a good-guy because he was a relative newcomer (the plaintiff had been in the United States for about six years).

Was this a bit of grandstanding by the plaintiff’s attorney?  Possibly.  There was money involved in this case, as the plaintiff suffered major injuries from the crash.  But we the jury saw it differently.  The plaintiff’s attorney was a good orator, intelligent, and seemingly full of integrity.  I should add that the defendant’s attorney also seemed to be a “good guy.â€�

Interestingly, while the plaintiff’s life as a farmer from South America to Connecticut was reviewed in great detail — we really got to know a lot about him — we  never did find out anything substantial about the defendant’s life.  We never heard what he did for a living, whether he was married, etc.

In the end, we found for the plaintiff, though both the defendant and plaintiff were found to be fifty percent responsible for the crash. This meant that the defendant, probably through his insurance, will be liable for fifty percent of all medical care costs incurred by the plaintiff. This not only covered what the plaintiff had already received in medical care, but we had to factor in the rest of his life as well. Not an easy value-judgment to make.

Back in the jury room deliberating, we had talked and talked, taken votes, and, as jury foreperson, I was fortunate to have a young woman who is majoring in mediation at Columbia University alongside me as a fellow juror. Democracy was served that day: We made the right decision.

And while the immigration issue certainly  played a  role in the case, by way of the attorney for the plaintiff’s impassioned closing argument, it was not the deciding factor. But as we left the courthouse that day, all of us felt we had witnessed an important litmus test of this country. Wherever you stand on the immigration issue today, remember: We are all immigrants in this land, everyone except Native Americans.  And when the chips are down, when the economy is tanking to such an excruciating degree, throughout our history, minorities, immigrants, people of different sexual orientations, etc., are the first to be singled-out as targets for blame.  Let us honestly search our heart-of-hearts and ascertain if it is really them we should blame and excoriate.

Peter Schaufele is a writer, producer and singer/songwriter living in Salisbury. A novel of his will be published by early 2011.

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