Bobby Cutts Jr. and Juror Bias Against Law Enforcement

Associated Press coverage of the Bobby Cutt's Jr. trial has revealed his testimony about what happened on the day his girlfriend died. According to Bobby Cutts Jr.'s testimony, he was in a rush to leave his girlfriend's, Jesse Davis, apartment when she grabbed him and told him he couldn't leave. He had stopped by to pick up their 2 year old son. When she grabbed him he threw his elbow out to push her away. Whether this is really what happened or not, only Bobby knows. However, there is no doubt about what happened next. Jesse Davis died.

Next Bobby claims to have been in shock by her death. He then decided to have a friend help him dispose of her body.

Volunteers helped search for Jesse until finally Bobby admitted to FBI agents where he had dumped her body.

Bobby gave an emotional account for the jury today in Canton, Ohio, but will their interpretation of his story be sullied by their own past run-ins with the law? Or will they think that he was an upstanding citizen just because he was a cop and cut him some slack because of their respect for law enforcement?

I think that I would be able to hold my biases in check as a juror, despite growing up with parents who thought most authority figures are crooked. Then again, I can't say that I blame my parents' for their beliefs after growing up in a small town and seeing some of the cronism and pure politics of how some situations were handled.

Bobby Cutts Jr.'s case has a couple of other factors that may influence his jurors besides his former occupation: race and the beginning of life.

Cutts was black; Davis was white. While Canton isn't a tiny, predominantly white or black city, it is hard to completely separate race from biases. Most people who proclaim not to be racist, and who may genuinely not be racist most of the time, sometimes show a preference for their own race. It's sort of like a home team mentality; you want "your" side to win.

Since Davis was nine months pregnant most people will agree that her unborn child was a viable human being, capable of living independently from the mother. Ohio allows murder charges for unborn fetuses anyway, but the child will certainly be a factor in jurors' view of Cutts. Jurors who are parents or who are around young children and infants will be able to more vividly envision not only the loss of the woman's life, but also the loss of her innocent child's life.
Had Cutts called 911 immediately, could the child have been saved? We may never know, but it will certainly be something for the jurors to think about.

Back to the law enforcement angle: will jurors be harder on Cutts to try to compensate for any special favor they fear he may receive from the judicial system or law enforcement agents? Will they think because he was a cop that he thought he was above the law?

Less likely, but still within the realm of possibility: will some of the jurors cut him some slack due to his stressful job? Will they think he deserves leniency because he took a dangerous job to defend the community?

While jurors are supposed to shed all biases and look at the facts, I know that it would be difficult to do so. Still, I know that as a juror I would want to put myself in his place and try to see why he did what he did. Even though the death was alledgedly an accident why did he still cover it up? Is he crying during his testimony because he genuinely feels remorse and regret or because he is afraid of his fate? I would try to judge him as honestly as I would hoped to be judged if it were me being put on trial.

Sources:

Associated Press, Wife of Bobby Cutts Jr., Suspect in Pregnant Woman's Murder, Files for Divorce, http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,286887,00.html

David Schoetz, Accidental Death or Aggravated Murder?, http://abcnews.go.com/TheLaw/story?id=4277554&page=1

DAVID SCHOETZ