Jury Service #1 & 2 – 3rd time

Perhaps I can re-write the pamphlet for the Justice Department – it’s all so familiar to me now. Can’t believe I was there Monday and today for the 2nd time in 6 months, 3rd time in 3 years. I was balloted into the trial room both days but not called for the jury box.

My observations are a bit more scathing this time and there’s no easy and less snobby way to state them. I had a good look around the room this time, trying to see who was there and work out if there was some system at work that had me there for the 3rd time.

• The people I heard talking were all trying to figure out how to avoid getting on a jury – discussing what they were wearing or reading, how they could look or act to make them get challenged. Apart from the reasonable chance that the case would be pretty revolting to participate in, what is it other than the disruption to work that would make them so adamant that they didn’t want to be there?
• I shames me to admit that I was just a guilty as the lawyers looking up and down people called to the jury box in my impression of the people on jury service this week. Completely by the look of people I surmised that there were no doctors, financial experts, real estate agents, business owners, entrerpreneurs, IT people etc. Well if there were, they were not from the private sector. It struck me that Government workers probably have no legitimate excuse for getting out of jury service, that everyone in the private sector is too busy, too important, too critical in the revenue generation of their company to spend what is likely to only be 2 or 3 stints of 2 hours out of the office sitting in a waiting room.
• Is there something wrong with me that I don’t mind doing it? I never thought of myself as being on a moral, political or social high ground … rather apathetic and more than happy to sit on the fence but by my willingness to go do this and to not fight it or find an excuse to not do it, in my calm temperament in the face of being chosen does this mean I actually *do* have an opinion?
• Is there a ‘best practice’ response expected when called for jury service? Like every I’ve told that I’m doing it this week immediate says “oh no! Can’t you get out of it?“ and when I say I’m not bothered, I’m asked “why would you *want* to do it?“. And everyone there saying “god I hope I don’t get picked.“ Is this a conditioned response so that you seem ‘normal’?
• I can’t imagine the Mister attending. Mostly because I just can’t see him sitting in a room waiting. No computers, no TV, just sitting. The jury waiting rooms are just like every American TV show or movie that takes the character down to the DMV to take a ticket and wait to renew their licence.