Hummel Reflects on Importance of Jury Duty
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WHEELING - As Circuit Judge David Hummel Jr. nears the benchmark of his 75th jury trial, he was invited to share his thoughts on what he's seen in his life and career with the Wheeling Rotary Club Tuesday afternoon.
Speaking during the Rotary's weekly lunch, Hummel touched on the weight of the decisions he must make when ruling on cases, in particular, criminal cases where the jury's verdict and his sentence can deprive a person's freedom for years, possibly for the rest of their life in some ways.
Hummel discussed how he works to accommodate jurors -- he said doughnuts were particularly effective -- and how he impressed on potential jurors the weight of their duty.
"Jury service is so enormous, particularly … when you take a person's liberty," he said. "For some sex offenders, when they get a new computer, when they get a new cell phone, when they get a new Twitter account, everything's registered. If they get a car that doesn't even run, it gets registered. … That's why the jury trials are so important. It's not just immediate incarceration, it's what's going to follow them, literally, throughout their life."
He also spoke about how he knew of several people who had fallen victim to phone scams, buying gift cards or wiring money to strangers posing as endangered loved ones, losing hundreds or thousands in the process -- up to $25,000, in one case.
"This is a lot of money to a lot of people," Hummel said. "That's what happens to good people. Trusting people. people who care."
Hummel is running for West Virginia Supreme Court in a non-partisan election during the May 12 primary.