jury duty

The first time I ever received a summons for jury duty was while I was overseas in China. The request came the day before I left, and I had to leave a message on someone's answering machine that I would not be able to show up. The crazy thing was that I didn't consider SC my home, but had changed my address there because that's where my parents were at the time.

The second time was a few years ago here in NC. I was so excited! I had always thought it would be cool to be on a jury. We sat and waited for 3 and a half hours for the interview process to start, only to be told thank you, go home, the case has been settled out of court. I was not happy with the waste of my time and was also disappointed.

My boss got called in Monday, and we all expected her back Tues, or at least the end of the week if she was selected. Before she left the courthouse Monday they were "bonded" for two weeks. She's on a "wrongful death lawsuit" and the slowness and inefficiencies are driving her crazy. And that got me to thinking.

I've always thought it would be cool to serve on a jury, but I really wouldn't want to decide whether or not someone was innocent or guilty of something based on limited information. And too many times, for various reasons, juries are not allowed to hear everything involved. How can you make a sound decision without all the facts? When I really stop and think about it, I wouldn't like the responsibility of deciding someone's guilt or innocence, and that's really what a jury does.

I suppose that's what growing up does for you: it modifies or destroys your childish concepts of cool. But if I do ever get selected to a jury, I don't think I'll be one of those people who complain about it. But who knows? That could change, too.