51179--Bail-iff

[zyzyly]

I felt pretty good this morning and went down to the courthouse to fulfill my civic duty as a prospective juror. It was slow down there. I spent the entire morning watching episodes of Breaking Bad on my iPad, and staring down at the security checkpoint below where I was sitting. For me, one of the best things about going to jury duty is watching all the people come and go. We went the entire morning with out them calling a jury panel, and got released for a two-hour lunch at 11:30.



It was nice outside, not too hot, so I took a walk around the downtown area. There was a farmer's market in Cesar Chavez park, a few blocks from the courthouse. That's the other good thing about being on jury duty on a Wednesday. I bought a bunch of fruit to take home. I ran into the people who sell pears in pear season, and today they were selling cherries. The lady remembered my pear photographs.



I got a little short of breath walking back to the courthouse, and had to use my inhaler. This doesn't seem to be clearing up as fast as I would like it to. I still had an hour, so I drove over to the office to visit with my colleagues and water my plants. I sat for a while and felt better, then drove back to court.

The called us all into the jury room around two. I thought they were sending us home, but they had a panel. I was on the panel, and went up to the courtroom. I have to go back tomorrow for jury selection. I'm always happy to serve on a jury, but equally happy to be excused, so I'll see what happens.

Comments

[elainegrey.livejournal.com]

Have i told my story of showing up for jury duty on September 12, 2001? Every person in that room radiated a civic pride: it was something to DO in the shock of the attacks. And then we were told the expected length of the trial (something like 6 months to a year). The ripple of energy filled the room as the "I can't possibly" was replaced with "I can!" was tangible.

Turned out it was about the gas additive leaching into Lake Tahoe. From the questionnaire, i'm pretty sure i would not have survived the jury selection (yes, i was a member of the Sierra Club, yes i had worked with toxic materials, yes i had a background in physics/chemistry). I would have been delighted to serve on that, too. My company didn't want me to be there, though, so i was excused.

I haven't made it to jury selection since. I was selected once and served in Philly. I feel like i haven't had a chance to fulfill my responsibility.

August 06, 2002 - Four big oil companies agreed Monday to pay $28 million to settle a landmark trial concerning the controversial gas additive MTBE.

[elainetyger.livejournal.com]

I also don't mind the jury duty. I get paid leave from my government job for the duration; my coworkers have a saying about different duties you get paid for: "it's all good time." Also, that's a very nice park you have to chill out in for 2 hours, which you probably could have appreciated better if you were breathing properly. No such thing by the courthouses in Jersey City.

[fletch31526.livejournal.com]

I'm 36 years old, which means I've been eligible for jury duty for half my life. I've never been called. I did get a questionnaire in the mail informing me that I would potentially be called for federal jury duty. However, one of the questions was "are you a career firefighter?" I checked the yes box and never heard anything from them again.