I am performing my civic duty this week. I am deciding the fate of the nation. I am upholding the moral compass for my community. I am creating a safe haven for my children. I am upholding our constitution. I am the voice of reason in the black depth of the darkest night.
What am I?
I am on jury duty! All week. I will probably start twitching from my lack of blog reading, not that I do it at work or anything. No, not me, never.
This week I will be in the jury pool. Currently, I am one of 13 people in a jury for a criminal case. I could be kicked off tomorrow when the defense attorney questions the jury. I am assuming I was okay for the prosecution since I am still part of the jury.
I have never been called for jury duty but two years ago my husband was. He was elected foreman, of course. It was a trial for a guy that shot and killed an officer in another county and they had to move the trial to our area due to media exposure.
My case is not like that but it does have the possible sentence of life in prison. Ssssh, I can't talk about it.
When I arrived at the basement room there was a line of people that kept going and going. When I got into the large room and handed over my summons I was able to find a couch to sit on. (My husband gave me the heads up to look for a couch or I would have to sit at a desk) After everyone has been given their jury card we then have to stand in another line to sign and get our jury label to wear. Not real efficient if you ask me, but I think there is this extra step of signing because we were asked if we were citizens, convicted of a felon, or mentally retarded. If you answered yes then you were excused. All this before you sign your name but not before you give your summons.
The jury lady has a metal box, similar to what companies keep their petty cash in. She has each juror's name in it and each time she reaches in and calls out a name she closes the box up gives it a little shake and calls another name. Get that lady a bingo basket!! Poor thing, I looked and the paint has rubbed off where she holds it to shake.
I was not called until 3:10 p.m.. I was tired of reading. I actually fell asleep for about 20 minutes. I really hope I didn't snore. No one said anything but then again it was all walks of life down there in the jury assembly room. However, since I was not wearing a funky knit hat and golashes over my sweat pants I doubt it really matters.
What am I?
I am on jury duty! All week. I will probably start twitching from my lack of blog reading, not that I do it at work or anything. No, not me, never.
This week I will be in the jury pool. Currently, I am one of 13 people in a jury for a criminal case. I could be kicked off tomorrow when the defense attorney questions the jury. I am assuming I was okay for the prosecution since I am still part of the jury.
I have never been called for jury duty but two years ago my husband was. He was elected foreman, of course. It was a trial for a guy that shot and killed an officer in another county and they had to move the trial to our area due to media exposure.
My case is not like that but it does have the possible sentence of life in prison. Ssssh, I can't talk about it.
When I arrived at the basement room there was a line of people that kept going and going. When I got into the large room and handed over my summons I was able to find a couch to sit on. (My husband gave me the heads up to look for a couch or I would have to sit at a desk) After everyone has been given their jury card we then have to stand in another line to sign and get our jury label to wear. Not real efficient if you ask me, but I think there is this extra step of signing because we were asked if we were citizens, convicted of a felon, or mentally retarded. If you answered yes then you were excused. All this before you sign your name but not before you give your summons.
The jury lady has a metal box, similar to what companies keep their petty cash in. She has each juror's name in it and each time she reaches in and calls out a name she closes the box up gives it a little shake and calls another name. Get that lady a bingo basket!! Poor thing, I looked and the paint has rubbed off where she holds it to shake.
I was not called until 3:10 p.m.. I was tired of reading. I actually fell asleep for about 20 minutes. I really hope I didn't snore. No one said anything but then again it was all walks of life down there in the jury assembly room. However, since I was not wearing a funky knit hat and golashes over my sweat pants I doubt it really matters.
you poor thing....I know it is our civic duty but I totally agree there needs a more organized system. I was on a jury in B-town, I was 23 and we sentenced a
3rd time offender to 20 years...I know we did the right thing but I still think about him often. It is a huge responsibility...your voice will control the destiny of the accused. It is harder than you think and you have to live with your decision no matter how big or small the case might be...T
Good luck with the jury duty :)
Good Luck with jury duty.. Maybe it won't last too long..