Jury Duty

Well, I did my civic duty on Monday by reporting for jury duty.  Yep exactly...joy, fun.  There were almost 300 people in the room and if you're a people watcher then this would be an ideal environment for you.  They asked at the start how many people really wanted to serve as a juror and only about 4 people raised their hand.  The honesty of the room was humorous, but of course we were all hoping they wouldn't call our name.

After a brief video and instructions from one of the judges, the random selection of panel members began.  I was selected as the last person of the first panel....of course!  Darnit!  I wouldn't be one of the 104 people not selected.  So, as the 23 other members of my panel made our way downstairs to our court room we waited on the bailiff to give us instructions before entering the court room.  As we entered the court room and sat down, the judge was seated, the 3 lawyers and defendant were seated and there were 3 family members there, as well.  The judge went through some instructions and then each side had a chance to present and interact with us as they determined who they wanted seated as jurors.  They only needed 6 jurors, so as the judge pointed out I had the very least chance of being selected for this jury.  Perfect!  But, I had to sit through over 2 hours of presentations from the state and from the defense lawyers...fun.  Actually, it was pretty interesting and a good refresher from my law class in college.

In the end, I wasn't picked...no surprise...and my almost 5 hours of service was over!  Civic duty done!  My mom had to report on Tuesday and didn't get picked at all...lucky!

However you may have to serve in the days and months ahead, may you find your silver lining and perhaps enjoy the process.  Many blessings to you in this first full week of August!!