D-Day always reminds me of the following story. In 1995, I was involved with a high profile negligent homicide boating accident case which occurred on the Piscataqua River (the boarder between NH and Maine). It was potentially a long trial and one potential juror after another offered increasingly lame excuses as why they could not serve on the jury. Finally, after hearing one lame excuse too many, Judge Douglas Gray (the same judge who sat on the Pamela Smart trial) slammed his fist down on the bench and said something along these lines.... Ladies and gentlemen, I know you dont want to be here. I know you think you have other more important things to do. Fifty one years ago, there were thousands of American troops who stormed Omaha Beach in Normandy. I can assure you that not one of those soldiers wanted to be there. But they served that day-- many making the ultimate sacrifice-- so that you could be here today. So that you could be part of free society where justice is decided by regular people. You have been given an enormous gift and in my view, you have a tremendous debt to pay. So before you try to get out of this small civic responsibility with some pathetic excuse, think of what those men did so you could be here today... On this 70th anniversary, I think of this story and those patriots. I thank them and honor them for their sacrifice. I hope they enjoy a special place in heaven. And I hope to honor their memory by working every day to celebrate this free and democratic society in which we live.
Posted on: Fri, 06 Jun 2014 22:06:08 +0000
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