I can't count how many times I have heard someone piss and moan about receiving a summons for jury duty. There are some people who will not register to vote, because they think that will keep them off the list. It doesn't work, because they use DMV records. It's all different, now.
Today, a check came in the mail, in the amount of $12.96. The $12 was my pay for one day’s jury duty and the ninety six cents was for the mileage.
I think have been called for jury duty at least five times in my life. That’s an average of once every eight years, for the time I’ve been eligible for the civic duty. I’ve never actually served on a jury, but showing up on time is really what counts.
Apparently, jury duty is not what it used to be. The courthouse gang has taken a lesson from the Dental profession. Sometime long ago, dentists realized no one wanted to be a dentist’s patient. The reasons are obvious, it hurts. Dentists took up the challenge and a modern dental patient will be doped and drugged until they can’t feel their toenails, and only then is the dentist ready to work.
I was not expecting jury duty to hurt, but I never expected it to be fun. I drove downtown and parked in the city parking garage. My jury was with the 19th Judicial District, which is a State Court. On the way to the State Courthouse, I passed the City Courthouse. There was a line of people on the steps, waiting to enter. A Deputy was singing an operatic aria about cellphones, and how no phone would be allowed in the building.
When I entered the State Courthouse, there was no line at the door. I entered the building and saw a small crowd. They were all putting their cellphones in baskets and waltzing through the metal detectors, and then collected their phones.
I was directed to the jury room, which is a large auditorium that holds about 600 people. The Chief Jury lady appeared and cheerfully welcomed everyone. She asked for all college students to come sit on the aisle. She proceeded to explain that cellphones and laptops were allowed, but no newspapers. She recognized the fact that every cellphone contains a camera and said, “If your cellphone doesn’t have a camera, you need a new phone.” That set the tone for the morning.
Next, she introduced Judge Wilson Fields, who proceeded to do a twenty minute standup comedy routine. He started off by announcing that college students were exempt from jury duty, then added, “if you have all A’s.” After quizzing them about their grade point average, he admitted the 4.0 thing was a joke and told them they could leave. He had a few other jokes and tried one clairvoyant trick, which didn’t work very well, before he left.
The Chief Jury lady made a call for all those who thought they had a hardship and couldn’t serve. A line of about a dozen people formed along the wall. The first four people were released with no argument, which encouraged others. About 50 people were heard and sent home.
She explained that we would see movies while we waited and those who didn’t want to watch the movie were welcome to stay in the lounge, where there were books and magazines for their use. She said we could take a book home and would appreciate it if we could bring books to leave in the lounge.
The lights were turned down and we watched a short video about jury duty. Various judges explained how the whole process worked. They stressed that although we were allowed to have our cellphones, under no circumstances, should we post on facebook about anything happening in the courthouse. Absolutely nothing. This was reinforced with a cautionary tale about a young woman who posted pics of the trial on facebook. A court employee was on her friends list and promptly ratted her out. The poor girl spent two nights in jail. We heard that story three separate times, just to get the point across.
After the video, Chief Jury lady continued to explain jury stuff, but would pause to call a name and a number. When that person stood up, she said, “You’re excused. You can go.” This got everyone’s attention, which was the point. Everybody was listening. This continued with a couple minutes of jury stuff, and another person got to leave. After another 15 minutes of this, she finally revealed what was going on. A civil case had been settled and the trial was canceled. Three more people were released and then she called my name and number. I can’t say what happened after that. I was back on the street by eleven. That’s worth $12.96 and I won’t be called for another two years.
Today, a check came in the mail, in the amount of $12.96. The $12 was my pay for one day’s jury duty and the ninety six cents was for the mileage.
I think have been called for jury duty at least five times in my life. That’s an average of once every eight years, for the time I’ve been eligible for the civic duty. I’ve never actually served on a jury, but showing up on time is really what counts.
Apparently, jury duty is not what it used to be. The courthouse gang has taken a lesson from the Dental profession. Sometime long ago, dentists realized no one wanted to be a dentist’s patient. The reasons are obvious, it hurts. Dentists took up the challenge and a modern dental patient will be doped and drugged until they can’t feel their toenails, and only then is the dentist ready to work.
I was not expecting jury duty to hurt, but I never expected it to be fun. I drove downtown and parked in the city parking garage. My jury was with the 19th Judicial District, which is a State Court. On the way to the State Courthouse, I passed the City Courthouse. There was a line of people on the steps, waiting to enter. A Deputy was singing an operatic aria about cellphones, and how no phone would be allowed in the building.
When I entered the State Courthouse, there was no line at the door. I entered the building and saw a small crowd. They were all putting their cellphones in baskets and waltzing through the metal detectors, and then collected their phones.
I was directed to the jury room, which is a large auditorium that holds about 600 people. The Chief Jury lady appeared and cheerfully welcomed everyone. She asked for all college students to come sit on the aisle. She proceeded to explain that cellphones and laptops were allowed, but no newspapers. She recognized the fact that every cellphone contains a camera and said, “If your cellphone doesn’t have a camera, you need a new phone.” That set the tone for the morning.
Next, she introduced Judge Wilson Fields, who proceeded to do a twenty minute standup comedy routine. He started off by announcing that college students were exempt from jury duty, then added, “if you have all A’s.” After quizzing them about their grade point average, he admitted the 4.0 thing was a joke and told them they could leave. He had a few other jokes and tried one clairvoyant trick, which didn’t work very well, before he left.
The Chief Jury lady made a call for all those who thought they had a hardship and couldn’t serve. A line of about a dozen people formed along the wall. The first four people were released with no argument, which encouraged others. About 50 people were heard and sent home.
She explained that we would see movies while we waited and those who didn’t want to watch the movie were welcome to stay in the lounge, where there were books and magazines for their use. She said we could take a book home and would appreciate it if we could bring books to leave in the lounge.
The lights were turned down and we watched a short video about jury duty. Various judges explained how the whole process worked. They stressed that although we were allowed to have our cellphones, under no circumstances, should we post on facebook about anything happening in the courthouse. Absolutely nothing. This was reinforced with a cautionary tale about a young woman who posted pics of the trial on facebook. A court employee was on her friends list and promptly ratted her out. The poor girl spent two nights in jail. We heard that story three separate times, just to get the point across.
After the video, Chief Jury lady continued to explain jury stuff, but would pause to call a name and a number. When that person stood up, she said, “You’re excused. You can go.” This got everyone’s attention, which was the point. Everybody was listening. This continued with a couple minutes of jury stuff, and another person got to leave. After another 15 minutes of this, she finally revealed what was going on. A civil case had been settled and the trial was canceled. Three more people were released and then she called my name and number. I can’t say what happened after that. I was back on the street by eleven. That’s worth $12.96 and I won’t be called for another two years.
