Well, I'm sure you're foaming at the mouth to hear about my exciting day at jury duty. Thrills! Spills! Chips! Dips! Dorks! (...Sorry. This is what happens at 4:30 on a Friday afternoon.)
Anyway, the highlight of the day, by far, was the cheesy orientation film they played for us. It started with a reenactment of trial by ordeal, culminating in some poor schmoe being tied up and tossed into a river. Sank like a stone, of course. He was declared innocent and fished out. He survived. I was impressed! I didn't think people survived those things. Anyway, we also got a history of justice in Ancient Greece. It was, as you can imagine, thrilling.
Ed Bradley and Diane Sawyer guided us through the rest of the video. Basically there are different types of trials. And many people in the courtroom. But one of the most vital components of the Fantabulous American Justice System is The Jury. Oh yes. Over and over, we, the jurors, were told how important we are. And I don't disagree, but it was amusing how emphasized it was.
...And that was about it. That was at 8:30. We basically were told that we can't leave until dismissed, even if we go to a courtroom but aren't picked for that trial. Then we sat around. A lot. There were maybe two dozen of us in this huge room that could seat at least 150, so we all had a LOT of room. The chairs were fairly comfortable. I got a LOT of reading done; about half my book for book club.
Around 11:30, the Jury Mistress (unofficial title) came out and said that the courts had gone through their morning dockets and we weren't needed, so we could go to lunch. We had to be back by 2. Well, that was ideal. I managed to run some errands and have lunch at home before returning to the Justice Center.
We almost had to be on a jury. Apparently one of the courts had called while we were at lunch and said they had a case that needed to be tried. But by the time we got back, the defendant had pleaded guilty. So close.
Anyway, so more sitting around. A woman in front of me fell asleep and started snoring loudly, amusing quite a few of us. And at 2:30 or so, the Jury Mistress told us that we wouldn't be needed, and that we could take our $15 checks and go home, safe in the knowledge that we wouldn't be back for at least 3 years.
So...not quite thrilling. I still wouldn't mind sitting on a jury, or at least going through the selection process. But...not bad.
Current song in my head:
"Papa Don't Preach" by Madonna