Monday, July 30, 2012

What I learned at Jury Duty 2012

1. There are plenty of parking lots near the Lawrence Superior Court. There are not, however, a lot of attendants at those lots at 8:15 so I was quite surprised that a local officer didn't pull me over for violation of entering and exiting too many parking lots in a state of confusion.

2. People snore. Especially the ones that fall asleep in the jury waiting room. They snore loudly.

3. When they tell you to shut off your cell phones, that's not for everyone. For example, the super important lady in the pink shirt and the preppy guy in the plaid shirt don't count. They get to keep theirs on...while the rest of us suffer through offline time itching to tweet "He looks guilty" as we enter the courtroom.

4. I crack under the pressure of a court room, judge, attorneys, stenographer and microphone. Even I didn't understand my answers. Do I or don't I support drinking and driving? Yes, I have...wait, what?? I DON'T KNOW!? Can I phone a friend?

5. I secretly wanted to get picked. And was quite pissed when I wasn't...still feeling rejected even though the judge told me not to feel that way. Sniff.

6. Court Officers can be funny...and nice...and accommodating. And they don't all look like Bull from  Night Court...just a few of them do.

7. Our judge played tennis this weekend. He told us.

8. I secretly didn't want to get picked. And was quite happy to walk out the door and turn my cell phone back on. Disregard #5

9.  You can hook a DVD player into an old VHS player connected to a 1982 TV on a 1974 metal TV stand from the local elementary school to watch the orientation DVD. It was amazing.

10.  I am in awe of our judicial system. It could have been my abundance of American pride with the kick off of the Olympics occurring the same week as my jury duty, but I wanted to lead a sing along of God Bless America in the court room. Plus that would have guaranteed my dismissal. But I refrained.

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