Baking It Down with Sugar Cookie Marketing 🍪

Episode 232: Jury Duty

Hosts: Heather & Corrie Miracle
Date: October 14, 2025

Overview

This episode takes a humorous and insightful look at Corrie's recent experience serving on a criminal jury, and masterfully relates it back to the world of cottage baking businesses. Heather and Corrie break down the intricacies of jury duty—covering everything from jury selection and deliberation to how communication and perception affect outcomes. They expertly apply the lessons learned in the courtroom to common conflicts and marketing challenges bakeries face, highlighting the power of empathy, communication, and perspective in both the legal and business worlds.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Jury Duty: The Realities and Surprises

[02:43 - 14:38]

• Corrie's first jury duty experience:
  • “My husband's actually a police officer, so I thought for sure I'd never be called into jury duty.” [03:24, Corrie]
  • Large jury pool, with group numbers and a surprise selection process.
  • Civil vs. criminal trials: civil juries have 7 people, criminal trials have 12 (+2 alternates).
  • Voir dire—a process for vetting jurors—demonstrates how each side wants specific types of people (e.g., prosecution wanting “stealing is wrong” types, defense preferring those with less bias).
• Key screening questions:
  • Law enforcement connections, food service experience, and morality scenarios (“Is there anything so inexpensive you’d let it slide?”).
• Being honest during voir dire:
  • Corrie, as a police officer’s wife, expected to be struck—she jokes, “Well, my husband didn’t empty the dishwasher, so I guess he is capable of being wrong.” [12:09, Corrie]
  • To her surprise, she stays: “I thought they were 100% not going to keep me. And surprisingly, they did.” [12:39, Heather]

2. The Case: A Crime of Beer and (Maybe) Intent

[20:10 - 37:41]

• Incident recap:
  • A drunken 22-year-old stumbles into a bar, points a gun at the waitress, and demands a beer.
  • Waitress hands him a beer and flees, as do the only two patrons. The accused never leaves the bar or pays, but doesn’t exit with the drink.
• Legal complexities:
  • Charges: Armed robbery with a firearm, and public intoxication.
  • To convict for armed robbery, jury had to find A) intent to steal and B) use of a firearm. If either part not proven, defendant walks.
  • “He never left the restaurant… Whenever we go to a restaurant, we don't pay until the end. So you're a potential thief until the check comes back.” [29:38, Heather]
• Testimonies and evidence:
  • Waitress (via translator) cannot confirm if the beer was consumed or paid for.
  • Bodycam footage is invaluable, but several crucial details (like a photo of the beer) are missing due to what Corrie calls “shoddy police work.”
  • Defense leverages these doubts: “The defense said, listen, my perpetrator right here, he's dumb… If we were here for a brandishing charge, we'd all say he was guilty. But they didn't [charge for that].” [42:00, Corrie]

3. The Power of Jury Selection and Group Dynamics

[44:20 - 54:27]

• Jury deliberation is a group psychology experiment:
  • Judge advises: Don’t take a poll at first; discuss evidence before stating positions.
  • Social pressure can lead to changes in individuals' opinions (the “lines” psychology experiment).
• The crux: Did he actually steal the beer? Was intent proven?
  • "No one said if they think he's guilty or not... the big one that we all latch on to was the fact that we never saw if there was an empty beer bottle or a beer can..." [48:55, Corrie]
  • “He put a gun to someone's head and said, give me a beer...But I don't think he showed up to the restaurant and wanted to steal a beer. I think it was a crime of opportunity.” [51:58, Corrie]
• Outcome:
  • Jury can’t agree on intent; he’s convicted only of public intoxication—a $25 fine.
  • “He ended up just getting intoxication charge and a $25 fine and walked that day wild.” [54:27, Corrie]

4. Relating Courtroom Lessons to Bakery Business

[55:46 - 68:44]

• The “Jury of Your Peers”—as both a legal and bakery community parallel:
  • When bakers post grievances in the SCM Facebook group, they're seeking validation from their “jury” (other bakers)—not always an unbiased perspective.
    • “When you come to the sugar cookie marketing group, you're talking to a bunch of bakers who know the struggle... That’s a biased jury.” [56:34, Heather]
• Communication, Empathy, and Setting Expectations:
  • Feelings are not always rational; bakers must address client emotions as well as the facts.
    • “Most of life exists in the gray area between black and white.” [59:15, Heather]
    • “If there is a feeling where someone feels wrong, you can say, wow, I'm so sorry you feel that way. I can totally understand where you're coming from.” [59:19, Corrie]
  • Proactive, clear communication can avoid “trial by jury” situations with clients—set boundaries, clarify, confirm (“If I had to present this in a court of law, would I be embarrassed for the judge to read it?” [69:37, Heather]).
• Handling Mistakes:
  • Example: Baker forgets an order, offers apology, bakes same-day, and delivers with a note and half-refund.
    • “I'm grateful I had the tools at my disposal to turn what could have been a very unhappy customer into one for life.” [90:55, Facebook Member, Post of the Week]
• Conflict Resolution:
  • Apologizing for hurt feelings (even if not in the wrong) preserves relationships, reduces negative word-of-mouth, and is “free money.”
    • “I think you should apologize like it's free money. I think you should give it away...” [58:48, Heather]

5. Segment Highlights & Community Engagement

[81:03 - End]

• STL Me About It segment (Q&A and community interaction, including updates on podcast mascot Mr. Munch the cat, and Vendy Blendy group tips).
• Post of the Week:
  • Heather’s annual pricing data roundup: Current US national average for one dozen simple decorated cookies is $53.43 (median $57.50; mode $60). Up from previous year.
• Twin Trusts:
  • Corrie’s “fall bucket list” and seasonal activities.
  • Heather’s rave review of Dyson stick vacuums as both a cleaning tool and a life lesson in uncovering “what’s hiding under the surface.”

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “One year in the baking world is three years of human world, human time.” [01:01, Heather]
• "Do you hold your husband in high esteem? I said, I hope so. You know, I said, I do at the Walter." [12:19, Corrie]
• “If you went to Chick-fil-A without ordering at all and took a bunch of ketchup packets, is that stealing?...There's a little bit of a morality issue.” [10:51, Heather]
• “The most interesting part of your story to me is that jury pool selection and how they're able to ask those questions to hopefully weed out the people who are too in either direction.” [55:30, Heather]
• “When a baker comes to the sugar cookie marketing group, they are the defense and they present half of the story... You're looking for a jury of your peers to agree with you.” [55:46, Heather]
• “Most of life exists in the gray area between black and white.” [59:15, Heather]
• “If there is a feeling where someone feels wrong, you can say, wow, I'm so sorry you feel that way. I can totally understand where you're coming from.” [59:19, Corrie]
• “If I had to present this in a court of law, would I be embarrassed of the judge reading it?” [69:37, Heather]
• “I want to say, at the end of the day, we are all humans. And that was the biggest thing... Our hearts went out to him. He doesn't want to be a part of MS.13.” [55:01, Corrie]
• “You can be right on every count and still get the bad review.” [71:09, Heather]

Key Timestamps for Important Segments

• [02:43] – Corrie’s jury duty experience and selection process
• [14:38] – Case details begin: what actually happened that night
• [29:38] – Legal nuance of robbery vs. brandishing, and the “potential thief” analogy
• [44:20] – Jury deliberation process and group decision-making
• [54:27] – Final verdict and Corrie’s reaction: only convicted for public intoxication
• [55:30] – Application to bakery businesses: jury of peers in Facebook groups
• [59:15] – Empathy, feelings, and the “gray area” in client relationships
• [69:37] – Communicating with clients: “Would I be embarrassed if a judge read this?”
• [90:55] – Post of the week: handling a missed order with kindness

Final Takeaways

• Jury Selection Parallels: Just as legal teams seek an “unbiased” jury, business owners should be aware of bias—both in their own perspectives and when seeking advice from peers.
• Communication and Documentation: Clarity up front prevents disputes later; set expectations as if every client interaction might be scrutinized.
• Handle Mistakes Humanely: Quick apologies, action, and empathy go further than being “right.”
• Community as Jury: When asking for advice or validation, consider your audience’s inherent biases.
• Priced by Experience: National averages for cookie pricing illustrate growing business confidence, cost of living realities, and a shift from “race to the bottom” to sustainable pricing.

For More

• Join The Community: Sugar Cookie Marketing Facebook Group
• Learn & Grow: The Cookie College (coaching, classes, resources)
• Tune In: New episodes “bake it down” marketing, business trends, and community stories in a fun, PG, welcoming space “where even the fries get critiqued!”

Whether you’re dodging jury duty or dodging tough clients, Heather and Corrie show there’s always something bittersweet (and often funny) to “bake down” for bakery business owners.