There's something about sitting in the jury assembly room, thinking about what other things I need to be doing, that really gets to me. I have been called many, many times, but I only served once. Sort of.
It was when I was in nursing school and it took an act of Congress to be allowed to fulfill my duty to my country. And then, to make matters worse, I was selected for the jury. It was a drunk driving trial. No one was injured, thankfully, just a guy arrested for driving drunk. A guy who insisted on his right to a trial by jury.
After sitting through the testimony about what constitutes driving drunk, we then got to hear from the arresting officer. Well, not exactly. The arresting officer pulled the guy over, then radioed for someone else to take over: his shift had ended and he was headed to Mexico to go deep sea fishing.
So, the officer on the stand was the one who took over. And the defendant's lawyer asked to approach the bench. How could the court accept the testimony of an officer of the law who did not actually see the defendant driving his car while intoxicated? Point taken. End of trial.
But not today. I spent three hours in the jury assembly room. I never got sent to an actual courtroom, or interviewed to serve on a jury. Not surprising, considering that the assembly room had an overflow crowd.
I couldn't find a place to park when I got to the courthouse, as the jury parking lot was full. There was a line clear out the front steps of the courthouse, of people waiting to go through the metal detector. Every chair was taken, in the assembly room, and there must have been fifty of us left standing.
After the first group was called, to go to Courtroom 6, there was room to sit down. When the court clerk gave us a break, several of us stayed right where we were: we weren't going to lose our seats!
To entertain us, they showed a short video about jury duty. Ordinary people, talking about serving on a jury. Ordinary people, talking about how important the process is. Ordinary people, citing the Constitution and the concept of justice for the people, and by the people. It made me think....
And, sitting there, waiting to be called to go to a courtroom, I started reading a book. I bought it sometime ago, meaning to read it, and hadn't gotten to it yet. I had no idea what it was about, or how much I would enjoy it.
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. What a great book! Instead of my usual “people watching,” I was completely absorbed in the book. And how apropos: a book about ordinary people, held prisoner on their island, during the German occupation of WWII.
Reading about their plight, and the ways that they survived, made me appreciate the concept of jury duty. Sitting in an uncomfortable chair, waiting and waiting to be called into a courtroom, and reading an absolutely delightful book.....
And no, I wasn't particularly upset when they dismissed us at 4.
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