LAHS graduate Frances Laurent with fellow juror during the Gwyneth Paltrow and Terry Sanderson trial last month in Park City, Utah where Laurent attends the University of Utah. Courtesy photo
By KIRSTEN LASKEY
Los Alamos Daily Post
kirsten@ladailypost.com
A retired optometrist, a movie star and a 2021 Los Alamos High School graduate all congregated in a court room for a trial that was broadcast around the country. It sounds strange but it is true. Frances Laurent, a sophomore at the University of Utah and 2021 LAHS graduate, served on the jury for the trial between actress Gwyneth Paltrow and retired optometrist Terry Sanderson.
Sanderson accused Paltrow of causing a skiing accident in 2016 at the Utah Deer Valley Resort. He sued her for $300,000. Paltrow denied being the cause of the accident and sued him for $1 as well as legal feels.
The trial was held for eight days in Park City, Utah and the jury ruled in favor of Paltrow on March 30.
Laurent described the experience of serving on a jury for such a high-profile trial as amazing. Sadly, as an alternate juror, she was dismissed before the jury made its decision.
Laurent explained that in Utah, a full jury is eight people. Ten jurors served throughout the trial, but only eight were necessary for deliberations. The judge randomly chose who to dismiss by drawing jury numbers out of a hat and her number, 15, was picked.
It was a little sad, Laurent said, to be dismissed after spending eight full days in the courtroom and accumulating over 50 pages of notes.
However, “I’m pleased to know they voted exactly how I would have voted,” she said.
In fact, the experience has left her with some genuine friendships with her fellow jurors. Laurent said they formed a group chat and even plan to meet for a barbecue.
“They were amazing,” she said. “I think we really bonded because this is something that no one is very excited to do. No one, obviously, wants to put aside their lives for two weeks…I can genuinely call these people my friends.”
At 20 years old, Laurent said she was the youngest member of the jury. When she was called for jury duty, she felt she probably wouldn’t be selected because of her age.
Jury selection was conducted through Zoom, which Laurent said lasted all day. During her interview, she was asked about her opinions of Paltrow. Laurent said she didn’t really know much about the actress other than seeing some of her movies. When asked about her opinions about Paltrow’s company, Goop, Laurent said she had never heard of it. In fact, she said when the attorneys mentioned Goop, she wasn’t entirely sure she heard them correctly.
“I think that really set me up as unbiased,” Laurent said.
Despite Paltrow’s star power, Laurent said the trial was pretty low-key and she wasn’t allowed access to the Internet so she wasn’t aware of any of the buzz.
After the trial she said one of the jurors was interviewed on Good Morning America and another was interviewed by CourtTV, which livestreamed the whole trial.
As for Laurent’s college friends, she said they thought it was cool but being a younger generation, Paltrow isn’t really known as a major star. For her parents’ generation, however, it’s a different story.
For instance, Laurent said she told her chemistry professor about the experience and her professor was extremely impressed.
During the trial, Laurent viewed Paltrow just as she would anyone else. The real experience was being exposed to the justice system and how it works.
Laurent said the attorneys for both parties were “very interesting”, but they both did a good job representing their clients. The plaintiff’s attorney brought light to the courtroom at times by stating: “I’m just a simple country lawyer”.
It also got her to empathize a little bit with her father, Steven, who is a licensed attorney but not currently practicing.
“I think it’s funny because my dad is a lawyer. He would remind me all the time what a good life experience it is (to serve on a jury) and how it is important for everyone to have a fair trial,” she said.
It is not a profession, however, Laurent said she would like to have.
“As a lawyer, you have to be highly detailed in your strategy and line of questioning,” she said. “It is a difficult thing to do … I am not sure it is something I could do.”
Laurent is majoring in biochemistry and pursuing a minor in math. Her father is Executive Director of the Los Alamos Community Foundation and her mother, Anne, is Los Alamos County Deputy Manager.