well, here I sit. waiting to find out if I'll be called for a jury or not. where I live, we have a 'one day-one jury' system: you serve for one day if you don't get selected or one trial if you do. whichever one comes up, you then don't get called for at least another three years. or in my case, apparently, maybe ever. I've lived in this county since 1984 (with a few years here and there in neighboring jurisdictions) and this is the second time I've been called to serve.
for most folks, jury duty is considered a drag, an inconvenience to be dreaded. for me, it's something I look forward to and actually want to do. I'd rather get a criminal case than a civil one if only because the issues involved are likely more cut and dried--was a crime committed, is the charge correct, did this particular defendant do the crime. in civil cases, it's often harder to figure out if what is being claimed is actually against the law much less whether the particular defendant is responsible for the action. but whatever. to me, it's all a big logic puzzle and fascinating as I get to see the law in action without having to deal with lawyers directly--something I am loathe to do any more by the way. every time I contemplate working for lawyers again, I stop breathing--not a good sign as I look for a job. actually, every time I think about being a secretary again, I stop breathing.
back to jury duty (and breathing). here comes my voyeurism in full on mode. outfits range from upper executive to barely out of bed. my favorites are the girl (yes, she looks barely of voting age) dressed in sweats, wrinkled t-shirt and hoodie, with her hair pulled into a not quite brushed ponytail. I'm thinking she really really doesn't want to get picked. then there's the one bundled up in a down parka--the temperature in this lounge must be approaching 75 or above. lots of computers going, even a few iPads besides mine. one woman is knitting what appears to be a full-sized afghan out of bulky wool and at the rate she's going will be finished this afternoon if not before--click click click. people try to sit at least one seat apart from each other, though some conversations have gotten started. you can spot the extreme extroverts a mile away--please universe, if you're listening right now, keep me off a panel with one of them!
the county certainly tries to make this as easy on the waiting jurors as possible. Cafeteria folks were here earlier with not awful coffee, pastries, etc. there are computers available (no Twitter though) and wi-fi. tomorrow, if I have to come back, I'll hang in the jury lounge again during any breaks to take advantage of that if possible. the folks in the jury office are almost preternaturally nice--they actually seem to want folks to be a comfortable as possible.
only two panels have been called for the morning and with one of the higher numbers, I'll likely be sitting here for most of the day in case of an instant jury call. that's a new term for me--I do so love learning new stuff. if someone is brought before the district court and demands a jury trial, the case is automatically remanded to circuit court where I am now and a panel is formed. because this can happened at any time during the day, we have to hang around until probably 4:30 or 5:00 to see if we're needed. fine with me though I expect lots of folks will be grousing come 3:00.
in other news, spent a fair amount of time on twitter Saturday evening and Sunday following the cholera outbreak in Haiti. again, watching people's reactions to different parts of the event and how rumors get started and spread is fascinating. I again realized how easy it is for me to get caught up in a frenzy, and how different that fact is from my image of myself as one who would be cool under pressure. while I may be relatively calm on the outside, clearly others do have a strong influence on my actions. the nice thing though is having had this lesson several times recently, I think I'm beginning to see it happen earlier and earlier, and so to recognize earlier when to step back or perhaps be more cautious. another thing I very much like--learning something new about me that I can actually do something to correct. I may have this whole life thing down by the time I move to the next life! or at least these lessons may be more apparent earlier next time around...
