Voir Dire From Robbin Campbell v. State Farm

OR1G\NAL 1
DISTRICT COURT
•
1 IN THE DISTRICT COURT OF TUL~ IO~TiI I)
STATE OF OKLAHOMA
2 JUN 181897
3 ROBBIN CAMPBELL, SALLY lONE SMITH, COURT OLE K
STAT! OF c:lICtJt 1'tJtS)\ eetsN
4 Plaintiff, ",,"FILED
SUPREME COURT
5 -vs- Cas e NJ'~TEcr:f-1\4 ,~. 31'~ 5
APR" 'I;.", '-jCj"';"
,t ,.,.) L .•
6 STATE FARM MUTUAL AUTOMOBILE

INSURANCE COMPANY,
7 JAM:!S W. PATTERSON
cL€RK
Defendant.
8
tq
9
TRANSCRIPT OF PARTIAL PROCBEDI(iiGS
~:: .""~
10
May 12, 1997
11 t'· n i '
BEFORE THE HONORABLE DAVID L. Pl£lER~iQN

12
DISTRICT JUDGE
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13
TULSA COUNTY, OKLAHOMA
14
A P PEA RAN C E S
15 FOR THE PLAINTIFF: Mr. Mike Jones
Attorney at Law
16 116 North Elm
Bristow, OK 74010
17
Mr. W.C. Sellers, Sr.
18 Attorney at Law
P.O. Box 1404
19 Sapulpa, OK 74067-1404
20 Mr. W.C. Sellers, Jr.

Attorney at Law
21 P.O. Box 1305
Sapulpa, OK 74067-5613
22 /
/
.' FOR THE DEFENDANT: Mr. Dennis King
23 Attorney at Law
2431 East 51st
24 Tulsa, OK 74105
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25
\ MARY K. BECKHAM, CSR, RPR-C~
Official Court Reporter
DISTRICT COURT OF OKLAHOMA - OFFICIAL TRANSCRIPT

535
2
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1 PRO C E E DIN G S
2 Whereupon, previous proceedings were
3 had, but not designated as part of this record.)
4 MR. SELLERS, SR.: My name is Bill
5 Sellers, Sr. I'm from Sapulpa, Oklahoma. I'm a
6 little hard of hearing, so I speak up nice and
7 loud. If I sound loud, it is because it's the way
8 I hear it. Some of you people speak awful low. It
9 is kind of hard for me to hear you. This is my son
10 Bill Sellers, Jr. This is Mike Jones over here.
11 Mike lives in Bristow, Oklahoma, and Billy is in
12 Sapulpa. He has his own office and his own
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13 practice.
14 Let's see now, you are Mr. Bergin?
15 JUROR BERGIN: Bergin.
16 MR. SELLERS, SR.: Bergin. I wrote it
17 down wrong. Is it B-E-R-G-I-N?
18 JUROR BERGIN: Yes, sir.
19 MR. SELLERS, SR.: Mr. Bergin, I've got
20 to ask you: Why are you here?
21 JUROR BERGIN: I was summoned for jury
22 duty.
23 MR. SELLERS, SR.: Did you get one of
24 those?
• 1
2
3
MR. SELLERS, SR.: Everybody get one?
Did you notice on the front of that it says,
service, it says, your most important civic

jury
4 responsibility. Did you see that?
6 MR. SELLERS, SR.: It says your most. Do
7 you know why it says it is your most?
8 JUROR BERGIN: Probably to
9 MR. KING: Objection. I'm not sure this

10 line of questioning has anything to do with the
11 jury's qualifications.
12 THE COURT: Overruled.
13 MR. SELLERS, SR.: I didn't hear you. He
14 was talking.
15 JUROR BERGIN: I answered that it

16 probably means literally what it says, that it is
17 your most important civic obligation.
18 MR. SELLERS, SR.: Do you know why it is
19 your most important civic responsibility
20 JUROR BERGIN: Obligation?

21 MR. SELLERS, SR.: Your most important
22 civic excuse me, responsibility.
23 JUROR BERGIN: Yes, I feel it is a very
24 important civic responsibility to see the court
25 systems work right.
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1 MR. SELLERS, SR.: Does anybody here know
2 why it is your most responsible civic duty? Do you
3 know why outside of the fact that we use words
4 that way anybody? Do you ever feel in a society
5 like maybe you don't mean anything, that it just
6 kind of rolls over you and you got your vote and
7 that's about as stout as you get as an individual?
8 Do you ever feel that way? Anybody? You don't?
9 Nobody does? Sure you do. Sure you do. When am I
10 going to be important? When are they going to
11 listen to me? Did you have that question?
12 MR. KING: This is argument, but this is
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13 not voir dire.
15 MR. SELLERS, SR.: Do you ever ask
16 yourself that question as a citizen in this
17 country? Do you ever think about it? Well, a long
18 time ago, when this country was made up
19 MR. JONES: Bill, do you want to use this
20 one? They can probably see this -
21 MR. SELLERS, SR.: Dennis, can you see
22 this?
23 MR. KING: No.
24 MR. SELLERS, SR.: Let's turn it around
25 so Dennis can see it. Now, can you see, Dennis?
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1 MR. KING: Yes.
2 MR. SELLERS, SR.: I don't think the jury
3 can see. I want to ask Dennis to move because I've
4 got a lot of people here that need to see.
5 Now, a long time ago a bunch of people were on
6 a boat coming to a place called Massachusetts that
7 they had never been to before, and on that boat was
8 some people who had officious garments on. Some of
9 the fellows had tablets, that meant they were
10 either preachers or lawyers. Another fellow had a
11 breastplate on. Another fellow had a saber, and
12 all the people on that boat figured that those few
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13 people seemed to know something about how to run
14 things, so they decided, since they were going
15 someplace that they had never been before and they
16 knew that some columnists had disappeared in the
17 Carolinas not too many years before, that they
18 didn't want to disappear.
19 They wanted to succeed, so they voted to give
20 those people that had the officious ornaments on
21 the power to run the colonies in Massachusetts,
22 okay? That piece of paper that they all sat down
23 and signed to give those people authority is named
24 after the boat they were on. Does anyone here know
25 what the name of that thing was that they all
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1 signed? I tell the jury, and when I do, they all
2 hit their heads because you would know it the
3 minute I say it. Do you know what it was? It was
4 called the Mayflower Compact. The Mayflower

5 Compact took from the people their permission,
6 their permission to give power -
7 MR. KING: Your Honor, I have to object.
8 I appreciate the history lesson, but it does not go
9 to qualifications of the jury.
10 THE COURT: I think it will be linked
11 up. If not, we will strike it.

12 MR. SELLERS, SR.: The people gave the
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13 power to the government or to the group of people
14 who seemed to be smart enough to be in authority.
15 Now, that same system comes through us today about
16 the people giving the power to the corporate
17 government through the Constitution. Are you all
18 familiar with that now? Okay.

19 The power that was given to these people in
20 the Mayflower Compact always had a duty with them,
21 and the duty is to act in the public interest.

22 That's the only reason you all gave power on the
23 Mayflower or to the Constitution, to our
24 government, to anybody else. You gave them power,
25 the people's power, to act in the public interest.
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1 Anybody have any problem with that?
2 Get me a glass of water. I'm getting
3 thirsty.
4 Now, when we gave the power to the government,
5 we set out what the government could do. It can do
6 certain things, and then there are certain things
7 it can't do, and we kept those, and that's called
8 the Bill of Rights. We have kept certain
9 inalienable human rights that you as jurors and
10 citizens enjoy. That's what it's about.
11 On this summons here, I open them up, and I
12 get when I open it up, what I'm interested in
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13 inside is because when you read this thing, it
14 tells you to come to the courthouse on a certain
15 day is what it says. If you don't get here and you
16 don't show up, then they tell you, we are going to
17 issue a warrant for your arrest. You know, when
18 you get a warrant for your arrest, that means they
19 come and get you and put you in jail if you don't
20 show up and pay attention to this, your most
21 important civic duty. Did you all read that in
22 your summons? Did you believe it?
23 There's no question about whether or not we
24 are here on serious business, is there? Anybody
25 got any questions about whether or not we are in
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1 serious business here? This is a civil court.
2 This is a court where contract actions and civil

3 disputes happen. This is not a criminal court, and
4 the Court told you the distinction a while ago.
5 It's the way the jury handles it mostly.
6 Now, so the people when they gave this power

7 to the government to summon us, we gave them the
8 right to summon us and bring us here. We also gave
9 them the power to have an executive, legislative
10 and a judicial branch. All right. We are in the

11 judicial right now. Do you all understand the
12 Constitu~ion provides that? Okay. Now, you as a
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13 citizen want -- let's say 12 of you, any 12 of
14 you. We will wind up with 12 of you plus a couple
15 of three alternates.
16 If any 12 of you wanted to go to Washington
17 D.C. and say to Newt Gingrich and Clinton and all

18 of those people up there, you are not going to go
19 that way any more, you understand? You're not
20 going that way any more. That's not the way we
21 want you to go. We want you to go this way, and

22 that's the way you are going to go. Do you think
23 you would have much success? Do you think you

24 would have much success doing that in Washington?
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25 Do you think you would have much success doing that
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1 down at the Oklahoma state legislature? Wouldn't,
2 would you?
3 Suppose you went to Bill Clinton and suppose
4 you went to the governor down here, our governor, a

5 fellow named Keating. If 12 of you went down there
6 and said, listen, the state's not going to go this
7 way any more, you understand? It's not going that
8 way anymore because that's not right, that's not
9 fair, that's not honest. You're not going that
10 way. You are going that way. If all of you did
11 that, do you think you could change the direction
12 of the government? No, but 12 people sit here on a
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13 jury, and the judicial has more power than any
14 government entity or force or official. That's why
15 this is your most important civic responsibility.
16 Now, when we gave our government the power,
17 certain powers to act in the public interest, we

18 gave them the power to issue licenses to truck
19 drivers, to lawyers and to doctors, to insurance
20 companies. Well, that's power. There's power in
21 being a lawyer. There's power in being a doctor.

22 We want everybody to succeed and do well. The more
23 they succeed and do well, the better they can help
24 everybody. Is that fair? Do you understand? We
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25 want them to have that power, the license to do
10
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3
things. I never could spell license. I don't know
whether it's I before E or E before I, whatever.
But that license is given to them, and the power is

4 given to them -- and certified public accountants.
5 The power is given to those people by their license
6 to serve the public interest. Does that sound fair
7 to everybody? There are no exceptions. Do you
8 understand?
9 When that power is given by the government
10 that we authorize with our power to serve the

11 public interest, then they have the duty, too.
12 They have the duty to serve the public interests.
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13 Does that sound all right to you folks? Do you
14 understand? You know, everybody kind of looks at
15 me and just wondering about what this is all about,

16 and I don't blame you, but this is the house of the
17 law right here. I've walked these boards for 37
18 years, and this is the house of the law. This is
19 your most sacred place in our Judeo-Christian
20 culture. This is it, right here.
21 Everyone who gets a license, my duty, the

22 Judge's duties, we have ours on the wall, and we
23 read it constantly. Regardless of what the public
24 thinks of lawyers, we serve the public interests,
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25 and if there are any exceptions, they don't last
11
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1 long. They wind up on the carpet and out of
2 business. I don't know if you know that or not,
3 but we know it. Does that sound fair and
4 reasonable to you? Does it? You all shake your
5 head with me, please. You look like you are from a
6 foreign country. Judge, I
7 MR. KING: We object. This is not proper
8 voir dire. It is not even legally correct.

9 THE COURT: Well, the objection will be
10 overruled. We do need to link it up with some voir
11 dire questions shortly, and I assume that's going
12 to happen.
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13 MR. SELLERS, SR.: When he asks, is
14 English your main language, I begin to wonder. The
15 duty to serve the public interests, and there are
16 no exceptions. In the First Amendment of the
17 Constitution they preserve to the people the right

18 to petition. Are you all aware of that? The right
19 to petition. If you want to file a complaint
20 against somebody, in our society you could go to
21 the clerk's office and you can file a petition. Do

22 you all understand that?
23 Supposing you haven't got any money, can you
24 still file it? Sure you can. It is free. It is
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25 an inalienable human right in our society to file a
12
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1 petition in this courthouse to sue anybody you want
2 to and not have to have a dime. All you have to do
3 is sign a piece of paper, I don't have any money;
4 I'm a pauper, but you have a right to say, hey,
5 you. Hey, you to any corporation, any official,

6 anybody.
7 That's what a petition is, it's a hey, you.

8 Do you understand that? Did you know that before I
9 told you that you could go file them for nothing?
10 You can. It is your human inalienable right in our
11 society. Robbin Campbell filed a hey, you in this
12 case. She said hey, you, to State Farm. Hey,
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13 you. Anything wrong with that? Okay. It is your
14 folks' job to determine whether or not she should
15 have said hey, you. Does that bother anybody?

16 Well, that's what happens when you file a hey,
17 you, then the judicial system begins to work, and
18 this man's jurisdiction, his power, comes into the
19 game. Do you understand? He sits there, and then
20 the fellow on the other side says any defense he's
21 got -- you got the wrong deal, whatever he wants to

22 say, and that's what lawyers do. Most lawyers
23 can't tell you that because they don't know it, but
24 good trial men can tell you. That's what lawyers
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25 do. They fuss back and forth, and the Judge sits
13
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1 there as a referee, the guy that we trust, and he
2 keeps it on track because what they are trying to
3 do is separate out the real issues under the law
4 under that hey, you, and the defense that they
5 offer. Does that bother anybody, that system?
6 So once we do that, then the Judge and the

7 lawyers, they were trained to do that. We are
8 trained to refine out the real issues that you are
9 to deal with. We don't want you sitting there

10 gossiping. We want you to serve the public
11 interest. That's what this Court is for. That's
12 what his oath is. That's what my oath is. That's
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13 what Dennis' oath is. That's what all of our oaths
14 are. Does that bother anybody?

15 When the Court has decided what the real
16 issues are, then we settle down and the lawyers all
17 get together, we fuss back and forth and we do

18 whatever discovery we need, and we decide what the
19 evidence is that you should hear. We are trained
20 to do that, so you don't get just a bunch of
21 garbage in here. You get the best produce you can
22 make here for you to consider in this trial, the

23 real issues and then the evidence.
24 Anybody know where the evidence comes from?
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25 Do you know? Anybody? Well, I ' l l tell you, it
14
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2
3
comes out of that chair right there.
It doesn't come anywhere else.

of the hallway.
Right there.
It doesn't come out

It doesn't come out of the john.
4 It doesn't come out of anywhere but right there. A
5 person might get around and do things, but that's
6 where it comes from. Nobody has any rights,
7 nothing contributes or gets into this process that
8 doesn't come right out of that chair. Does that

9 sound fair? Does that sound right? Will you
10 listen to what comes out of that chair? It is your
11 duty. Okay? Now then, it's our duty to serve the
12 Court under the rules of this Court, the rules of
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13 evidence and the law and bring this to you in an
14 orderly fashion, which we will do and we will get

15 it on quickly for you. This case will be finished
16 this week.
17 Now, you said -- some of you said well,
18 everybody's got insurance of some kind of another,
19 don't you? Anybody here that doesn't have any,
20 please raise your hand. Raise your hand. I figure
21 everybody would have insurance somewhere. Do you

22 know what insurance is? Anybody? Well, you buy
23 insurance and they send you a policy, something you
24 never read, most of us. How many of you have an
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25 insurance policy? Okay. That's what you pay your
15
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1 money for is a contract. Do you understand that?
2 Well, do you know what a contract is,
3 anybody? I think the Court would permit me to say
4 a contract is when somebody sits down and they
5 agree about something, and then they have what's
6 called considerations, something that you give
7 somebody for something else, and you agree on that,
8 and it's not illegal, it's not against public
9 policy, then you can have a contract that's
10 enforceable. Does that bother anybody?
11 You people understand that when you buy
12 insurance that you have a right under the contract
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13 that they give you as an insured? Do you realize
14 that? Nobody is shaking your head. You people
15 don't have any rights? Well, a lot of folks don't
16 think that they do. That's what this trial is
17 about. People's rights as insureds. Also, as an
18 insured you have certain duties, too. Do you know
19 what your duties are? Anybody have any idea?
20 You've got one, I'm sure.
21 JUROR SELLERS: Make your payments.
22 MR. SELLERS, SR.: Yes, you make your
23 payments. If you make your payments and you
24 maintain your policy on your end, then you've got
25 insurance. You are covered, right? Okay. If
16
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1 something happened to you in your insured
2 situation, would you expect your company to be fair
3 with you? Honest with you? Open? Do you really
4 think that? Everybody who thinks they ought to,

5 shake your head. If you don't shake your head, I'm
6 going to ask you another question. Does anybody
7 feel like the insurance company would have a right
8 to teach you? Anybody? Do you think that the
9 insurance company would have a right to delay on
10 your claim, if you had one, or act reasonably?
11 Would you think that they could delay? Let me ask
12 you this: Why do you buy insurance, ma'am?
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13 JUROR PATTERSON: Protection.
14 MR. SELLERS, SR.: Why do you buy
15 insurance?
16 JUROR OVEROSE: To protect ourselves.
17 MR. SELLERS, SR.: To protect yourself.
18 When?
19 JUROR OVEROSE: In case of an accident or
20 a problem.
21 MR. SELLERS, SR.: When you need it.
22 Anybody got any problem with that? Why do you buy
23 insurance?
24 JUROR MORRIS: To protect myself.
25 MR. SELLERS, SR.: When you need it?
17
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1 JUROR MORRIS: Yes.
2 MR. SELLERS, SR.: Why do you buy
3 insurance, sir?
4 JUROR EPPLER: So I have it when I need

5 it.
6 MR. SELLERS, SR.: When you need it.
7 Anybody else know any other reason to buy insurance
8 other than having it when you need it? Anybody?
9 If you've got another reason, why tell me.
10 Nobody here is saying these people with
11 insurance companies are bad people. They go home
12 to their homes just like you do. They have got
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13 families. Do you understand? What we are saying
14 here, what we are saying in this case is there are
15 duties here. Every lawsuit, I don't care what it
16 is, it's got one, two, three, four things. It is
17 duty, breach of duty, causation, and damages. If
18 you haven't got those four things, stay home. If
19 you haven't got those four things, don't file a
20 hey, you. You got it? Duty, breach of duty,
21 causation and damages. What we want you to do here
22 is we want you to look at the duty for -
23 MR. KING: Objection, Your Honor, this is
24 argument this is not
25 THE COURT: Sustained. Rephrase.
18
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1 MR. SELLERS, SR.: All right. I think
2 you got it. Now, do you understand that you as a
3 person who buys insurance and pays the premium on
4 insurance has a special relationship with an
5 insurance company? It is what's called first-party

6 rights. They owe a fiduciary duty to you to act in
7 good faith and fair dealing. Do you know that?
8 MR. KING: Objection, that is a
9 misstatement of the law in regard to fiduciary
10 duty.
12 MR. SELLERS, SR.: Are you aware of
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13 that? How many of you when you got your insurance
14 on your automobiles, how many of you got to write
15 part of the policy? You said, I don't like this
16 part, so let's change that. I don't like that
17 part, let's change that. Did you do that?
18 JUROR THOMAS: On some.
19 MR. SELLERS, SR.: You did? How did you
20 do that?
21 JUROR THOMAS: On how much of insurance
22 and what parts are covered.
23 MR. SELLERS, SR.: The amount of money,
24 of course, you may choose according to your needs,
25 the financial part of it, can't you? You can buy
19
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1 certain coverages, isn't that fair? But as far as
2 the insurance contract or policy itself, did you

3 have anything to say about writing that?
4 JUROR THOMAS: How it was written, no.
5 MR. SELLERS, SR.: Anybody have anything
6 to say about how their policy was written? Well,
7 since you don't have any right to say how your

8 policy is written, these policies that are written
9 by one person on their terms, it's called contracts
10 of adhesion. Have you ever heard that before?
11 Well, that's based upon the fact that if someone
12 writes all the terms and conditions of a contract
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13 down in something like a policy and any ambiguity
14 comes up or any questions about what it means or
15 might mean, that that's resolved against the person

16 who wrote the adhesive contract or the insurance
17 company. Does that sound reasonable? If there's
18 any ambiguity comes up as to whether you might have
19 rights under it, they have rights under it, you
20 always get the rights because you pay the premium
21 under a contract of adhesion. Does that sound

22 fair? Would you agree that as far as a duty is
23 concerned, that an insurance company ought to go
24 out and investigate your business to help you get
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25 it done? Would you agree with that? Does that
20
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1 sound fair?
2 MR. KING: Objection, Your Honor. This

3 is argument on the case. This is not voir dire and
4 qualifications.
5 THE COURT: Rephrase.

6 MR. SELLERS, SR.: In this trial, you
7 will be taught the duties upon everyone who is a
8 policy owner and an insurance company and their
9 dealings with each other. Does that sound like
10 something you don't want to sit in on or something

11 you do? Anybody here? Do you think this is going
12 to be an interesting case in these days for you?
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13 You all just -- boy, we got more stiff necks in
14 this outfit than I ever saw, but that's all right.

15 That's all right.
16 Now, when the Court then has heard all the
17 evidence, he will give you instructions. We are
18 not even allowed to speculate as to what the

19 instructions might be, but will you follow those,
20 listen to them and follow them? At the time he
21 gives them to you, they will mean a lot. Will you

22 do that? That's your duty. Then you will go back
23 into the jury room. When you go back in the jury
24 room, then all of the power that the people gave to
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25 the whole system comes back in your hands. That's
21
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1 why it is your most serious duty. Does that make
2 sense, sound reasonable?
3 I'm asking you about the system. The Judge
4 said, anybody got anything against the system?
5 Well, I think that's a good question, but I think

6 we need to look at our system a minute before we
7 check that one off so quickly. Do you think in the
8 jury room, where all the power comes back into your
9 hands to say, you don't go that way, you go this
10 way, will you exercise your power, which is all in
11 our system back to the beginning, to serve the
12 public interest? Will you do that? Does that
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13 sound reasonable to you? Just a minute.
14 I have a copy of the insurance contract in
15 this case. I would like to give one out to every
16 juror, if I might, Court please.
17 MR. KING: This is totally improper for
18 voir dire.
19 THE COURT: Come forward and we will
20 see.
21 (A discussion was had off-the-record out

22 of the hearing of the jury. The following
23 proceedings were had in open court.)
24 MR. SELLERS, SR.: How many of you said
25 you had a State Farm policy? Didn't you raise your
22
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1 hand?
2
JUROR CLUGSTON: I'm not sure which it
3 is.
4
MR. SELLERS, SR.: Raise your hand and
5 let me count. Eight of you. Eight of you know
6 you've got State Farm policies.
7 Have you looked at your policy ever before?

8 You have? Do you think you would recognize a copy
9 of a State Farm policy if you saw one?

10 JUROR ABSHER: I don't know. probably.
11 MR. SELLERS, SR.: How many of you would
12 know a State Farm policy if you saw one? You
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13 would, sir? with every insurance policy there's
14 also what's called a cover sheet. That's the sheet
15 that lists the coverages that you have. Do you see
16 what I'm talking about? It has med-pay on there.
17 It has uninsured motorist. It has collision. It
18 has whatever you got, comprehensive, whatever.
19 Have you seen your cover sheet? You, too? You?
20 Everybody seen their cover sheet? Would it help
21 you and assist you if you saw the cover sheet and
22 an insurance policy on State Farm? Would it help
23 you in this matter? If you say yes, I would like
24 to give all of you a policy. If not, it will come
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25 in later in evidence. Okay.
23
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1 Now, the reason I have to talk to these boys,
2 they are sitting here listening to everything you
3 people say. They tell me what they want me to ask
4 you because only one of us can do that.
5 Now, I believe you said you had some friends
6 that work at State Farm?
7 JUROR ABSHER: Uh-huh.
8 MR. SELLERS, SR.: Are they close friends
9 or just acquaintances?
10 JUROR ABSHER: One of them was in my

11 wedding 12 years ago.
12 MR. SELLERS, SR. : One of them what?
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13 JUROR ABSHER: She's a close friend.
14 MR. SELLERS, SR.: You stood up for
15 somebody?
16 JUROR ABSHER: She did.
17 MR. SELLERS, SR.: Well, that's pretty

18 personal. I mean, when you stand up at people's
19 wedding. You love everybody there, or you
20 shouldn't be standing up. Do you agree?
21 JUROR ABSHER: Yes.

22 MR. SELLERS, SR.: Do you think that
23 would make you prejudice in this matter in any
24 way?
25 JUROR ABSHER: No, sir.
24
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1 MR. SELLERS, SR.: Let me tell you why
2 this is so important. The evidence is going to
3 come out in this case that State Farm is worth 24
4 billion dollars. Got it? That's big money and big
5 numbers. It is a huge business. Do you understand
6 that in directing the policy for the public that

7 has to be done in this case will involve an awful
8 lot of money or you don't even get their
9 attention? Do you understand that? Can you
10 conceive that to be true? Because we have asked in
11 this case for things called punitive damages, and

12 punitive damages are punishment damages, damages
•
13 that tell people, you don't go that way any more,
14 you go this way. We are going to make sure you

15 stay this way. Anybody have any problem with
16 that? Anybody know how to write 24 billion
17 dollars? I'm not sure I do. I ' l l write it and
18 then let you -- Mike wants to know what your

19 friend's name is.
20 JUROR ABSHER: Kelly Caudle.
21 MR. SELLERS, SR.: Would you spell it?

22 JUROR ABSHER: C-A-U-D-L-E. She's in
23 Ada. She climbs on roofs and examines storms. I
24 think that's right.
•
25 MR. SELLERS, SR.: When you came into
25
•
1 this courtroom to serve on this jury, you had no
2 idea what you were coming into, did you? Isn't it
3 wonderful that people like you off the public
4 street are going to decide issues of monumental
5 significance? 12 of you are going to do something
6 that 12 of you can't do anywhere else. You want

7 part of that job? If you don't, tell us now. If
8 you do, hang around, it's going to get good.
9 Anybody got any objections? Great lawsuits, great

10 rulings of law come from courtrooms just like this
11 and people just like you. That's what it's about.
12 No one knows when they are called upon to serve
•
13 their country and give their life until they summon
14 you. Nobody knows what you're summoned for except
15 that you know it is your most important civic
16 responsibility. Does that sound reasonable to
17 everybody? Now -- just a minute. Mike is very
18 observant.
19 Are you the lady who said you had some kids
20 that had been in a wreck?
21 JUROR OVEROSE: Yes.

22 MR. SELLERS, SR.: You stated State Farm
23 Insurance was in it? Is that who you are making a
24 claim against?
26
•
1 MR. SELLERS, SR.: You said you expect
2 the other side to pay your medical bills?

4 MR. SELLERS, SR.: Do you have medical on
5 your own policy? Yes, you do? Do you know that's
6 coverage that you bought? That you bought on top
7 of whatever somebody else has got? Did you know
8 that?
10 MR. SELLERS, SR.: You can use your own
11 medical pay because when you buy medical pay, you
12 have a right to tell your company to pay the bills
•
13 out of my medical pay that I bought. Do you
14 understand that, ma'am?
15 JUROR OVEROSE: Yes, sir.
16 MR. SELLERS, SR.: Does that help you or
17 did you learn something?
18 JUROR OVEROSE: I may have. I ' l l have to
19 think about it.
20 MR. SELLERS, SR.: Let me check with the
21 boys. I think I'm about through. Well, you know
22 what I mean by that is on top of whatever you get
23 from the other people, your medical benefits pay
24 you and your family, do you understand that? Under
25 your contract, you are entitled to collect that
27
•
1 twice. That's what you bought and paid for. Do
2 you understand that?
3 JUROR OVEROSE: No, I didn't know that.

4 MR. SELLERS, SR.: Go check it. Now, do
5 you think your company has a duty to tell you these
6 things?
7 MR. KING: Objection, this is getting
8 into -- this is not -- this is in the merits of the

9 case.
10 THE COURT: Sustained.
11 MR. KING: This is not proper voir dire.
12 MR. SELLERS, SR.: This case will last
•
13 through Friday. You will be finished Friday. You
14 will be instructed to go home. You'll have a jury
15 verdict Friday evening. If you are like every
16 other juror that works under these circumstances,
17 it will take five days. It is going to be
18 interesting and it's going to move fast.

19 Is there anybody that can't take that five
20 days out of their life and give it to our society?
21 Anybody? Anybody got anything more important to
22 do, now that you've heard about what's coming at
23 you, more important to do than to be here and serve
24 your civic duty in this interest? Anybody got
25 anything more important to do? If you do, tell
28
1 us.
2 I appreciate your time.
3 (Whereupon, subsequent proceedings were
4 had, but not designated as part of this record.)
10
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•
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e 1
C E R T I F I CAT E
3
STATE OF OKLAHOMA
4
ss
5 TULSA COUNTY
6
7
I, Mary K. Beckham, a certified Shorthand
8
Reporter in and for the State of Oklahoma, do
9
hereby certify that this is a true and correct
10 record of the proceedings held in Case Number
11
CJ-94-3125 on the 12th day of May, 1997, before the
12
Honorable Judge David L. Peterson, at the Tulsa
13
County Courthouse in the City of Tulsa, State of
e. 14
Oklahoma.
15
16
I further certify that I am not related
17
to nor attorney for any party, and that I am not
18
interested in the result of said cause.
19
20 WITNESS MY HAND AND SEAL this 15th day of
21
May, 1997.
22
23
ECKHAM, CSR, RPR-CP
Court Reporter
24
"'~. -".~ -- .
Mary K. Beckham
25 Oklahoma Certi'ned Shorthand Reporter
Certificate No. 01053
Exp. Data: December 31, 1998

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OR1G\NAL 1

6 STATE FARM MUTUAL AUTOMOBILE

BEFORE THE HONORABLE DAVID L. Pl£lER~iQN

16 116 North Elm

20 Mr. W.C. Sellers, Jr.

DISTRICT COURT OF OKLAHOMA - OFFICIAL TRANSCRIPT

5 Sellers, Sr. I'm from Sapulpa, Oklahoma. I'm a

6 little hard of hearing, so I speak up nice and

7 loud. If I sound loud, it is because it's the way

8 I hear it. Some of you people speak awful low. It

9 is kind of hard for me to hear you. This is my son

10 Bill Sellers, Jr. This is Mike Jones over here.

11 Mike lives in Bristow, Oklahoma, and Billy is in

12 Sapulpa. He has his own office and his own

14 Let's see now, you are Mr. Bergin?

15 JUROR BERGIN: Bergin.

16 MR. SELLERS, SR.: Bergin. I wrote it

17 down wrong. Is it B-E-R-G-I-N?

18 JUROR BERGIN: Yes, sir.

19 MR. SELLERS, SR.: Mr. Bergin, I've got

20 to ask you: Why are you here?

21 JUROR BERGIN: I was summoned for jury

23 MR. SELLERS, SR.: Did you get one of

25 JUROR BERGIN: Yes, sir.

DISTRICT COURT OF OKLAHOMA - OFFICIAL TRANSCRIPT

service, it says, your most important civic

4 responsibility. Did you see that?

5 JUROR BERGIN: Yes, sir.

6 MR. SELLERS, SR.: It says your most. Do

7 you know why it says it is your most?

8 JUROR BERGIN: Probably to

9 MR. KING: Objection. I'm not sure this

12 THE COURT: Overruled.

13 MR. SELLERS, SR.: I didn't hear you. He

15 JUROR BERGIN: I answered that it

19 your most important civic responsibility

20 JUROR BERGIN: Obligation?

25 systems work right.

DISTRICT COURT OF OKLAHOMA - OFFICIAL TRANSCRIPT

4 that way anybody? Do you ever feel in a society

5 like maybe you don't mean anything, that it just

7 that's about as stout as you get as an individual?

8 Do you ever feel that way? Anybody? You don't?

9 Nobody does? Sure you do. Sure you do. When am I

10 going to be important? When are they going to

11 listen to me? Did you have that question?

12 MR. KING: This is argument, but this is

14 THE COURT: Overruled.

15 MR. SELLERS, SR.: Do you ever ask

16 yourself that question as a citizen in this

17 country? Do you ever think about it? Well, a long

18 time ago, when this country was made up

19 MR. JONES: Bill, do you want to use this

20 one? They can probably see this -­

21 MR. SELLERS, SR.: Dennis, can you see

23 MR. KING: No.

24 MR. SELLERS, SR.: Let's turn it around

25 so Dennis can see it. Now, can you see, Dennis?

DISTRICT COURT OF OKLAHOMA - OFFICIAL TRANSCRIPT

6 a boat coming to a place called Massachusetts that

7 they had never been to before, and on that boat was

8 some people who had officious garments on. Some of

9 the fellows had tablets, that meant they were

20 one? They can probably see this -