Says the summons that came in the mail today:
DEAR JUROR:
You have been selected for jury duty. Welcome!
Your mandated participation in jury service…[and so on].
Don’t get me wrong. I’m 100% for due process (A big ole yes
to justice, I say). But can you imagine a more onerous scheduling system
than this? "You must call 671-1010 each evening after 5:00 p.m. starting on
Friday 1/12/2006 and listen for a recorded message." The friendly bot on
the other end of the connection, I guess, tells me whether I’m supposed to
report to the courthouse on the following morning. Still worse, I’m
teaching online this spring and getting going on the diss, which means
that I can’t very well bother my employer for a work accommodation. Excused
because I blog? Possibly, but I’d have to actually post to this thing from time
to time and broach more scandalous topics than I’m usually inclined to take up.
Anyway, if the phone’s busy next Friday evening after 5:00 p.m., you’ll know
who I’m talking with. And may you, too, celebrate a jurisprudent 2007.
Bummer. If you end up having to go, what kind of case are you hoping for?
Hmm. That’s a good one, and I hadn’t considered it until you asked. I suppose I’d take a moving violation (even jay-walking) or small-time embezzlement over anything more tragic. And while I doubt we’d have a jury trial for jay-walking, sitting a case involving violence and mayhem would be more demanding all around, I think.
You’d think that they’d at least have the bot call you instead of vice (he, he, he,)versa. I have only been called once for jury duty and that was long before computers and phones were used.
Oh, I’m all about the mayhem.
You may not be chosen to be a member of a jury at all – you might not even have to show up. Mike has been called for jury duty quite a few times and was chosen once for a reckless driving case (it was less than a day that he was gone) – Matt was once and he wasn’t chosen for anything. I was just on jury duty a couple months ago (my first time). I was not chosen for anything the first day and was excused. The next day, I was supposed to serve on a jury for Everett municipal court. There were two cases to be presented. We sat around for an hour or so and finally someone came in to tell us that one case had just been settled out of court and the other one was re-scheduled so we were free to go. I called again that night (Tuesday) to see if I had to report the next day and I did not. I was home before noon both days and that included a 30 – 45 minute commute from Everett to my home. My only advice is to bring plenty of reading material because there is lots of sitting around involved and it is really boring………or maybe you will actually get on a jury and it will be exciting but who knows. Anyway, I doubt that you will be at it all week – good luck.
At least, as a graduate student, you won’t be taking a pay cut!
Low blow, cbd.
Of course, you’re right.