Jury Duty

Yesterday I did my civic duty and drove into New Brunswick for jury duty. I hadn't had to do it in almost ten years, and it was a day off work, so I had no problem with it.

Middlesex County, where I live, has a "one-day or one-trial" policy, so if I could get through the day without being chosen for a case, I would be done. I went in with the attitude that I wouldn't mind being chosen for a short case, but it couldn't go longer than next Wednesday, because on Thursday I am flying to Las Vegas.

After watching some videos telling us how important the whole process is, and a judge swearing us in and again telling us how important the process is (and that the United States is the only country that relies so heavily on jury trials) it was time to vegetate. I didn't bring any reading material, and was too tired to read any of the old magazines they had laid out anyway.

At about ten o'clock, I and several other jurors were called up to provide a pool of potential people for a case. It was discrimination suit, brought by a man who was a Vice Principal of a school. He was demoted, and he claims it was because he is gay, and the school board disagrees. That might have been a juicy case to be on, but the judge immediately said that the case would last until through the next week, so it would conflict with my trip. Luckily, I never had to plead my case, because the jury was filled before I was called.

I went back to the jury room. As is my wont, I focused on the cutest girl in the room, a waitress named Rachel who is at least twenty years too young for me. We chatted for a while, and then it was time for lunch, and after that more staring into space. Finally, at three o'clock, they let us go home.

The judge who swore us in mentioned that as American citizens, a lot is not asked of us. We have to pay taxes and perform jury duty. I suppose he's right, it's not much too ask. He mentioned that military service (for men, of course) used to be compulsory, but now it's an all-volunteer army. Given the choice of sitting in a room reading old People magazines and getting shot at by insurgents in Fallujah, I'll take former.