Relief

[pameladean]

Today they took attendance in the hallway outside the courtroom and then dismissed us for an hour to "get coffee or something." When we came back we were ushered into the courtroom promptly. The judge, still very courteous, told us that the problem that had arisen the day before would not be resolved today, and that therefore he was releasing us back to the jury pool. I was inordinately amused at the idea of being thrown back as too small to eat.

There was another jury, actually selected, sitting around in the jury pool when we got back. A little before noon, the clerk in charge of us told us that, first, the trial that that jury had been chosen for was not on. "You must be a good jury," she said, "because the defendant has chosen to waive his right to a jury trial and just have a court trial." Then she said that there were no other cases pending, so we were all free for the day. Then, having a fine sense of drama, she told us that, given the number of cases coming up on Monday and the number of new jurors that would be arriving, not to mention the people on call who had not yet even been called for a panel, our jury service was ended and we were free to go. I got a purple pen for my trouble. I thanked the clerk and told her that nobody in that office could possibly be being paid enough.

Thank you all for keeping me company this week, and for all your jury stories.

P.

Comments

[lblanchard.livejournal.com]

Oh, poop! I didn't tell you about serving on a jury in a civil case where a woman was suing her hairdresser over a bad perm.

[pameladean]

Oh, do feel free. I didn't mean people should stop. I had no idea my whiny posts would elicit such great anecdotes.

P.

[timprov.livejournal.com]

Yay!

Off topic but...

[noveldevice.livejournal.com]

Cutest userpic ever!

[retrobabble.livejournal.com]

Thanks for sharing! It was interesting.

[pameladean]

I was such a complete newbie that I figured other people might be too; glad that worked out.

P.

[jackiejj.livejournal.com]

I'm happy for you, and a little disappointed for me, because I was looking forward to your stories about the courtroom after the fact.

[pameladean]

I was thinking as we went back to the jury room that if I could just get a case that wasn't quite so scary and awful, I'd really enjoy writing it up every day and releasing it into the wild afterwards.

I've got an awful lot to do at home, though, so I won't repine.

P.

[von-krag.livejournal.com]

I hope your sleep cycle gets back to normal also. I know I get really cranky when I'm not getting my normal amount or pattern.

[jackiejj.livejournal.com]

I would kinda like to be on a grand jury, but around here that's a six-month committment. I think it would be interesting. Apparently grand jurors can ask questions directly to the defendant.

[faithhopetricks.livejournal.com]

Oh, hurray! I'm glad you are now free to swim on your way.

[karenkay.livejournal.com]

Yay you!

[inlaterdays.livejournal.com]

Yay!

For some reason, I love the fact that they gave you a pen.

My very boring jury duty story:

[bibliotrope.livejournal.com]

Last year I "was on jury duty." I was sent (by mail) a phone number to call after 4:30 the day before the trial began to see if I was to show up at the courthouse the next morning. That first day, the call said it was postponed and I was to try again another day (about a week later). Next time, apparently the case had been settled out of court because the message was that we didn't need to appear at all.

I did not get a pen, though. :-(

My mom was on jury duty once, and her story was more like yours. Sit around, get asked questions, sit around some more, then go home.

[vass]

That is good news. And hey, purple pen.

Lucky You

[cogitationitis.livejournal.com]

Massachusetts has a one day/one trial system, but I got picked for a two-week murder trial. I did improve my sketching abilities.

[firecat]

I was on Jury Duty too last week. Here's what happened:

http://firecat.livejournal.com/408651.html

The time before that, during voir dire I said I didn't approve of the law that the person was being prosecuted under, and so the prosecutor booted me out with alacrity.