The Choice Series: Jessica Hanson

A cop. Autism. Dementia… Tourette Syndrome. Are all juries like this?

Jessica Hanson exhibited Tourette-like tics through the entirety of the case. She didn’t have vocalizations, just twitches of the face, particularly in the eyebrows and forehead. Tourette Syndrome is a neurological disorder one is born with. It was difficult for me to concentrate on testifying at times while I was on the witness stand. Looking at the jury is important for pleading one’s case, so I tried not to look away.

I have googled Jessica and didn’t find anything specific to her. She has a very a common name in Scandinavian dense Minnesota. This Jessica was middle aged, and I appreciated her long grey hair in lieu of a dye job. She didn’t say anything during the selection process that would provoke me to want to remove her, and while I’m sure Tom Hoskamer would have wanted to remove all women from the jury, he didn’t get to her. I don’t know much about Jessica or why she determined that Thomas Hoskamer should prevail. Maybe it was because Judge Klein didn’t properly explain to the jury that every factor on the Economic Realities test has significance, and because he crafted his instructions in a way that misled the jury about the intricacies of determination. Or, maybe Jessica Hanson was just a fuckin bitch who hates sex workers. I can only speculate.