This is the closest that I've been to being on a jury. In times past, I've called the juror hotline and learned that my services wouldn't be needed at all. In a couple of instances a long time ago, I sat in the juror waiting room until I was told that my services wouldn't be needed. Yesterday, I made it into two separate courtrooms and sat through two jury selection sessions before being told that my services wouldn't be needed.
A few observations:
- The Worcester trial court is a very nice place indeed.
- The acoustics in the courtrooms themselves are horrible. I guess that the high ceilings may be good because the extra air gobbles up the sound of conversations at the sidebar and at the parties' tables. When the judge spoke to us in a normal voice, his voice was also absorbed by the big boxy room.
- People make interesting choices in what to bring and what to wear.
Some folks had backpacks and briefcases; others brought nothing at all. Many people brought newspapers. A few brought a book. Many just sat there and stared into a space beyond the walls.
Some dressed as though they were going to an office job. Others wore sweat pants, t-shirts, and sneakers. - Somehow, couples managed to have jury duty together. In one case, this one guy had his girlfriend, I kid you not, carry his coat and hat from the juror waiting room to the courtroom and back. Twice.
- I didn't hear the phrase "a jury of your peers" during the orientation films or from the judges. The operative phrase was "trial by an impartial jury."
- A friend who had jury duty last week remarked that she saw no people of color in the jury pool and thought that very odd. I figured that it was a fluke.
Yesterday, in a pool of 100 or so jurors, there were two people of color.
2 comments:
I have never been called for jury duty and it's unclear why, because it seems like my husband gets called all the time.
The last time, he brought our kids with him (because you can opt out of jury duty automatically if you're the primary caregiver of an elderly person, but not a child) and they were like, "What are you doing with your kids?" He explained that he was their primary caregiver and that they went where he went.
"But we could reimburse you $40 for childcare per day!" (He asked who he could get on short notice to watch two kids for $40 a day. That he'd actually trust to watch his kids.)
(We'll also leave aside the fact that he will never get picked for a criminal trial because he has a family member who's retired law enforcement.)
They told him to go back home.
So he did, and then got a threatening note in the mail about how he skipped out on jury duty.
So he had to go back, avec enfants, and requested that a judge dismiss him so that he wouldn't be fined $1000.
He spoke to a very nice judge (whom we found out later is a friend of my mother's) who explained that they could technically call him every six months because unfortunately the kid excuse only lasts that long. My husband said that that was fine, he'd just keep bringing the kids every six months.
(So far, he hasn't had to go back. The kids had a blast every time, though. They loved the elevators!)
2 of 100 were colored. What color might that be? And your point is?
Consider. What is the State's source for potential jurors? Hint. Has to do with a process.
Or should I tell you how the process works? Because at your age you should have developed some common sense and at least an inkling of how the criminal justice system works.
You have to admit its funny how people think they know about justice and its procedures from a fictitious TV series like Law & Order.
No offense intended.
Andrew
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