Dealing with legalities
Published: 1/25/2008 2:51 PM
Last Modified: 1/25/2008 2:51 PM
This week I had the fascinating experience of jury duty in Tulsa County district court. It was fascinating after enduring the tedious and long wait just to hear my name selected for a jury pool. For some unknown reason, the two attorneys in this small claims case felt I deserved to be one of the six jurors for the trial. Who knew?
The three-plus hours hearing the testimony of the witness, examination and cross-examination from the lawyers as well as their closing statements, and the deciphering the other five jurors and I went through to reach the final verdict gave me a greater appreciation and understanding of the legal system in our country.
I don't know what Oklahoma State tight end Brandon Pettigrew's feelings are about the judicial system in the United States. But he is about to find out how it works.
When my Tulsa World colleague Bill Haisten informed me late Monday afternoon about the charges brought against Pettigrew stemming from an incident last weekend, I was completely stunned. Just last week I wrote in this blog space how Pettigrew had no issues that would smudge his character or reputation. Oops.
When Pettigrew announced last week that he was bypassing the NFL Draft and would return to OSU for his senior year, Bill and I both predicted that it was a 95 percent probability that Pettigrew would be elected a team captain this fall. Pettigrew commands that much respect from his OSU teammates.
I don't know if last weekend's incident lessens that respect or Pettigrew's chances of becoming a team captain. I'm not going to judge Pettigrew solely on this one transgression. He is a superb talent and a fine young man who made a mistake. A very big mistake.
--- Matt Doyle
Written by
Bill Haisten
Sports Writer
