Jury Duty
April 24, 2008
Jury Duty. I have been summoned. Randomly selected to serve. Why does this notice send me into an immediate bad mood? Simply because I must participate in our country’s legal system? Typically, I won’t even be selected to sit on the jury. Truly all this notice requires of me is to appear for one full day to the Superior Court. Granted it will be boring, with a lot of sitting around and doing nothing. I must ask myself why am I immediately filled with anger and horror at the thought of having to fulfill this obligation. It’s true, I like many people hate to be told what to do, but my mind instantly fills up with possible excuses to get out of this chore. Unfortunately, I could not think of any good enough excuses so I will be appearing for this obligation. But I must state, for the record, I hate it! Perhaps it is because it has to do with criminals and lawyers and laws being broken. The very idea puts me ill at ease. Most people want to put as much distance between themselves and these instances. I like everyone else would rather read about such things or watch it on tv and shake our heads in shame. All I know is that I really do not want to do this, but I must. Paying taxes, death and jury duty are things we all must do. I wonder if people really get a fair trial when most of the jurors may just be taking our their frustrations on having to be there? But I suppose I will just have to manage and be a mature, responsible adult and do the best I can. There must be a better way!
April 24, 2008 at 6:41 pm
Dang it. I feel your pain. I always grumble when I get picked, for pretty much the same reasons. It can also be tough if your employer won’t pay you for the days off.
But I was thinking the other day, as my boss grumbled about having to go last week. I thought, well, what would the alternative be to being tried by a jury of your peers (the word “peers” used loosely in some cases)?
I also found, after having served on a jury a while ago, that after you and your fellow jurors get over the initial resentment of having to be there, you really get into it. The whole process, flawed though it may be is really quite fascinating and in the end you really do feel like you’ve done something.
Have fun with it. At the very least, if you don’t get picked, you’ll have a day where you can just sit, relax and read or write about your experience. Then it’s over. At least until the next time.
Ok, that being said, I sure hope I don’t get picked, hee hee.
April 24, 2008 at 9:33 pm
Thanks sketched for your comments. I will lean into it and get what I can from it while serving a higher purpose!
May 3, 2008 at 11:24 pm
U R so funny! It is really not that bad anymore since they put in the one day rule. Of course u can get picked anyway and have to serve for awhile. The worst thing is the waiting around. Other than that it is pretty interesting. Glad u r doing your duty.
May 22, 2008 at 11:26 pm
You really need to get something new up and running. I am sure u have a lot to say! Let’s hear it.