Civic Responsibility 101

[nightdog_barks]

Otherwise known as jury duty, which I was summoned to this week.



It turned out not to be too bad, aside from getting up at 5:30 in the morning so I could be absolutely sure of getting to Local County Seat's courthouse by 8:20 a.m. (I pulled into a parking spot at 7:15, go me). The court clerk announced that there were 264 people in the jury room, and they would need 184 for jury duty. So they started calling names (in groups, and if your name was called you were in a specific group assigned to a specific court), and they got to the VERY LAST GROUP ... and my name was called.

BUT. It was for a court in Southern Suburb of My County, where only a sliver of the suburb is actually in the county, and the case wasn't scheduled to start until 9 the next morning. So -- everyone in my group (15 people) got to go home for the rest of the day. We were told to call Southern Suburb's court that afternoon to see if the case was going forward. I called, and the clerk said it was, but to call again at 8 the next morning. So I called at 8 the next morning -- nope, the case was still active. Well, fine. Off I go to Southern Suburb.

Southern Suburb's courthouse ... is barely a courthouse. It's mostly a county government office, where they do passport applications, vehicle registration, etc., all the mundane things that people need. The courtroom was literally tucked behind a combination display case/load-bearing pillar, next to a constable's office. All 15 of us initialed a sheet of paper with our names on it, then sat down on hard wooden benches to wait. It was cold, just as Local County Seat's courthouse had been cold (it felt like they had the a/c set at 73 or lower).

At approximately 9 a.m., someone (I assume a bailiff) shouted "[NAME REDACTED] vs. [NAME REDACTED]," and ... nothing happened. (It was a woman's name and a man's name.) At about 9:03 we filed into the tiny courtroom and sat down (on padded benches, yay!), then got up again as the judge came in, then sat down again. WE WERE REALLY QUIET AND SOLEMN, YOU GUYS, BECAUSE COURT.

And then the judge said the case had been discharged because the two parties had reached a settlement of some sort because they didn't want to face an honest-to-god jury trial. Thanks for coming, you're the bedrock of our democratic system, we appreciate your service. So my jury service ended up lasting all of ten minutes. And I was kind of disappointed! I mean, I hate being out of my comfort zone and being social with strangers, but everything had been fairly interesting and had gone well so far, and I had psyched myself up to Do My Duty and I was actually eager to find out the details of the case! (I tried Googling the redacted names later but couldn't find anything.)

So that was it. My country, 'tis of thee. :D



OTHERWISE. It is hot and humid. In recent weeks, I have read:

The Sunlight Pilgrims, by Jenni Fagan. Apocafic, ahoy! Really liked it, two thumbs up.
Oleander, Jacaranda: A Childhood Perceived, by Penelope Lively. Memoir of the English novelist's Egyptian childhood. Very interesting, would recommend.
The Astaires: Fred & Adele, by Kathleen Riley. Short dual biography of Fred Astaire and his sister, Adele. Maybe a bit too heavy on the details of the behind-the-scenes construction of a Broadway musical, but still good.

Not sure what is up next -- maybe Min Jin Lee's Pachinko, maybe Paul La Farge's The Night Ocean, maybe something else. :-)

Comments

[warmdarkwoman]

I've been called twice in three years. Both times I was empaneled, but the case was settled before we could get to do our civic duty.

I hope they keep calling me! I'd like to serve on a jury, just to see what it's like.

[nightdog_barks]

I actually have served! It was at least twenty years ago, and it was the very first time I was called. It was a domestic violence case. The girlfriend/wife (I can't remember which she was) did not want to prosecute, but she'd called the police and the county DA had a policy of prosecuting ALL domestic violence cases. We the jury were pretty much required to find the guy guilty. The gf/wife literally begged us to find him NOT guilty, because love. It was a profoundly uncomfortable situation. :-(

The second time was six years ago. I had a medical affidavit because I was about to start chemo, so I was excused.

And the third time was this week (Tuesday and Wednesday). :D

[taiga13]

I haven't yet been called for jury duty. I'm also curious about what it would be like!
I've added The Sunlight Pilgrims to my list of books I don't have time to read (sigh)

[nightdog_barks]

I was very pleased with The Sunlight Pilgrims! It had a cast of characters that I found appealing, and the dire situation they were facing felt fairly realistic (the worst winter in modern memory, with no guarantee it will end). I think it may also be the first novel I've read that has a trans character (yes, I am dinosaur). :D

I assume that Canadian jury duty is about the same as ours? That is, names are drawn from voter registration rolls and drivers' licenses ...

[taiga13]

I believe so, yes. My mother was called up once, on a notorious case of a local policeman brutally murdered during the line of duty. She wasn't selected, to her great relief. I asked her if she'd looked at the accused, and she said "no", and I said I read in To Kill A Mockingbird that juries never look at people they've convicted so maybe that's why she wasn't chosen. (I was a teen and therefore a smartass.)

[tourmaline]

My friend got called just before Christmas, and ended up doing a week's worth of benefit fraud cases. Because it was over Christmas she didn't get to do the second week, which she was quite happy with, even though it was rather mundane. On the other hand, when my mother did hers (over 20 years ago) she ended up doing three weeks in a high-profile case in the coroner's court. That's my fear about doing jury service - ending up on a long case and you can't take a day off or keep up with things changing at work.