I Swear I'll Follow the Law. Just Not That Bit.

Six weeks of evidence. Seven days of deliberation. Twelve jurors.

And apparently one cunt decided the rules were more of a suggestion.

The Lindsay Clancy trial has ended in a mistrial after the jury failed to reach a unanimous verdict.

But the most extraordinary part isn't that twelve people disagreed. It's what the jury's foreperson reportedly said about the one juror who wouldn't.

According to the foreperson's note, that juror acknowledged having reasonable doubt but refused to apply it to the verdict as the law required. Defence lawyer Kevin Reddington argued the juror had previously sworn they would follow the judge's instructions and suggested that, if they weren't doing so, they had effectively lied under oath.

And that is one hell of a fucking problem.

Pick a lane, cunt.

You don't get to stand up, swear you'll follow the rules, sit through six weeks of evidence, listen to the judge explain the law, acknowledge reasonable doubt...

...and then apparently decide: “Yeah, nah. Not that bit.”

That's not disagreement. That's not simply seeing the evidence differently. That's not being the one independent thinker in the room.

If the allegations are accurate, it's something much uglier: deciding which part of the law you're prepared to obey.

Imagine doing that anywhere else.

“Do you understand the speed limit?” “Yes.” “Will you obey it?” “Yes.” “Excellent.” Then you drive home at 140 because, well, you personally didn't agree with that particular bit.

You'd be a cunt.

At work: “Do you understand the safety procedure?” “Yes.” “Will you follow it?” “Yes.” Then you ignore the procedure because you've decided it doesn't apply to you.

You'd be a cunt.

At an airport: “Do you understand the security requirements?” “Yes.” “Will you comply?” “Yes.“Actually, I've reconsidered.”

Straight to being that cunt.

But somehow, in a courtroom, where the entire fucking point of the jury system is to apply the law to the evidence, this allegedly becomes:

“I acknowledge the doubt. I just refuse to apply it.”

That's not a disagreement. That's a deadlock with an ego.

Eleven jurors reportedly reached one conclusion. One didn't. Fine. That's democracy doing its difficult, uncomfortable thing.

One juror can absolutely be right while eleven are wrong. That's why juries aren't supposed to be popularity contests.

But there's a massive difference between saying:

“I don't agree with you because I don't believe the prosecution has proved its case.”

and:

“I acknowledge the doubt, but I'm not applying it.”

The first is deliberation.

The second, if that's genuinely what happened, makes a complete mockery of the exercise.

Because reasonable doubt isn't an optional extra. It's not a buffet. You don't get to take the bits of the law you like and leave the rest sitting on the plate.

And look what it cost.

A verdict wasn't reached. A six week trial didn't produce an answer. The families involved don't get resolution. The defendant doesn't get the verdict she was entitled to have a jury determine.

The other eleven jurors reportedly spent nearly 40 hours trying to reach an answer.

And everyone walks away with the giant legal equivalent of:

“Fuck knows. Start again.”

A mistrial was ultimately declared after the jury remained deadlocked.

That's not some minor administrative hiccup. That's an enormous consequence. For everyone.

And if one juror really did acknowledge reasonable doubt but then refuse to apply the legal standard they were sworn to follow, the uncomfortable question isn't whether that person was entitled to disagree.

Of course they were.

The question is:

What the fuck was the disagreement actually about?

Because the law isn't BYO. 

You don't get to customise it. You don't get to say:

“I'll take reasonable doubt, but I won't be applying it today.” “I'll follow the judge's instructions, except the ones I don't personally agree with.” “I'll do my civic duty, but only according to my own rulebook.”

That's not how this works. At least, it shouldn't be.

And before anyone screams that we're attacking a juror for having a different opinion, let's be clear:

Having a different opinion is not the issue.

A juror absolutely has the right to disagree with eleven other people.

The issue is the allegation that this particular juror acknowledged reasonable doubt and nevertheless refused to apply that doubt as the law required.

Those are very different things.

Everyone's a Cunt

And this is where Everyone's a Cunt gets uncomfortably relevant.

Because there is a special species of cunt who loves rules when the rules are working in their favour.

They'll lecture everyone else about procedure. They'll demand fairness. They'll insist everyone follow the rules. Right up until the rules produce an outcome they don't like.

Then suddenly there's an exemption. A technicality. A personal interpretation. A “yeah, but…” And before you know it, they're standing in the middle of the fucking rulebook insisting it doesn't apply to them.

That's not integrity.

That's selective compliance with a side order of self importance.

The cunt isn't the person who disagrees.

That's important. The cunt isn't automatically the minority. The cunt isn't automatically the majority. The cunt isn't the person who asks difficult questions. The cunt isn't even necessarily the person who gets it wrong.

The cunt, if the allegation is true, is the person who swore to follow the rules and then decided they could write their own.

Because six weeks of testimony shouldn't come down to whether one person feels like applying the law today.

And a jury system shouldn't be reduced to:

“I swear I'll follow the rules.” “Great.” “Except those ones.”

That's not justice. That's one hell of a fucking way to make sure nobody gets any.

Everyone's a Cunt. But some cunts apparently want to be the judge, jury and fucking rulebook as well.

 

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