Starting Tuesday I'll be serving on the jury of a civil case in this fair jurisdiction. According to the judge who sat me, all I can tell you is, "I'll tell you more when it's over."
I've lived in Boston for a decade and today was my 4th jury pool ... and this was the first time I made it out of the pool, much less into a trial. So like the typical novice, I failed to give a convincing hardship excuse after finding out the trial would most likely last 2 full weeks. With no true conflict of interest, the best I could summon?
"But I have a plane ticket to my friend's wedding in Minnesota on the morning of Friday, June 5!"The judge just shook her head. Guess I'm changing my plane ticket to that evening.
Oy.
Truthfully, I am not dismayed at the actual prospect of the trial. Although ask me in a couple weeks if the trial dismayed me. No plans to live-blog or distract myself with people-watching. Although who is to say what could happen regarding interaction with my fellow jurors? I'll have to wait and see how the scene unfolds and what can be shared or not.
Perhaps I should create a new label ...
... Can civic duty save my dating life?
2 comments:
@Karin. Given your origins from North Dakota, I hope you'll appreciate this: Mark Twain once observed, "There are three things a person may never know--the course of the Missouri River, the mind of a woman, or the sentiment of a jury." Feel lucky that you're in a civil case: the parties may still settle before opening arguments--then, dismissal. A criminal case would more likely proceed, given the lack of plea bargaining to date. As to dating: well, you'll be in a confined, sequestered area with, hopefully, at least one male. Maybe ......? Make sure your employer pays you "in absentia".
http://www.fija.org/
Be a good juror.
-Artist from the Western suburbs
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