Kathleen's jury awards $10,000,000 to plaintiff today

Kathleen served on a mock jury at the Wm. Mitchell College of Law today, just for the fun of it. While most people do their best to avoid jury duty, it has always been Kathleen's not-so-secret wish to serve on one. She was called once, but dismissed, much to her chagrin.

Judge Kathleen Gearin, a retired judge, volunteers to
run the mock jury at Wm. Mitchelll. She overruled
every objection today.

So when our neighbor, John Gerken, mentioned that he had served as a volunteer juror for the law school practice court, Kathleen said she would like to do that too. John said that could be arranged, and got her an invitation to join the fun in the jury room.
Kathleen and John departed bright and early, (or as John, an ex-flight controller, likes to say: "Wheels Up at 7:10") and drove to Wm Mitchell, which is in the same building that once housed Kathleen's freshman high school, Our Lady of Peace. It's just down the street from the Governor's Mansion on Summit Avenue in Kathleen's beloved St. Paul.

John Gerken, Jury Foreman
and Kathleen's excellent
driver to St. Paul.

Kathleen said it was fun. Four lawyers and a real judge presented a civil case involving a woman who took two steps into the street and was hit by a van, and thrown 15 feet. Who was at fault? The woman said she had a green light. Van driver said he had a green light when he entered the intersection, then it turned to yellow.
The woman had brain damage, but recovered and has a permanent impairment and left her job as CEO of a Fortune 500 company,  where she made $200,000 a year. She takes medication and is always fearful of another seizure.
The delivery man had been drinking, but wasn't drunk, according to Kathleen's notes.
The jury deliberated for a half hour (John got elected foreman) in a bugged room, with the student lawyers listening in. A consensus award of $10,000,000 was given to the plaintiff, a Mrs. Helen Darngood.
Our juror is back home with stories to tell. She had fun and would love doing it again.