Jury Duty

[embers_log]

I just got back from jury duty...
the court house is a full hour away from here (the way they arrange county lines covers huge areas here) but luckily I managed to satisfy my duty for this year without having to actually sit on a jury (which would mean a week or more of having to commute that far back and forth).  It is a relief, I was really afraid

Comments

[ancientgirl]

LOL, that would have sucked if he'd held you for contempt just for saying sorry to someone. Jury duty always sucks, especially since courthouses are always located in the most god awful of places that take forever to get to.

At least you went and were able to be excused without having to go again.

[embers_log]

Yes, I'm free and clear until next year (and I may be lucky and get to go to a closer court house next year!).

Man, I am so tired... I'm not used to getting up so early and having to deal with rush hour traffic, it is exhausting.

When I was in Iowa the court house was only 2 miles from my house, and although we had to be available for jury duty for longer the fact was that there was almost zero chance of an actual trial that needed a jury.

[ancientgirl]

I don't want to jinx myself, but I haven't even been called for close to 7 years. But it would totally suck for me, because the court house I'd probably have to go to is far as hell, and the traffic would be horrible. Not to mention, I live in Miami, chances are there WOULD be some trial I'd get picked for.

But, I could always get my boss to write me an excuse. Now that I think about it, he did that last time I was called.

[embers_log]

Yeah, I think the very best excuses were from people who worked for small businesses (because it is such a hardship to have one of the few people in the company gone for an indefinite period of time), and of course the parents of small children who are needed at home.

Anyway, as you could probably tell, I do feel some guilt about not being available... but I wasn't going to ruin my friend's trip. She doesn't get much time off and it is expensive to fly out here (and of course the tickets are non-refundable at this point) so I want her visit to be nice.

[callmeserenity]

The last time I got called for jury duty, pretty much the same thing happened, all of us that had reasons not to serve got to go before a judge. But they let us all go before we had to give our reasons. My reason was that I was a nanny at the time, me taking off work meant the mom had to take off work. What a mess. I would have not liked having a mean and grumpy judge tell me that my life and my plans weren't good enough reason to get off jury duty. There are lots of people who LIKE having jury duty (my sister is one of them.) Let them deal with it. I'm not comfortable passing judgement on others. I HATED it the one time I had to do it.

Anyway, I'm glad you got out of it and stop complaining about having to get up early because I do that every day. :P

[embers_log]

And back when I was your age I also got up early every morning... for decades (so there)
I can whine and complain if I wanna....
Anyway it was the hour in rush hour traffic more than the early morning - and I know you don't have to go through THAT.

But can I admit that I was feeling a little discriminated against? I felt that those people who are married with children: their lives and their plans were more valuable and treated with more respect by the judge. But the friend who is visiting me is part of my 'family' (in Joss' sense of made family) and I have been arranging my life and my home to make her visit special, but none of that deserves to be taken into account.

[callmeserenity]

No, I don't have to go through traffic anymore, but I've done it in the past. 45 minute commute that would turn into 2 1/2hrs or more!!!

It isn't fair that your circumstances are deemed less worthy because you don't have babies or a special job that causes an inconvenience, but the truth is, if it's weren't for your friend coming, there really wouldn't be anything drastic in your life you couldn't rearrange to serve. That may not seem like a good thing to you, but to me it seems great! I can't imagine the chaos around here if I had to serve on a jury. No one else can do my job!

[embers_log]

no, you're right: I am very lucky to be able to have my life in this place right now. It is a blessing and I'm grateful for it.

And if this trial wasn't going to be so long and such a pain in the ass then I would have just done my civic duty (and I'd have probably been cut from the jury further into the process because I am opinionated and loud mouthed and not the kind of juror the lawyers really want anyway).

[liluv]

Wow, the judge seems to be quite the jerk. I have no experience with courts whatsoever, so this is very interesting to me.

I´d never have thought it takes so long to be chosen or not chosen to do jury duty. Man, that´s quite a dread, because one leaves half a day there!

Lenny´s plan with seemingly uncalled laughter sounds like a good idea, doesn´t it?

[embers_log]

well if you include the commute then it took 8 hours for me to not be picked as a potential juror for this trial. If I had been free to be a juror (without any obligations or prior plans) then I still would have been there for 4 hours on Tuesday, and then I would have had to return today (Thursday) to go through screening by the lawyers ... they would then have chosen their 16 people (12 jurors and 4 alternates) who would THEN have to return for the trial which begins April 2nd and will last for at least one week, and maybe two.

I'm really happy to be done with the whole mess for another year (hopefully next year it will be a shorter trial and/or a closer court house). I'm really not dead set against serving on a trial, but I hate that it is so disruptive to daily life!

I like Lenny's plan... I think I'll bring comic books to read and laugh over next year when I'm called again.