Jury Duty – Day One

I have been summoned for Jury Duty. My right and duty. The foundation of the democratic system.

The courthouse is a security controlled access area. You have to line up to go through a metal detector and have your bags x rayed just like at an airport. But instead of being with a bunch of unwashed airline passengers, you are with a bunch of unwashed lowlifes. The TSA flunkies have morphed into armed Sheriffs. Jury people mingle with all the criminals at liberty, the attorneys (they wear suits) and the police (they wear guns). The line extends out the door and it is cold outside.

Once inside, you line up again to get into the jury assembly room. They have only called three groups for this morning (of a possible 15), but the line extends into the hall and all the way through two additional rooms before you get to the counter where you get checked in. They give you the Voir-Dire questionnaire, and you are told to fill it out while you wait. There aren’t enough chairs in the room. What chairs there are are set up like seats in an airport waiting area. There are also large screen TVs all over so that you can hear and see your indoctrination. The Voir-Dire asks a bunch of personal information about you, your family, where everyone works, and any criminal or police connections.

About 8:30 they call my name and I am sent to Department 38 on the fifth floor. The elevators are full to bursting, so I take the stairs up three flights. Between the 4th and the 5th floor people from my group start to come back. They aren’t ready for us until 9:00, so go back to the jury assembly area.

About 9:15 we are told to go back up, but when we get there we still can’t get into the room just yet. Finally around 9:30 the court clerk and the bailiff come out and we are about to begin. They call off 18 names from a randomized list of the people in the pool. This is the first cut, and they are seated in the jury box. The rest of us are asked to just take seats in the audience area.

We raise our right hands to swear that we will shut up and listen. Then we are told to sit. Thirty seconds later we are told to stand up as the Judge comes in. Then we are told to sit. There are no hymnals, but it reminds me of church. I don’t suppose we are going to have to pray though.

The Judge is very friendly. He introduces the attorneys and the parties to the suit and gives us all some general instructions about not talking with anybody else about the case, not investigating on our own. He tells us the case is a civil case -- a Mega-Mart employee against Mega-Mart and the Manager of Mega-Mart, claiming sexual harassment (I have cleverly disguised the name of this major retailer headquarted somewhere in the South). He lets us know that it’s going to take about 15 days He asks us about hardships, like does anybody have one that would make it impossible to serve on the jury for that long. About nine people raise their hands, and the bailiff gives them a questionnaire to describe their hardship. The rest of us get surveys that ask us about how we feel about damage awards, emotional distress, awards for emotional distress, do we know anybody in law enforcement, educational and work background, union membership, and can you be fair to Mega-Mart? Many of the questions are repetitions of the questions from the Voir-Dire. Once we complete the surveys we are told that we can leave and come back at nine the next morning. We give the survey and the Voir-Dire to the clerk on the way out.

The people with the hardship cases are asked to stay behind.

Outta here.