Howdy, Jury Duty
| posted by Heath RowYesterday, for the first time in my life, I served jury duty -- well, not quite yet. Awhile ago, I received a notice in the mail that I was a telephone stand-by juror, and when I called Wednesday night, the message indicated I needed to come in. So I did.
Thursday, at 8:45 a.m., I showed up at Kings County Courthouse. I sat through a video documentary about jury duty that romanticized its past and starred Ed Bradley from 60 Minutes -- only in New York! -- and read a book while waiting for my name to be called.
It was, and I joined 19 other people in a room with five attorneys. I was among the first 10 interviewed, and shortly after lunch, I was selected to actually serve in a pending civil case that starts late next week.
When I got into work this morning, I was surprised by my colleagues' reactions.
The first thing someone said was, "Couldn't you get your way out of it?" I hadn't even thought of trying actually. Because this is the first time I've ever been called to serve, I'm actually intrigued by the experience to come. And while I'm sure I'll wish I could be back at work once the trial begins, I'm confused by the stereotypical perspective that jury duty is something to be avoided.
Then I checked our employee handbook. Our parent company actually encourages people to seek a postponement if they're called to serve. And we need to provide proof of our service: the subpoena, jury certificate, or court order. Before and after we serve.
Most states require that employers grant workers time off to serve jury duty. And even though I work on a small team, I'm not comfortable with the concept of claiming that the team can't work without me -- even though I'll have to be creative to make sure everything gets done despite my absence.
Because what does it say about our legal system if juries are only made up of people who don't feel needed at work, aren't important parts of their organization, and aren't smart enough to weasel their way out of serving?
Comment
Recent Comments | 5 Total
April 8, 2005 at 2:20pm
AngelaJury duty for some reason is viewed as a civic responsibility, not a requirement. But like taxes, we all have to pay the piper, and there's no way of getting out of it - nor should there be.
If clever people weaseled their ways out of paying taxes, who would end up support the country? And if those same people weasel out of jury duty, they'll end up with jurors like the one my friend had in an antri-trust case, who wondered out loud at the end of the trial why so many people were making such a fuss over rust.
April 8, 2005 at 3:10pm
BrianEach time I have been asked to serve on a jury, I have always accepted the responsiblity with maturity. If I am able to serve, then I do it. I take the cases seriously and give an absolute honest and thought out opinion. I hope that someday, if I am ever in court, that the jury will give me equal maturity.
Good for you to take to be responsible and help this country stand on it's long forgotten foundations!
April 8, 2005 at 4:30pm
KerryI agree with Brian's comments wholeheartedly - My experience involved a person feigning a back injury from his car that was ill maintained with no brakes while doing other work that required heavy lifting... the case was a typical nuisance case... I was chosen as the jury foreman, and it was a great experience to manage discussion, reasoning and motivating those who had no desire to be there. If you ever want to test your leadership and facilitation skills, jury duty is a great lab to do so. All that aside, there is nothing like being part of a process that dispenses justice in a well reasoned manner.
April 8, 2005 at 4:39pm
Ryan UnderwoodBah humbug. Jury duty is just a non-monetary tax on registering to vote. God forbid that non-voters should have to trouble themselves with it. Believe me Heath, you'll come over to the dark side of the cynics once you've been sequestered after hearing three days worth of neck-injury testimony.
April 8, 2005 at 4:46pm
george handersonI think that it is every person's responsiblity to serve on jury duty. What we need to figure out is how we can have less civil and criminal legal cases.
Comment