"Jury will disregard"

We heard from Alan Simon, the man whose front door, bookshelf, scalp and wrist had felt the effects of 9 nine-millimeter bullets.

At one point the DA apologized for a delay springing from technical issues with an overhead projector. "No problem," said Alan. "I've waited 4 years, what's another 10 minutes?"

He described how the defendant had come to his home and asked Alan to remove his name from the recall petition. Alan refused.

"What happened then?" asked the DA.

"You want to know what happened next?" Pause. He looked genuinely uncomfortable, took a deep breath.

"Mr. Rogers said, 'Do you want a nigger running this town? Do you want this town run by VB, who's sucked the c***k of every man up and down the coast?'"

Defense counsel, in a bored voice, said, "Objection. Hearsay."

Judge: "Sustained. Jury will disregard."

DA: "Tell the jury what happened after that."

Simon: "I said to him, 'You don't know how I was raised. You don't know what I believe. It's not what you believe. Now get out of my house.'"

I admit I've never understood how exactly a jury manages to disregard something they've already heard, and it didn't get any clearer for me in this case. Alan Simon's words stuck with me, wormed their way into my psyche. The contrast between the defendant's cordial courtroom demeanor and that reported spew of racism and misogyny shook me to my core. I admit it stayed in my consciousness as we deliberated. A few other jurors said the same thing. Later I came back to Alan Simon's testimony as a confirmation that we had made the right call.

(My recollection of this exchange is different from that of the reporter in the summary here. The reporter recalls that the defense counsel was questioning Alan Simon when he told of the racist and sexist comments. I remember it as the ADA doing the questioning.)