Ask SAM

Q. I heard that Guilford County has announced that it will be notifying the public by 5 a.m. about school delays or closings because of bad weather. Is there any chance that Forsyth County could do the same? -- J.H.

A. Sleet and snow do not fall at particular times of the day or night, so the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County school system uses a nondeadline policy.

"The unpredictability of weather doesn't allow for hard-and-fast rules," said Theo Helm, a spokesman for the school system.

"Our ideal snow scenario would be a snow that starts in the evening -- after all students are home and afternoon activities are finished -- that allows us to call off school the night before so parents have plenty of time to make plans."

Snow Utopia does not happen often, or at least, not enough for certain children.

"Our next goal is to be able to make a decision before the buses start in the morning, which is usually around 5:30 a.m.,'' Helm said. "We have transportation employees out on the roads before 4 in the morning to make sure roads are safe for buses, and parents and students who will be driving.

"If the roads are not safe, we'll call off school. If the roads are safe, we'll continue to monitor them. We try to avoid sending out buses and then calling off school, but in some cases severe weather doesn't meet our timetables, and we have to call off school during the day."

Q. I read where Michelle Obama's mother, Marian Robinson, is moving into the White House to help look after the Obama children. Can you tell me who was the first lady's father and what did he do? -- A.G.

A. Michelle Obama's father was Fraser Robinson III. He was born in 1935 in Illinois, and it is known that during his youth Robinson enjoyed boxing. In 1960, he married Marian Shields. The couple's son, Craig, was born in 1962. Michelle was born in 1964.

"The Robinsons lived in a brick bungalow on the South Side of Chicago," according to a biography of the first lady on the White House Web site, www.whitehouse.gov.

"Fraser was a pump operator for the Chicago Water Department, and despite being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis at a young age, he hardly ever missed a day of work. Marian stayed home to raise Michelle and her brother, Craig, skillfully managing a busy household filled with love, laughter, and important life lessons."

The first lady said that during her childhood, she remembers visiting her paternal grandparents' house, which was nearby, every Sunday, according to an October 2008 article in The Washington Post.

Fraser Robinson III died in 1991.

Craig Robinson is now the head basketball coach at Oregon State University in Corvallis.

Q. Why do we have 12 people on a jury? Is this related in any way to the 12 disciples of Jesus? -- B.T.

A. There is no definitive historical record that links the number of jurors to the number of disciples, or any other instance of 12 in the bible, such as the 12 tribes of Judah.

"It was thought to be a good number to make sure that the minority population and that every opinion from the community or tribe would be represented," said Iloilo Jones, the executive director of the Fully Informed Jury Association, a nonprofit organization based in Helena, Mont. The association's goal is to inform Americans about their rights, powers and responsibilities when serving as trial jurors.

The concept of the modern jury is thought to have derived from the reign of King Henry II in England. In 1166, he issued the Assize of Clarendon, a document that established juries in the country's subdivisions and boroughs.

Types of juries were present before then, and there is evidence to suggest that in ancient Greece some laws were voted on by secret ballot.

In the United States, the jury-selection process is designed to provide a cross-section of the public to sit in judgment at criminal and civil trials.

The Seventh Amendment of the Constitution preserves the right to jury trial. The right is derived from English common law of the 18th century.

The number of people serving on modern juries varies. In criminal cases, there are usually 12 jurors, although in some countries, such as Scotland, the number is 15. In civil cases, many trials require only six jurors.

A 1970 U.S. Supreme Court case, Williams v. Florida, ruled that a jury in Florida that consisted of six persons was enough to hear a case as "a 12-man panel is not a necessary ingredient of "trial by jury.'"

Australia's high court issued a similar ruling in 2001.

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