Laura has been called for jury duty many, many times. It seems I never get called — until now. Today was my first day of duty. Don’t worry, I’m not going to divulge any juicy details, and I’m not even going to mention the case. I don’t have to serve because I know one of the parties involved, so I’m relieved of my obligations.
The jury assembly room presented an interesting cross-section of people (as it should.) We were required to stand, state the name of our employer, our marital status, and our wife’s employer. One woman loudly proclaimed that she was about to be unemployed, hinting at the duty as the cause. She continued to mumble to herself and glare in my direction during the rest of the proceedings. I decided to give her a wide berth.
The majority of the day was spent reading and waiting for my name to be called. The guy in front of me had brought Grisham’s Runaway Jury. I don’t know if he expected more excitement, but it certainly wasn’t to be found here. At least everyone was amiable as we waited for our names to be called.
We were interviewed individually. It was strange – I felt as though I had failed because I had to state that I could not act impartially in this case. As much as I’m happy to not have this interferring with my schedule, I think it would have been fascinating. Ah, well, I’m sure I’ll have that chance again.