So I just completed my first experience with jury duty. It was pretty much what I expected it to be with a few twists. Last year I was summoned 3 times. The first time it wasn’t convenient for me (when is it ever) so I postponed my service. The second time I called in and they said there were no trials scheduled so I was considered as having served. The third time was just a month after the second time and so I sent a letter to the judge saying that according to the County website I couldn’t be called again within the same calendar year. Apparently he agreed and promptly assigned me for the first full week of the New Year. So that is how I came to be sitting in a room filled with 100 other grumbling people who also didn’t want to be there. I arrived on time and checked in and sat down. There were a couple of TV’s going with CNN on the screen talking about the mid-East crisis. There were people telling the same tired jokes about how to get out of jury service like “Tell them you can spot a guilty person just by looking at them”, or “If they are here then they must be guilty”. They seem funnier when you’re not sitting in the jury assembly room. So about an hour after arriving a lady gets on a PA system and explains the process, assigns people into groups of 12 and then puts on a video that is supposed to make you feel all warm and fuzzy about doing your civic duty. The video was actually decent. While no one really wants to be called for jury service if you are called you should go into it with the idea that you will listen to all the evidence presented and make your own call on what the verdict should be. In this Country the person on trial is innocent until proven guilty and we should respect that and not view the defendant any differently. Sure we all grumble about it, crack jokes and try different methods of escaping it, but the reality is that a trial by jury is one of the basic rights we have in this Country and while it might make us uncomfortable or be an inconvenience we should continue to honor our duty and do what is right. We would expect nothing but the same were the shoe on the other foot. In my case today the defendant changed his plea and the entire jury pool was excused. I won’t need to serve again for another 2 years. If selected to serve again I think my attitude will be a little different than the past where I viewed it as just another inconvenience.
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