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Show Free Press - Thursday, August 18, 1983 Page 2 B(iMmm(BiBt ipiw Jury Duty : Challenging but rewarding By BETTY FOWUC- 18. After over 50 prospective jurors present in the courtroom, 14 were selected and I was one of the fatal 14. The Honorable David J. Winder presided in the civil case involving plaintiffs Black and Decker Inc., manufacturers of the small, handheld, rechargeable, portable vacuum commonly known as the C.K.P. Dust and Buster, (Consolidated Energy Products) of Hong Kong; Grand Central and Skaggs, defendants. Black and Decker claimed that Santo, the manufacturing arm of C.E.P. had produced a blatant copy July interviewing of their Dust Bukut vacuum. Attorneys for Black and Decker argued that the Hong Kong product was so identical that parts of the two vacuums ntukl lie inUTchanged, and to add insult to injury, the name of the C.K.I. copy was the Grand Central and Skaggs were named in the suit because they were marketing the Turbo )usu-r- . Black and Decker was suing C.K.1V for patent infringement; C.K.I'. was countersuing Black and Decker, saying they infringed the liccntia German patent, also charging them with monopoly. A firm of brilliant young Salt Iake City attorneys was representing the Hong Kong based firm and Harness, Boynton and Turbo-Duste- 1 : -- from Murphy of itdverlising that we wouldn't leave the jury as evidence. room until we'd agnxxl on a verdict. CtxisumtT lest n suits were given We had sandwichc sent in (dry), by expertx from B.B.D. and ()., a we sUtywl in that jury room (no nationally recognized advertising' eight ten and 12 firm. hours for three days. Depositions w;re by The atmosphere became so tense C.K.I. attorneys Burton and at times that several jury members Murphy, with frequent questions left the room in tears. by Black antl Decker attorney The jury foreman inadvertantly I laniess. blurted out in the courtroom that it Facts brought out were that the was and that we indeed defense attorneys were receiving were at an impasse. " $1(IT).(X) per hour and the expert When the attorneys for both sides witnesses were Ix'ing paid upwards heard that, they agreed to of $10,000 for their testimonies. I compromise. Kach side was willing didn't know that expert witnesses to make some concessions if the were paid to testify! jury could agree with an don't begrudge lawyers their majority on l.r of the 28 questions. fees because some of the casts take That made it easy. months of hard work. You wouldn't The jury was back in the believe the details' involved in this courtroom within an hour with a Michigan copies represented Black and Decker in the case. The jury listened as three weeks of testimonies and ev identic were Itresented to the court. WittM-ssewere brought in from I long Kong, I xindon, I x)s Angck. Florida, New Jersey and Kansas City. Others in the case were testifying professors from the University of Utah and Brigham Young University. The professors from BYU wen testifying for Blac k and Decker. A professor at the U., Dr. DeVries, behalf of the on testified defendants. St) did Kay Comahy, a U graduate and a member of the state legislature. One juror admitted that it was like a BYU and Utah football game back and where the lead forth until the final whistle blew. Presented as evidence were the (the Dustbuster, the Turbo-DusteC.K.P. product) and almost every s Now is time to consider election bids other "It's a dirty job, but somebody's got to do it." At least that's the way many people seem to feel about the sometimes thankless job of city council member in a small town. And to a degree they are correct. In smaller communities, the pay for council members is low. The hours are demanding, especially since the councilmen and women must pursue their regular activities along with serving on the city council. And without regular office hours, a city is considered by the residents to be always on duty. And the decisions are often tough ones, because they hit close to home. City councils must decide whether or not to annex properties always a controversial decision. They must decide how much the town's residents will pay in taxes, and then they have to approve the ways the city will spend those taxes.. That's a juggling act that requires the council lumbers to balance the needs of the community library with coun-cilmemb- er f&5Cot or the road department.. Either1 way' they choose, the council members will be unpopular with someone, and no one likes to be unpopular. Many council meetings tend to be long, often tedious and filled with details that require careful thought and consideration when it would be easier to take a nap. So maybe it is a dirty job. But it's an important one. And since somebody has to do it, it should be someone who will do it properly, with careful and considered effort that will result in the most good for the most people, Because while many of those decisions are hard ones, the results of making them can be satisfying as our communities grow and develop. Involvement in city politics is involvement in our form of government where it affects people the most in their everyday lives. It's a place where an individual can make a difference sometimes a big difference. And it shouldn't be " . taken lightly. As the deadline (Sept. 27) hears for filing for election to the diffrerent city offices that will be filled this November, concerned and sincere citizens who would like to be a part of making that difference should consider spending four years on the city council. It's not unusual for local party officials to go hunting for for the seats as the convention date nears because no candidates have come forward. But that's ho way to fill a city council. Now is the time for interested and qualified candidates to come forward and express interest in running for office, because now is when they will have ample time to study the issues facing each community now is when they'll be able to evaluate their ability to work with those issues. And now is the time to start urging possible candidates to consider running, so they can have time to consider all of the aspects of the election and city service. Work done now will help give the residents of North Utah County the best possible choices in November when they go to the polls to select those individuals to serve on our city councils for the next four years. JFrce ; Press U.S.P.S. No. 300-50- 1 1 1 1 case. ' News.... ' ' ti Publisher Editors. 76Wi .... Subscription price $9.50 per year Second class postage paid al Lehi Post Office PmlmaMer: Send adriniuicluiiwMo' "P.O. Bn 7, American Kin. Ulah Mit. . Medical Profession that KMI (by Abortion) more than IJ RHXION unborn babies each year A SHOULD KEEP ITS MOUTH SHUT -A- BOUT HOME BIRTH r-- . g Turbo-Duster- s k members were given copies for study and contemplation. Video movies were shown in ihe courtroom. Commercials featuring the Dust Buster were shown and If they have a unique new Volkswagen product, like th Beetle, or a product reflecting their own design and engenuity, then fine, go ahead and sell it But, it isn't fair to the American economy and free enterprise system to let foreign companies get away with this kind of fraud. I'm glad that Black and Decker won this case. well-bein- . i Local students graduate fromY - ';.:-- ) David G. Tingey David Gordan Tingey, son "of Darhl and Rowena Tingey, Lehi, will receive his bachelors degree in: geology at graduation services" Friday at BYU. Tingey is married to Colene Robertson of Helena, Montana. He attended the University of Utah prior to his mission in Australia. He transferred to BYU after returning from his mission. Sally F. Lowder , Sally Fowler Lowder will graduate from BYU Friday, August with a degree in com19, munications with a major in media sales administration. She is employed as an account executive at KUTV Inc. (Channel 2). Sally is the daughter of Betty Fowler and the late Don C. Fowler. She is married to Bradley J. Lowder and they live in Salt Lake City. Gina Peterson Gina Peterson, daughter of Paul and Doris Peteson, Lehi, will receive a bachelors degree from BYU in fine arts and education at, exercises graduation Prices good thru Sept. 3 YSSr ASM -- Mexico. She has also studied under Carol Harding, noted artist - of Pleasant Grove. She plans to teach high school. nv '9S! 3 4.97 1-1- 7 3 99 FASHION PATTERNED KNEE HIGHS BRAIDED ELASTIC Perfect for many sewing Choose from diamond, lace and other patterns FOR machine needs, polyester, " wash, Vb" to 1 widths, REG 60 EA SCHOOL LUNCH KITS Fashion lunch boxes with unbreakable ; Roughneck bottle designed for little hands, FLIP N' SIP stopper for no spills, REG 6.97 in asst colors, 100 nylon, wide comfort top, one size fits 8'211, REG 1.47 88 GILLETTE WIDGET Handy household tool, scrapes, cuts, trims almost anything EMPIRE Westclox PAPER MATE I II I! II 1 II II ' Friday, August 19. She is a graduate of Lehi .High School, where she was a member of the state championship debate squad and her oil painting took "Best of Show" at the Utah County Fair. She is a member of the Phi Eta Sigma Honor Society and was on the Dean's honor list. two semesters She attended abroad, one in Hawaii and one in j Brett K BvjiiiI . . Mare Haddock Betty t'wlt-r- " -. Hundreds of documents were presented as evidence and the jury Nurturing development of the whole child .lyMan f vacuum geniuses. YES!!! Published weekly by ,' Newtah, Inc. 75 The jury had to answer 28 questions unanimously. There were one, two, and sometimes three pages of judge's instructions to consider before answering each question. Needless to say it was a very difficult task, especially when one juror could agree on only about three of the questions. It looked like we were going to be a hung jury. When the jury foreman informed Judge Winder and the attorneys that we'd reached an impasse, the judge informed us that he was not about to let us be a hung jury, not after three weeks of work. He let us know that he, the defendants, nor the plaintiffs wanted to go through another difficult three-weetrial and that he expected us to reach a verdict We tried, we were patient, we were nice. We used tact and diplomacy. We used humor. We went back over testimonies, we compared vacuums, we compared patent material (pior art) and we cajoled and complained, all to no avail. We could not sway the one dissenting juror. We finally decided products. And I'm glad I got acquainted with Judge David ' Winder and found out what an amazing man he is. He could call us by name the first verdict. day we were selected as jurors. He'd Black and Decker won the case wave and greet us in the halls. He but gave up the punitive damages was so considerate of our against C.K.P., Skaggs and Grand during the trial. He even asked me Central. if I'd got the paper out okay! One CUP. will not be allowed to copy night after the jury had deliberated the Dust Buster anymore and they until 10 p.m. he drove past' one of will not be allowed to sell anymore the jurors who was standing alone now on the on State Street waiting for. her of the shelves of stores throughout the sister to give her a ride. When Judge Winder saw Pam world. And, I think that's all Black and standing alone, he slammed on the Decker wanted. They weren't too brakes, backed up and said, "What are you doing here all alone, Mrs. worried about the monetary . Sage?" damages I'm sure. Pam answered, "I called my This is a landmark decision, and to Mr. Ashton, an sister to come and get me and I'm according attorney for Grand Central, the just waiting for her to take me judgement will be quoted in most home." future patent cases. "Well, I'll wait right here with I'll have to admit that, according you until she comes. We can't have to the evidence presented ' and you waiting here alone," he stated.' That's the kind of man Judge according to the judge's 91 pages of the David Winder is. instructions, we found defendants guilty of patent So, my jury duty ended after 3 infringment and it was a satisfying weeks of trial and three days of decision for 11 of the jurors. deliberations. It was a great Our American products are being experience, frustrating, but great copied blatantly by foreign I'm glad the American judicial manufacturers and then sold on the system allows citizens like me to American markets at a cheaper have opportunities like this. price than the American products 1 manufactured in the world. I now consider myself an authority on vacuum cleaners. They were taken apart and put back together again. They were measured, analyzed and in one case a model vacuum was sawed and pounded apart with a hammer; I know what an orifice and verituri is and what eddies are. I know what an internal nozzle is. In fact that was such a familiar phrase it became known as the "infernal" nozzle and the "eternal" nozzle. The jury is not the only ones who become experts. The lawyers become engineers; they also become designers and advertising .'- o-one they have copied. 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