Notes From Juror No. 6
the courtroom of Bexar County Court 3 is located in the basement of this fine edifice
The first time I was summoned to the Bexar County Justice Center, I was not selected as a juror and was dismissed before lunch. The next time I had to wait until after lunch before I was dismissed. I was called to be part of a pool of potential jurors during my third visit, but was ultimately not selected.
During my fourth visit, however, I was chosen to be "Juror #6".
Like most, I have some basic knowledge of the judicial system thanks to the many depictions of it on TV and in movies. This makes sense as a trial is an inherently dramatic event with characters and conflict as well as defined beginning, middle, and end. But what is true of the legal profession cannot be said of the architectural profession: there are, in fact, very few depictions the process of designing a building in the media as it can be quite long and boring.
Although some of what transpired in Bexar County Court 3 was tedious, because it was the first time I personally had to experience it, I found it engaging all the same. I can say that my five fellow jurors (district courts utilize 12 jurors while county courts only have 6) all took our jobs seriously. We followed the instructions given to us by the Judge: we did not discuss the specifics of the case, we listened carefully to the testimony of both the plaintiff and the defense, and we remained objective as we deliberated our verdict. We did the best we could with what we were given, but some questions naturally remained even after we were released. Why was the police report referenced in the testimony not entered as evidence? Why did the plaintiff wait so long to file action against the defendant? Why did the defense attorney spend so much time on small details that seemed to have no real relevance?
Similar questions litter the built environment as well. Usually there’s reason why some aspect of a building exists the way it does even if that reason is unsatisfying. Sometimes an obscure code requirement requires a less-than-elegant resolution. Maybe an engineer failed to think through the integration of a system. Maybe the owner decided at the last minute they needed a larger closet.
Like the way we render justice, the way we create architecture is not perfect. There are certainly to improve both systems, but it is comforting to know that the individuals involved are all doing the best they can.
