Today, I was summons to participate in Trial Jury Duty. I arrived a bit late due to heavy traffic but once arrived I proceeded to check in and receive my number…oh my, “lucky number 13”. The officer said “well, it’s better than #1”.  I sat in silence with 23 other potential jurors for 2.5 solid hours.  No one talked. No one made eye contact. I could only assume, we all harbored the same sentiment.  I know there are many people who might enjoy this type of show. I am not one of them.  

We had to watch a video about the history of Jury Duty and how it is our civil duty, right and privilege to be part of this country’s justice system.  Yes, I’m aware. However, I’ve now been called 4 times since adulthood and once had to sit on Grand Jury Duty every day for 6 weeks.  As I was sitting in the room in front of a dripping ceiling tile, I was hoping with all my might that all the cases for today would be dismissed and I could selfishly go back to my ordinary life.   I couldn’t help but think to myself that no one would have to be inconvenienced by this duty if everyone just did the right thing all the time.  How wonderful if everyone was just fair in all their dealings with another, or put the other person’s interest above their own, or had control of their volatile emotions or whatever it was that got a plaintiff and a defendant into the courtroom.  When I was on Grand Jury Duty years ago, I heard, and saw some pretty nasty situations, stupidity, disgusting behavior and even extreme violence.  I do not relish ever hearing that stuff again considering we suffer through it on the evening news. 

Luckily, as I was beginning to doze off and my arm going numb from holding my head, the judge came in and said “we are all free to go as all 9 cases were dismissed for various reasons.”  I was free! What a wonderful feeling – hmmm maybe that is how a defendant feels when a jury of their peers finds them “not guilty”.  I’ll have to consider that next time I’m called to serve.