KENOSHA, Wis. — The 12 jurors tasked with reaching a verdict and deciding the fate of Kyle Rittenhouse will share an unbreakable bond long after the trial in Kenosha is done.
During the critical jury deliberation process, the jurors develop a strong camaraderie.
When you are picked as a member of a jury, you all start as strangers with only one thing in common - the trial you're sitting on, which is the one thing you cannot talk about.
“They're going through a unique circumstance that nobody else can understand except for one another,” said Christina Marinakis, a jury consulting adviser.
Marinakis helped select the jury in the trial of former Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin, who was found guilty of the death of George Floyd.
"You have people from a cross section of the community, who probably would never otherwise talk to one another or be together,” said Marinakis. “Now, they are on a team with an important task that they must come together for.”
“We call it jury duty for a reason, because it is hard work,” said jury consultant Robert Hirschhorn. “It takes a lot of time and attention.”
Hirschhorn helped select juries in several big national cases, like the trial of George Zimmerman, who shot and killed Trayvon Martin in 2012, and the 2003 murder trial of New York real-estate heir, Robert Durst.
“Jury members build the same kind of relationship that you might build with coworkers, or if you're in the military,” Hirschhorn said. “It's a strong bond that will last, for years, if not decades, beyond this trial.”
Lori Sundt was on the jury that convicted Jeffrey Dahmer in Wisconsin nearly 30 years ago. She says she and her fellow jurors often shared meals and stories and remained close for a long time.
“I made some great friends, but lost touch with them unfortunately,” said Sundt. “We grew from that experience together.”
Brandon Mitchell, a juror in Derek Chauvin's trial in Minneapolis earlier this year, says he and fellow jurors found support in each other after it was over.
“It’s a very difficult process, especially after it’s over, and the media is reaching out to you,” said Mitchell. “Because we did build that camaraderie throughout the experience, we knew we had all been through the exact same thing and were dealing with the aftermath. They understood what I was feeling and going through. It just makes sense to lean on them.”
And that's why jury consultants say regardless of the verdict reached, jurors in the Kyle Rittenhouse trial, who did not volunteer for that role, deserve to be thanked for the job many of us would not choose to do.
