Jury Duty

Today, I did my civic duty and reported to the Superior Court for jury service... What a LONG day! I was out of the house by 6:15 so that I could be at the courthouse by 7:45 (I took the trolley, which is why it took longer... but it was totally fun!). I got to the jury lounge, checked in, and then I sat there... and sat there... and read my book... and talked to the woman sitting next to me... and watched CNN... and sat there... until finally they dismissed us for our two-hour lunch break. The nice thing about the courthouse is that it's located downtown, just a few blocks from a very nice outdoor mall. And the weather today was spectacular! So I had a very nice lunch and then did a little shopping. It was great!

At 1:30, I had to be back in the jury lounge, where I continued to sit and read and try to stay awake. At 3:00, a voice finally came over the intercom. I thought for sure that they would be dismissing us for the day, but nope! They were calling a panel of prospective jurors for a criminal case, and my name was one of the ones called. After a ten minute trek to the courtroom (located in a different building entirely), I became Juror #15. I wasn't one of the twelve sitting in the box, but I was "on deck," so to speak. We were told that the case was going to be very short, and would probably finish up tomorrow afternoon. A homeless man was facing criminal charges for public drunkenness. I actually thought that it would be fun to be on the jury, since I could easily spare a day or two (I dread getting assigned to a longer trial!). BUT... I wasn't chosen. After the questioning, the judge and the attorneys excused three of the jurors in the box-- which meant that I got to sit in the box for the first time!! Woohoo!! But no sooner had I sat down than the District Attorney used one of her peremptories to excuse me. I was bummed, but I am pretty sure I know why... During the questioning phase, she said that "Just because a person is arrested, it doesn't mean they have done anything wrong." She asked us to raise our hands if we disagreed with that statement and, after some hesitation, I raised mine... I said that a person might not be guilty of the crime they have been charged with, but that I don't think a police officer would arrest a person unless something had happened. I don't think the D.A. liked that. I also don't think she liked the fact that I know lots of police officers and lawyers. Oh, well! I tried!

Anyway, now I am home and am totally exhausted... So I will go watch TV. On a positive note: I saw someone picking up an infant from my next door neighbor's house this afternoon. I knew she ran a daycare center out of her home, but was curious if she took infants. (to answer the obvious question: no, we don't really talk to her... we just never cross paths, though she seems very nice and comes highly recommended as a daycare provider) This looks promising!!!