Last Thursday, before an audience of millions, eight jurors decided that Gwyneth Paltrow, actor and Goop CEO, was not at fault for a 2016 ski collision with retired Utah optometrist Terry Sanderson on Deer Valley’s Bandana run.
The trial lasted eight days and featured expert witnesses, family members, the plaintiff and defendant all taking the stand. According to Variety, nearly 30 million people tuned into the trial across YouTube, Facebook and TikTok.
Nancy Michalko and Carolyn Jackson both served on the jury. Michalko was juror number 29. She commended the Summit County court system for the way it carried out the trial.
“The clerks, the bailiff, the judge, just impeccable, really wonderful people," Michalko said. "We were treated kindly and they respected our work. And it was really terrific for us to witness Summit County being so well polished and professional.”
Jackson, who took eight days off from her teaching position at Parleys Park, was juror number 28. She said serving was an educational experience.
“I've learned a lot. I had never been in a courtroom before," Jackson said. "I thought it was a really cool experience to be a part of. It was a little nerve-wracking how many people were watching but that's, that comes with the specific trial, I guess.”
Michalko said she had no idea the trial was being watched by the world.
“When we arrived, we weren't allowed to speak to anyone about the trial, we weren't allowed to comment to one another about the trial," Michalko said. "We had to stay sort of isolated from the community watching what was going on, on any media, social media, you know, internet, anything like that.”
Michalko said many of the jurors are skiers who have been in collisions in the past, and they came to a unanimous verdict quickly.
“I just think that the other thing that we really had in our mind was the ski industry, our community, how we wanted, you know, this unfortunate situation to be handled for the future," Michalko said. "You know, if you're on the hill and you have a collision, we just want to make sure that people are safe and can ski and enjoy that community without being brought up for trial.”
Jackson said she was trying to keep an open mind throughout the testimony until deliberations began.
“But when we were deliberating, that was kind of when after we were finally talking, we weren't allowed to talk to each other for eight days, we finally got a chance to do that," Jackson said. "And we all kind of just went through what we thought and that talking it out kind of helped me come to my own opinion. And from there, we all just kind of were able to share and come to our conclusion.”
Jackson said one of her big takeaways from the trial was that Sanderson’s entire digital life was on display for the world to see when the defense used his social media photos of the many trips he took after the accident.
“And that was one thing that I brought back to the classroom was like, I was kind of blown away with how, I mean, it's not surprising, it's all out there for anyone to see. But then I told the kids in my classroom, they just printed every picture he's had, every blog post he's been a part of, and just presented it in the courtroom. And, you know, talk about being careful with, with how you use your digital world.”
Jackson and Michalko both said spending all that time with each other, the jury got very close. Both are grateful to have some new friends.
