last tuesday i was summoned to jury duty...and unfortunately this time around, i didnt have any excuses to give to get myself out of it. in the past i got away with being a full time student and working for a company that really didnt give a rat's tail about jury duty, so they wouldnt pay you to do your civic duty- financial hardship.
this was the first time i had ever been called to a courtroom...the process is quite tedious and time consuming, but i had no other choice than to roll with the motions. right of the bat, i was assigned seat 7 in the panel and maintained the spot. tuesday was rather uneventful day because there was absolutely no progress made in jury selection, all 47 of us had to report back to court on wednesday.... not very many happy people. me on the other hand, possessed the whatever attitude about it. i didnt care either way.
i reported back wednesday morning at 930. about 11am they began thanking and excusing possible jurors. out of sheer boredom i prayed to the jury gods to get me out of that place. but my prayers were not answered. they dismissed us for 3 hour lunch. yep....3 hours in downtown. what the hell was i going to do with myself. what better place to waste time than the mall. so i made the short walk there and decided i wanted to go shopping. i hit up macy's but a couple items of clothing then hit the vans store and bought 2 pairs of shoes. having felt guilty after the vans store i made my way out of the mall and headed to la salsa for lunch. as i was eating, i though to myself...crap, being down here this close to the mall is dangerous for my wallet. i promised myself that if i had to come back on thursday i would not go the mall and eat nor walk around. i headed back to the courtroom and was situated in my seat. there they were through the remaining prospectives and dismissed most of them. at 345pm i was sworn in to be a juror. shit - i thought. after being dismissed i hastily made my way out of the courtroom to the hall of justice were i snagged my trolley pass and clocked out.
i was on that phone like no other trying to get a hold of my work. i swear my work place is the hardest place to get a hold of someone. well, i wasnt able to actually talk to anyone, so i left messages hoping they would get it in the morning. i notified that i was selected and the judge expects the trial to last to tuesday but will not know anything for sure until friday possibly monday. at that time, i was almost relieved i was chosen. especially after the stories i have been hearing about work...thank god i am not there working my ass off. i actually dont mind sitting on my rump for 5 hours a day listening to people talk. as a matter of fact, the whole process is quite interesting to me.
the lectures from college really are all falling into place. i'm finally able to make connections from what i've learned in college. its a relief actually, makes me happy that i didnt pay 18k for an education that seemed useless at the time.
thursday - we were instructed to report back at 10am. which i did. the morning was so damn boring...this judge talks so slow and repeats himself every other sentence it seems like. in any event the case finally started. opening arguments were presented and presentation of the evidence began......now it gets interesting.....finally.....
today i am to report to the court at 11am...yes folks, that's 11am. i'll tell you this much, i am not used to having the morning to myself. so here i am blogging...about to get into an abdominal and lower body workout from the comforts of my own home......
jury duty really aint so bad....
