Law and Order

January 4, 2010



Okay, we all dread them and most people when asked have never been sent one. A jury summons! Well, this is my second one! And this very cold morning I woke at 6:30 am and made the drive into the city where I had to be in court by 8:15. I walked into a room of approximately 200 people all miserable at the fact that they were there.

Oddly enough, I was not miserable, except for the fact that it was so early and so cold. I had my coffee, newspaper, book and yes, to all of those that are questioning...I was even allowed to bring my blackberry in. Sitting there we were instructed that we were there to be jurors for criminal cases and that they would call us in groups of 60.


My group was the third to be called and I was lucky #50. Taking the elevator up to the 10th floor and then into a courtroom, these people were not messing around. I was quickly instructed to sit in a juror box and given instructions on how the day would play out. We where then escorted down to the 9th floor where we were sworn in, and introduced to the defendant who was on trial for homicide. I thought to myself, 'how great is this, out of all these people that DON'T want to be here, I actually paid thousands of dollars for a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice just to be a part of it.' We were then separated in groups of 15 and sent off to lunch. A two hour lunch that is! I debated for a second about having a sip of wine, but knew it would probably put me right to sleep.

Back in the courtroom at 1:20, we were told to sit and wait, so that is what we did, for almost 4 hours! And I must admit...I fell asleep. With my coat and scarf wrapped around my purse I layed my head down in my lap and...well...napped.

Once I woke, I thought, I am never going to have enough time to stop and buy a bottle of wine tonight. Disheartened and a bit frustrated at this point, we were then called into two more courtrooms. Like cattle we followed. I can appreciate people getting frustrated by this hour, but isn't one of the great things about our country is that we are entitled to a fair trial by our peers? I think far too often today people take for granted our civic duty and see it more as burden. A bit shameful if you ask me.

Okay, so...as the last of our group was called into a small room with only 15 or so chairs, I knew, I knew they had probably picked the jury and if not, only two or three of us would be picked. The Foreman came in and called numbers 43-49. And we sat..and sat and sat...time went by and he came back in. "Thank you ladies and gentleman, we have our jury, you are free to go.

By this time, I thought, well, I have some Mark West left at home, I might as well finish off that bottle to this crazy day.

So my readers, here I sit, after a day of civic duty, with my trusty friend Mark, a bit disappointed that I was not picked for the trial and a bit disappointed that I was not able to pick a new wine.

The only advice I can give tonight is that, when or if you do ever receive that jury summons, don't think of it as a punishment or a hassle or a burden, think of it as your freedom, your right as an American and an honor to be a part of your community.

And then go home to that old friend and pour a glass.

Cheers!