Thursday, May 01, 2008

Catching up with Martha Stewart at jury duty

I’m 39 years old and I had never been called for jury duty until this week. Through four days of being in the jury pool, I still have not been selected to a case, which is probably good. I mean, it’s hard to put the editorial page together from the justice center.

In the jury pool, you are asked to provide a number of facts about yourself, including your job, military service, etc. Since I worked at the newspaper, I figured I’d be shown the door rather early, but I wasn’t.

Here are a few things I learned about the jury and court:

* Chairs in the small jury room are the most comfortable I’ve ever sat in. They’re leather and they swivel. If I were selected, I’d want to deliberate in that room all day. I’d like to take one home. Good to see the county’s taxpayers are providing the jury with excellent comfort.

* Chairs in the courtroom are not comfortable. Maybe it’s just me. Maybe I don’t like to sit in one place for more than 15 minutes.

* I lost my green jury identification number badge the other day. We don’t have names, just numbers. By Thursday morning, it was recovered. Must have left it on the witness stand or something.

* New magazines are necessary in the larger jury pool waiting room. There’s only so much Martha Stewart Home and Southern Living this guy can handle. I need some football. At least I’ve learned new ways to make casseroles, and how to arrange flowers for a more welcoming living room.

* Many cases reach plea bargains before the jury is selected and court begins. That’s good. We get to go home early.

* Being in the jury pool isn’t bad work for $10 per day. At jury duty, I never developed carpal tunnel syndrome and I never got blisters.