American Justice

I had to report for Jury Duty yesterday. There were about 20 of us who were in “the pool” from which six jurors would ultimately be chosen. The case was a misdemeanor and would last no longer than a day. We watched a video about the importance of Jury Duty and how we were being good citizens, etc. Then we went to the courtroom. Six were chosen at random to sit in the actual jury box. The lawyers then questioned them. This process took place several times as three of the six were eliminated, then two of the replacements were also eliminated. I learned that being a Judge includes long periods of boredom as you listen to the lawyers repeat themselves.

The defendant was a woman who violated a “No Contact” order (kind of like a restraining order). It was obvious that her defense was going to be that she had a good reason for violating it. Talk about lame! I wonder if her lawyer knew that his case was over before it even began.

I’m glad that I never made it to the “hot seat” (although it would have been interesting). One of the questions asked of each potential juror was, “If you were the defendant, would you want you on the jury?” I would have had to say, “No, I would want some bleeding heart liberal who thinks that the law can be ‘interpreted’ in any way one wishes. I would want someone who thinks that “No Contact” only means “No Contact” until you find a good reason to disregard it. If I were the defendant, I wouldn’t want me on the jury, because it’s already obvious that you are grasping at straws dude.”

“Okay, thank you for your time juror # CM5-4, you are dismissed.”

God bless America!