I got up at 4:20 am because I had to hop in the shower, wash my hair, dry it, dress, and be ready for work at 4:50. Usually I work in my pajamas and robe due to the early hour and the fact that I work from home, and shower afterward. But yesterday I had a date downtown and had to leave immediately after my early morning job.
While I was driving there I realized how very seldom I'm out driving around at the start of the business day. I mean not more than three or four times a year. There was a freshness to the traffic, optimism about the day.
Since I had punched the address of the parking garage into my GPS, I had no trouble finding the place. I asked the attendant where the courthouse was and it was just a couple of blocks away.
The whole program was arranged to make it as convenient as possible for the jurors. I'm sure they know people generally aren't happy about being called for jury duty, so they worked hard to make it nice. The very large waiting area had lots of chairs, things to read, a bank of computers for us to use, phones, free wi-fi access, jigsaw puzzles to work, comfortable lounging chairs, and a place to eat. The woman who gave the information and announcements was very pleasant, and all the directions were clear and easy to understand.
I was in the first group called. There were about thirty-five of us who went into a courtroom and seventeen were called up to sit in the jurors' area. Not me. However, by the time a few had been excused, they called my name and I went up. The judge introduced all the officals in the room, then the two lawyers each gave a synopsis of the case. It was a personal injury case and was interesting to hear how different the story was, depending on which side told it. After that the judge and lawyers asked group questions and personal questions of the jurors. Based on how those conversations went, I did not expect to be on the jury.
After excusing the whole group, the lawyers chose the jury and as expected, I was not selected for the jury of nine people. I went back to the large waiting room, handed in my juror's badge and was excused to go home. I was there four hours.
Lunch was at Chick-Fil-A with dh. I love going anywhere with dh and I love eating Chick-Fil-A food. Good combination, huh?
Overall, it was a pleasant, interesting morning. It took me more than thirty-one years to be called to jury duty, so if the pattern holds, I'll be over eighty years old the next time and can ask to be excused on the basis of age. If so, this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and I'm glad I had it.
No comments:
Post a Comment