Yesterday I Went Swimming in the Jury Pool
http://blog.jtimothyking.com/2007/11/15/yesterday-i-went-swimming-in-the-jury-pool
At this point, one of the prospective jurors, a woman who had been quietly reading the whole time, gathered up her stuff and began pacing nervously back and forth across the front of the room. Someone asked her if she was anxious to leave.
She said, “Yeah. I just want to get out of here. I hate it here. I hate the law. I hate courtrooms. I hate judges. I hate lawyers.†She earned eye-rolls from several of the talkative prospective jurors, but I sympathized with her. I don’t know what happened to her to sour her on our legal system. Maybe she was the victim of a criminal, or a hateful ex-spouse, or maybe just a hyperactive, blood-thirsty shark. But I think I know how she feels. Here in America, the political indoctrination begins in the womb. We are taught that our government is the best in the world. But you only need to actually experience it a little before you realize that it’s only as average as everyone else’s government.
Finally, the judge came down to talk to us. I had seen three judges that day, two in person and one of video, and all of them were women. What’s with that? She thanked us for being available and explained that even though we didn’t get to be on a jury, she actually used the fact that we were there as a threat, in order to get the lawyers to be more reasonable and to work it out. Then she asked how many of us had been jurors before. To those who hadn’t, she said that it may seem like an imposition to come and sit in that room, but it’s still taking part in the judicial system. And those who have actually had the opportunity to serve on a jury probably were happy to come that day, because they had actually experienced what happens in the courtroom. Finally, she reminded us that courtroom proceedings were open to the public, and she invited us–nay, urged us–to stay for a while longer and see what it is they do there.
Indeed, I’d recommend to any writer to attend court at least once in his writing career, even if you don’t write courtroom drama. But will it make you any less sour on the legal system or on jury duty? That’s for time to tell.
