Well, so, I was on jury duty this past week. (Yeah, I didn't think I could actually get picked! Damn my uncompromising sense of justice.) Nothing very interesting, just a civil suit that ended like I thought it would. But it managed to throw me off. My normal schedule was interrupted and I kept wavering between feeling happy and feeling guilty for not being at work (what a dork, huh?). The case also crept uncomfortably into my mind (that couldn't be helped). It made me glad I wasn't on a criminal case though, which would probably have freaked me the hell out. I'm not going to discuss the case mostly because it's really not that interesting and also, because the way we ruled made me feel kinda like a jerk, but I feel I voted the right way and stand by it. Justice is not always pretty.
These past couple of days did make me appreciate a jury trial a lot more. What was funny was I realized that all my knowledge of court was from TV, mainly, Law & Order. I mean, the show is on 72 hours a day. I don't think they'll be making a Law & Order: Civil Suit version anytime soon (gawd, that would be boring). It was very interesting to watch the lawyers try to make a case for their sides. There were even a couple of clever (or not so clever because we saw right through them) lawyer tricks that they employed which made me chuckle a little (not out loud, mind you, I kept my poker face on). (Well, that's not completely true because at one point I rolled my eyes and then I had to look around to make sure no one saw me.) Witnesses, objections, trying to ignore things that have been said out loud but were stricken from the record (but not from our brains! come on), exhibits, and courtroom procedures, it was all kind of fun. The case was tedious but the court stuff was interesting. Though, I hope I never have to be a witness on a trial. Man, they get beat up on the stand. Or better yet, I hope I never have to go to court. I think I'd only like to participate as a juror (unless it turns out like a John Grisham novel, those jurors never get it easy).
You survived the Zombie Takeover AND jury duty? I guess the rules for survival are pretty much the same : ). Thank you for the link, by the way: you're like my blog fairy godmother!
Posted by: Laurie | December 02, 2007 at 06:24 PM
hahah this made me laugh. law and order: civil suit. oh who am i kidding, i'd totally get sucked into the marathon.
Posted by: jc | December 21, 2007 at 10:12 AM