The Chosen - Jury Duty

I, yes me, got called for jury duty. Finally. I've been waiting my entire adult life for this and it finally happened! When I got the summons in the mail, I jumped up and down and ran around the kitchen in glee. Mike later said that he didn't even think I smiled that much on our wedding day. Sheesh.


So my day was last Friday. I was so thrilled to get up at 6:30, get a shower, put on dress pants and a sweater, make-up and jewelry and have to be somewhere important by 9 am. I was actually about 3 minutes early, for the record.

I entered the circa 1970s court room, took a seat near the back row, a few seats in. I scoped out the crowd entering the room. Of course I brought a few magazines with me, but had no real intention in reading -- I was too excited to sit still and read! I sat with my legs crossed, my top leg bouncing up and down as if I had a little too much coffee (yes, that's probably the truth). I noticed a young man (20 ish maybe?) dressed in a suit sitting in the front row, facing the bench. There was another guy near him, also in a suit, standing near him. I assumed this was to be the guy on trial and his lawyer. I wonder what the crime was?

A few minutes later, an older man sat down right next to me. Why do people always sit right next to someone else when there is clearly open seats elsewhere? Like when you get seated at a restaurant next to the only other occupied table ...? I tried not to judge.

After a minute or so, he striked up a conversation ... I soon discovered that he was 63, has no kids, spends his summers working at a golf club, and his winters traveling. For several weeks at a time. In fact, he and his wife just got back from a 21-day cruise to Antarctica. Since Mike and I are planning a cruise to celebrate our anniversary this year, I thought this conversation was extremely timely. It's always good to hear someone else's travel experiences, cruise tips, dos and don'ts, etc. He was a really interesting guy, and we talked the entire time we waited.

So back to the jury process. At precisely 9:35, the judge entered the room and announced that the trial was to proceed, but there have been a couple of delays. He thanked us for our patience, and said he would return in 5 to 10 minutes.

I continued to talk with the man - who later introduced himself as Rick, people-watched, and ignored my reading materials. There was a young girl (18, maybe?) sitting on the other side of the room, appearing to be really bothered by being there. She played with her hair, her nails, and text-messaged on her phone. Another lady opened her laptop and tapped away at keys (she must have somewhere really important to be.) As the time clicked on, people grew more comfortable with each other and the room got louder. Rick recognized someone else in the row in front of us who lived on his street. Two guys on the other side of me were joking about the decor, announcing that our tax dollars certainly weren't going towards this building.

Then, at exactly 10:30, the judge entered the room again, this time wearing a black robe. We all stood. We all sat down. Then he said he has some good news and bad news. The good news is that the trial wasn't going to occur, and that we were all excused. For TWO YEARS! So, the bad news being - if we really wanted to participate in the court process, we won't get called again for TWO YEARS! Yes, I saw that as bad news for me. Other people's faces lit up and everyone stood up, and shuffled out of the room. I said goodbye to Rick, and thanked him for all the travel tips.

I was so angry! I was home before 11 am. This was certainly not the day in court I dreamt of!

So, now in 2010, when I'm 35, I'll be eligible to get called again. Pick me! Pick me!