after too many fashion-coordinated fruity cocktails last night, it was difficult to force myself out of bed this morning when the clock radio tried to wake me up at 8am with "morning edition".
i laid there for quite a long time, groggily listening to stories of israeli settlements, MTV videos, and boxing, finding myself combining the details of everything i heard into bizarre half-lucid dreams.
when a piece on juries began, though, i perked up and finally paid full attention. i have wanted to serve on a jury for years.
that's right: i want to be on a jury.
i can probably blame my desire squarely on henry fonda... "12 angry men" made a big impression on me. not to the degree that i'm an obsessive court-watcher or anything -- i've only seen one or two trials in person, and i'm no courtTV addict. but fonda's enthusiasm for doing the right thing is captivating, and the film illustrates the power of conviction. (not "conviction" in the we find you guilty way, but rather the i believe this strongly way.)
i'm aware that getting called for jury duty does not guarantee impassioned jury-room arguments and speech-making. i realize that a lot of it is sitting around on your ass, reading 2-year-old magazines, then gettting dismissed for unexplained reasons. but it's still something i'd like to get the chance to participate in.
yet i have never been called for jury duty. not in my 13 years living in north carolina (and in durham county for about 8). i vote regularly, i have a drivers license. I AM IN THE DATABASE. still, i've never been called.
a year or so ago i got so perturbed that i called the court clerk and asked why. she was clearly unaccustomed to dealing with someone like me (possessing enthusiasm, i suppose) and simply said, "oh, we'll get around to you... don't worry."
she didn't even ask my name.
when ray's copy of the FIJA newsletter arrives in the mail i sigh wistfully. when i hear that the michael jackson jury is deliberating, i try to imagine what's going on behind those doors.
i guess more than anything, i just want to experience it myself.
Posted by xta at June 9, 2005 12:38 PM | TrackBackYou are slaying me. We had to practically sacrifice our firstborn to get Scott out of jury duty, because we had no one to watch our kids if he had to go.
I would be so annoyed. But I suppose that is just a tell tale sign of my general disinterest in my fellow man.........
Oh man, Christa, you will love hearing my jury duty story and/or reading the essay I wrote about it. It was an awesomely fascinating experience and I enjoyed every minute--well, except the ones that required me to look at magazines that contained child pornography. But to put a skeezy child molester and lover of kiddie porn away was the most goodest feeling ever!
Posted by: minty at June 9, 2005 1:56 PMI could've written this entry myself. Henry Fonda, Morning Edition, "why haven't I been called?" etc. Once, I was called, but it was for Charlotte when I was living in the Triangle and I had to call and tell them I was one of those potential jurors whose names were left on the list too long. It was so disappointing.
Posted by: elizabeth at June 9, 2005 1:58 PMI'll instruct my lawyers to pick jurors JUST LIKE CHRISTA out of the pool when I'm tried for the murder spree I'm heading for--PMS and insurance flunkies do NOT MIX--that's my defense and I'm stickin' to it, Madame Foreman.
Posted by: Penny at June 9, 2005 3:40 PMI want jury duty too. I've lived here for 7 years, never called. A friend moved here THREE years ago and has been called for local AND federal jury duty. Not fair! I have opinions!
Posted by: lainey at June 9, 2005 4:09 PMEven I've been called, and I'm not even a US citizen. Luckily that gets you off the hook more or less instantly, though.
Posted by: bwventril at June 9, 2005 5:55 PMI would gladly go too -- and have never been called, and yet they call K from time to time and HE CANNOT GO! what's up with that?
Posted by: blackbird at June 9, 2005 7:15 PMGidge, silly girl, ALL YOU HAVE TO DO TO EVER GET OF JURY DURY IS TELL THE JUDGE YOU LOOK FORWARD TO YOUR CHANCE TO APPLY THE PRINCIPLE OF JURY NULLIFICATION TO KEEP THE GOVERNMENT IN CHECK.
I extremely recommend the following kick-ass call to action. We are way more powerful than we realize.
http://freedomlaw.com/JRPTransformA.html
The article may look long but I wish it would keep going, it made me feel that good.
Been called 3 times. Never made it past voir dire. And given the cases, I'm not sure I wanted to. Try soemthing more exciting, like sitting in a car while it's towed through a car wash. ;)
Posted by: Joseph H. Vilas at June 10, 2005 9:33 PMI've lived here since I was 1.5 yrs. old. Never been called. Have considered being insulted, but decided against it.
Posted by: Gina at June 16, 2005 5:25 PM