Jury Duty
I had to perform my civic duty recently, and answer a summons for jury duty at my local courthouse. Not many people are excited by this invitation, and I was no exception. In fact, I had already used up my one automatic postponement, so I knew I wasn’t getting out of it.
First impressions: security at the jury entrance was like going through the airport, with less of a line, and no nonsensical restrictions. While I was not allowed to bring food or drinks into the facility, I was not forced to throw out a tube of moisturizer in my backpack, for instance. I assume if I had any weapons or other sharp objects I would have been forced to discard them. Also, I had to leave my cell phone in the car, as camera phones are a no-no.
While the security at the entrance was tight, I had some concerns. First, no attempt to check my ID was performed in my entire time at the courthouse. I had to present my summons, but beyond that, I could have been anyone. Not that many people are going to crash jury duty, but if someone was motivated to do so, I doubt they would have much difficulty.
Second, the smokers are given their right to light up in a small fenced-in terrace outside the main waiting area. Good for them, but I question how difficult it would be for someone to pass something to (or from) one of the smokers.
I also have a (minor) complaint. Why, when there are 3 potential courthouses that the juror pool can be summoned to, do I get stuck with the only one that doesn’t offer WiFi? I spent the better part of 6 hours — don’t get me started on that one — waiting to be called into a courtroom, reading old magazines, when I could have been on my laptop getting things done (i.e. posting this complaint earlier).
In the end, I wasn’t picked for the final jury, and I was thanked for my service and sent home. While I understand justice is a process, it was unfortunately a lengthy and uneventful process in this case.
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