Date: Fri 27-Jun-1997

Publication: Bee

Author: CAROLK

Quick Words:

Voir-Dire-Wharf-Sutton-justice

Full Text:

(rev "Voir Dire" @Long Wharf Theatre, 6/27/97)

Inspired By Simpson, A Riveting Look At Today's Justice System

(with photo)

By Julie Stern

NEW HAVEN - In Joe Sutton's Voir Dire , the current offering at Long Wharf

Theatre, Michael didn't even want to be picked for the jury until he sensed

the defense lawyer thought he was too cocky. That made him determined to get

on the panel and now, as the only male, he is trying to take over the show.

Gloria's not going to let that happen, however. A feminist with attitude, she

lets him know in no uncertain terms that she and the other four women jurors

are not going to take any of his bullying aggression.

Debra, who has a master's in counseling, is trying to use her mediating skills

to keep them from strangling one another.

Meanwhile, Isobel is worrying about some backstabber at the office trying to

move in on her job while she's here; fresh-faced Faith, the publishing trainee

from Nebraska, is wondering why New York isn't more fun yet; and timid Theresa

is doubled up in silent pain, a mixture of shyness and untreated ulcers.

The task facing this group is to determine the fate of the defendant, Lester

Carmichael, who was arrested by a stakeout team after they observed him buying

two vials of crack from a known drug dealer. Technically, the charge of

possession is only a misdemeanor. If Carmichael is found guilty, he would

ultimately be placed on probation.

As Carmichael is an admitted addict, and three police officers testified to

witnessing the buy and finding the drugs in his pocket, Michael, Isabel and

Faith are convinced of his guilt.

However, the case has larger ramifications. Carmichael is a New York City

school principal, and he is also an African-American. A conviction would mean

the certain loss of his job and the end of his career. For Debra, who is

African-American herself, the prospect of contributing to the ruin of a black

man is unacceptable, and Gloria, who seethes with generalized anger at

perceived oppression everywhere, quickly forms a tacit alliance with her.

Since the system requires a unanimous decision, the group finds itself at an

impasse. When they send word to the judge that they cannot reach agreement, he

tells them to get back to work. In fact, he orders them to be sequestered in a

Staten Island motel until they come to a decision, setting up this disturbing

courtroom drama.

Inspired by the O.J. Simpson trial, Joe Sutton has written a play about

several issues currently troubling our society.

Identity politics, wherein people feel their race or gender or ethnic

background constitutes the most profound aspect of their identity, is one such

issue. The historical experience of oppression creates an automatic bond

between members of that group, which outsiders can never feel, demands that

whenever they are in a position to make a decision, or exert power, they must

act consciously "as a black person," or "as a Jew," or "as a woman."

Jury nullification is another matter. This is the practice of a jury violating

its instructions by reaching a verdict not on the basis of evidence, but on

which it privately feels to be a larger good. Ironically this has roots in the

segregated south, where all-white juries consistently refused to convict white

defendants accused of murdering blacks.

Today, however, the phenomenon more frequently entails black jurors who refuse

to convict black defendants. Supporters of this idea argue that racist police

are too ready to arrest black males, often on spurious evidence or trumped up

charges. Keeping another black man out of jail, particularly when the alleged

crime is a non-violent one, is more important than observing the dictates of

the law.

This is not Twelve Angry Men , in which one decent man forces the others to

examine their prejudices; and it is not Rashomon in which the truth of what

happened changes drastically according to the perception of each person

involved. The question is whether this contentious bunch of individuals - who

in their "Voir Dire" interrogation promised they could be fair and impartial

in considering the merits of the case - can actually shelve their differences

and deal with one another in good faith.

The cast is extremely good in delineating each character, complete with

appropriate accents and body language. At times, when they are being

particularly disputatious, being in the theater is unpleasantly like being

locked in a jury room with them, especially when this is exacerbated by the

loud, dissonant music which is used to indicate the passage of time.

Voir Dire offers no easy answers or pat solution, but it does offer some

glimmer of hope. When Theresa collapses in pain from her ulcer, all posturing

disappears and the others are united in their genuine concern for her.

Give people a real emergency and they respond with natural decency that is a

far greater stamp of identity than race.

(Long Wharf will continue to present Voir Dire until July 3. The theatre is at

222 Sargent Drive in New Haven. Call 787-4282 for tickets, details.)