Jury Duty Strikes Again

I was required to report for jury duty this morning.

I did not have a good attitude about it at all. For starters, I had already filled out the paperwork to be exempt, when the summons first arrived. I have already served on Grand Jury this year, so I was suppose to be exempt for 2 years. Instead, I was repeatedly called by the automated message system, telling me to report. I attempted to contact the juror office, and could not find a living human being to speak to. My phone messages were not returned at all.

I did not get home from work until 1am. I had to report for jury duty by 7:45am. That is not enough sleep. I do not appreciate sleep deprivation.

The Referee had to coordinate working from home, on his new job, so that he could be home with the kids. We had no idea if this was going to be for the morning, or for the day, or what was at stake in our schedule. I have to work at 4pm, so I feared if I was stuck there all day, I would be late for my new job. Does jury duty leave even cover 2nd shift? It was all a big mess.

At 8am, I learned that there were only 3 reasons a person could be excused from jury duty at this point, but I did not fit any of them. I am younger than 70 years old, and I was not active duty military. I forget the 3rd reason, but it did not apply.

I was informed that my prior Grand Jury service did not qualify me for exemption, because it was a STATE Grand Jury, and this trial jury service was FEDERAL. Really? There are categories set up that can make me have to participate in jury duty for nearly half of the same year like this?

At this point in the process, I was considered part of a jury panel. A trial was scheduled. We had to go before the judge and attorneys for jury selection for this specific trial. Only the judge could dismiss me now.

I was quick to raise my hand when the judge asked if serving the next 3 days on a jury would be a burden for anyone. Me! Me! Yes, it is a burden for Me!

I explained to the judge that I was the primary educator of my children, as we homeschool. The state stipulates that only parents or legal guardians can homeschool. So, in order for me to attend jury duty, my husband would have to be home with the children. He just started a brand new job, and has no leave.

The judge asked me if I could re-arrange my schedule and school during off-peak hours? Really? Should I re-arrange my homeschool schedule so that I can then hire a babysitter while I go to jury duty? Childcare costs are not reimbursed by the court. Instead of saying those thoughts that were on my mind, I respectfully replied that I also started working a new job, and I work 2nd shift. I explained that I am usually sleeping early in the morning, instead of reporting for court. The judge nodded in agreement and answered, "I see."

Thankfully, the judge really did "see" my burden. I was not selected for the jury. I was dismissed by 11am, giving The Referee a chance to return to work for the afternoon.

Compliments are Due

I have been working on holding my tongue, in an attempt to not verbalize criticism and judgments. I've got a long way to go. I really need to work on not having the critical thoughts in the first place, but this is a lengthy growing process for me.

Recently, I've been shown a new side to some of the stereotypes I maintain.

So, I think it is time I issue the compliments that are due.

Starting with jury duty and the courthouse, let me say that I am pleasantly surprised by the compassion I was shown last month. I have been summoned to grand jury duty for 3 full months, which officially completed on March 31st. The juror coordinator really did keep her word and attempted to work with our schedules so that being called to jury duty was not as big of a burden as anticipated. Jury duty summons certainly has a bad reputation. I see that the courthouse staff really are working to improve that reputation.

My number was picked to report for the alternate panel on a Monday in the middle of March. It happened to be the week right after The Referee was placed on furlough....the week that he ended up working. He did not have the flexibility to take a day off to watch the kids so that I could report for jury duty. So, I emailed the juror coordinator with my apology about not being able to report that day.

She gave me the kindest response. She told me that since I had already been called in 3 times, and I had volunteered to stay twice, that in light of the current challenges in my life, she would simply consider my jury duty obligation complete! I was so surprised. And relieved. What a blessing to have that responsibility lifted from me at such a stressful time in my life. It was a treat to receive compassion from the courthouse.

My second confession-based compliment is for the medical insurance company. I griped about their business practice of having to pre-authorize treatment, and essentially holding the right to deny treatment. Today, I received word that they have pre-authorized treatment for Jersey #2 to travel to California for heart surgery. It was a very simple, straight-forward process, and the authorization was given readily. In the end, my stereotype of the "heartless" insurance business proved untrue. They certainly seem to have enough "heart" to be willing to pay the medical expenses to fix Jersey #2's heart. For that, I am very grateful.

Jury Duty Lessons

Spending the day, this week, as a member of a grand jury panel was very educational. I learned a lot about the legal process. I caught a glimpse of some of the adventures that police officers endure. I saw how criminal acts can tear apart a family, pitting family members against each other. I was surprised how people will choose a criminal act that has extremely high consequences in order to attempt to obtain something with very little value. The courthouse was a whole different world than I live in. I admit that most of those issues found in a courthouse do not even enter my mind, unless I happen upon a news story or unless a close friends or relative has a legal issue brought to my attention. In many ways, I live in a bubble, closed off from the rest of the world. To be honest, I much prefer the innocence of my sheltered life.

God was not speaking about jury duty in this Bible passage but it has really hit home for me this week...
For in much wisdom is much grief: and he that increaseth knowledge increaseth sorrow. (Ecclesiastes 1:18)

There is a lesson from jury duty this week that I almost wish had not entered my knowledge. As I listened to the details of case after case that day, I was struck by the fact that these adults who were making such poor choices and engaging in such criminal acts, used to be adorable little babies and toddlers.

I am surrounded by adorable little babies, active little toddlers, and precocious preschoolers. I spend most of my days around lots of children, not just my own children. I see these children as precious gifts that bring joy to those around them.

I do not see them as future criminals.

My heart is saddened by the knowledge that the jails and prisons are filled with people who used to be bouncing baby boys, and a parent's little princess.

Somewhere along the course of their lives, something went dreadfully wrong.

Tag

Life is absolutely crazy right now.

It is as if my husband and I are involved in this giant game of tag. We have so many activities going on, that we are to the point of tagging each other when it is time to shift the responsibility.

The Referee was on travel of his job for 5 days last week. It was only suppose to be 4 days, but snowy weather canceled many air travel schedules, and he was stranded an extra day. I held down the home-front. I am not meant to be a single parent. I require more sleep than that. My husband arrived home late in the evening on Friday. We managed to eat dinner and put the kids to bed, before we both dropped into bed ourselves, from sheer exhaustion.

We were up early Saturday morning. That was the day of the last basketball games of this season. We were signed up to bring snacks for Jersey #2's team, so I was up early to pack snack goody bags, pack the diaper bag, set out clothes for the kids, and write out checks for the bills. We loaded the family up in the van and headed out early, so we could stop off at the bank and pay the mortgage.

The Referee was the referee for Jersey #2's game, as well as the 3 games that followed, that day. He literally ran up and down a basketball court for 4 hours! I got to watch half of Jersey #2's game before I had to load up the remaining 4 children and shuttle Jersey #1 to her game. I dropped her off in the care of her coach, and drove back to the first gym to pick up Jersey #2. I arrived just in time for the team Mom to announce plans for an end-of-season party, and her desire to collect money for the coach's gift. I ran out to the van to grab some cash out of my wallet for the gift, and ran back into the gym. I checked in with The Referee, and let him know I was taking Jersey #2 with me, and was now responsible for all of our children.

Tag....I'm it!

I drove over to the gym where Jersey #1 was playing her final game. I arrived at half-time. Since I am the team Mom for her team, I then helped the coach give out awards, and reminded the team (and their parents) about the end-of-season party I had planned. I gathered all 5 of my kids and headed out to the van.

While the Referee was busy being the referee for 2 more games, I took the kids with me to Jiffy Lube to get the oil changed in the van. They were quick and they had popcorn for the kids to snack on while we waited.

We returned to the gym to watch the last half of the final game. The kids swarmed The Referee when the game was over. We loaded back up in the van and drove to Dollar Tree to let the kids spend their Valentine's dollars from their grandparents.

The Referee received a call that he was needed to drive a run for that shuttle side-job he has. He decided to eat and take a nap, so he would be rested for the late night driving. I had the kids help me straighten the house and complete some light cleaning, while The Referee napped. He hugged and kissed us good-bye and went to work. I fed the kids and got them ready for bed.

The Referee made it home Sunday morning with just enough time to shower and help me load up the kids in the van for church. I think we spent more time together sitting next to each other in the pew at Sunday school than we had been able to spend together all week! That time was cut short when The Referee worked the audio/visual booth during the morning church service. Just before he went up to the booth, he informed me that we could not doddle after church, because his side-job duties ran earlier than anticipated.

We returned home after church, whipped up a quick lunch, and The Referee was off to work again, with another shuttle run. Jersey #1 had a friend over for the afternoon, to get ready to spend the night at her house that evening. I took care of the kids and balanced the monthly budget.

The Referee returned home just before bedtime and helped me put the kids to bed. I had to set the alarm to wake me up early, because I had to report for jury duty first thing this morning!

Tag....He's it!

The Referee spent the day home with the kids, while I spend the day at the courthouse, serving on the grand jury. He was concerned about checking in at work, since he had been away all last week. On my lunch break, we ran over to his workplace, so he could make a brief appearance and check the status of a few things. He had driven me to the courthouse this morning, because I when I went to back out of the driveway in his car, the rear view mirror fell off into my hand and we did not have time to fix it just then. His chauffeuring me worked out great, because I could stay in the van with the kids while he ran into work for a few minutes.

When The Referee picked me up from court at the end of the day, the first thing he told me was that he has no idea how I ever manage to get anything else done while taking care of the kids all day! He never found the time to shower.

Court let out late, so we only had 2 hours before The Referee had to go drive for another shuttle run. We decided to race through 2 stores to complete our grocery shopping. We spoiled the kids with a candy at the end, because they were such troopers and behaved so well through it all. We returned home and unloaded the groceries. The Referee jumped into the shower while I put groceries away.

I corralled the younger kids into the bathtub while he changed the light bulb in the playroom. Then, he was off to work again, driving a shuttle run. I got the kids into their PJs and let them watch a Veggie Tales DVD while I ate a very late dinner.

The Referee will be home late tonight. He has to set an alarm to get himself up early tomorrow to return to his regular job. He has to work 10-hours a day for the next 4 days, to make up for the fact that he was home with the kids today, so I could report for jury duty.

I return to homeschooling, home-making, and childcare tomorrow. Plus, I am hosting Jersey #1's basketball team party. This whole week is filled with activities. I would say that things should mellow out by next Sunday, but we've been told that the shuttle business is booming right now, and the week is full. So, The Referee will probably be going strong next weekend too. So, as far as the home-front is concerned.....

Tag....I'm it!

"Grand" Jury Duty

My juror number came up again, so I had to report to the courthouse first thing Wednesday morning. I had such a pleasant experience this time. It is a relief to see that my number should only come up once every 3 weeks or so. It was a good day to report, as my husband was able to shift his work schedule to be able to be home with the kids all day. I packed myself a sandwich for lunch and a book. I've been to the courthouse enough now that I've learned my way around a little. I had no problem finding the correct parking lot this time. I went through security like a pro.

I arrived in the juror room with plenty of time to spare. It was hurry up and wait at that point. We were waiting to see how many folks showed up to the regular panels. We were waiting to see how many alternates showed up liked they were called to do. We were waiting for the court schedule for the day, so we could make sure we did not know anyone who would be a target or a witness. Traffic jams and computer issues yielded a bit of a delay.

When all of the pieces were finally in place, the juror coordinator announced that she needed 4 alternates to join the regular panels. I volunteered this time. I checked the schedule and confirmed that I knew no one on the list. I was escorted into the grand jury room. The jury coordinator introduced the alternates to the regular panel. Everyone was real friendly. This panel of jurors has been working together all month. They knew each other on a friendly basis and they knew the routine. They filled us in real quick and things got started.

Grand jury listens to the DA (District Attorney) announce the case and all the charges they are bringing forward for that case. Then, they bring in the police officer who handled the case, and any pertinent witnesses, so that they can give their statement of what happened. The jurors are allowed to ask questions of the DA, of the officers, and of the witnesses, to make sure we fully understand the data they are using to justify the desired charges.

It is the grand jury's job to determine if there is enough probable cause for the charges. We do not have to decide guilt or innocence. Therefor, we do not hear all of the evidence of each case. Grand jury is an early step in the judicial process, well before a case sees a trial jury.

The morning was filled with case after case, with very little rest in between. After the case is presented and the witness is heard, the grand jury meets in secret. The DA, the witness, and the court reporter all leave the room. They are very strict to mention when conversation is on the record and when it is off the record. The grand jury discusses the information and its relevance to the proposed charges. The foreman reads each charge individually, and we vote on each and every one. Most of the cases were well defined and very clear. The DA and court reporter is called back into the room, and we return the indictment. That DA leaves, and a new DA arrives with the next case.

I enjoyed learning about this judicial process for the most part. I could handle the drug cases just fine. But, the child abuse cases churned my stomach. Thankfully, none of the day's charges were horrifying, or else I might have puked. I grew pale and ill as it was. I cannot handle harm to children. I know for certain, that I could not be a juror in a child abuse trial....there is just no way for me to be unbiased when vomiting. I was real impressed with the officer who was on the child victims unit. It is good to know we've got such heroes protecting children.

I'm sure this is no statistical surprise, but I was rather amazed by how many times drugs and alcohol are involved when crimes are committed. I am also a bit stunned to hear that people will attempt to swallow street drugs before they can be caught with them. That seems hazardous to the digestive system, especially if the drugs are being stored in a plastic bag. Apparently I do not get out enough, because one officer had to stifle a laugh when he saw my jaw drop as I was listening to his witness account! It seems to me that it would be so simple to test the substance swallowed for proof positive of what it is, yet that is not done very often because it requires a warrant. A swab of the mouth requires a warrant......and the rest of us pay good money to get the doctor to swab our throats to prove we are sick!

I understand that these rules and regulations are in place to make certain that innocent people are not wrongly punished. It is just seems that the judicial system is a bit more inefficient than necessary, and some unknowns could easily be answered.

I was pleasantly surprised to learn that we were being dismissed at lunch time for the rest of the day. The panel I was working with had a late day the day before, so they were given the shorter schedule this time.

So, I reported for jury duty, worked a half-day, and received full credit for my participation. It was a "grand" jury day indeed!

Jury Duty Begins...

The courthouse gave me a wonderful Christmas present and moved me from the regular jury panel to the alternate list. That was a HUGE relief. As an alternate, I have to check the list every Friday, either by phone or internet, and see if my number is scheduled for the following week. Sure enough, my number was listed for today, the very first day of this jury duty commitment. We had the weekend to process this information.

Of course, today is the first day back into our life. We've been on a lazier schedule the past couple weeks, with my husband's holiday leave creating extra-long weekends. He ended up having to call into work and say that he would either be late, or absent today, due to my jury duty requirement. That is not a very smooth transition back into our "normal" routine.

It was completely out of the ordinary for me to have to wake up an hour earlier than usual, get showered, dressed, and leave the house before most of the family was even awake. Since it was cold, I also had to warm the car and scrape the ice off the windows. I can't even remember how long it has been since I've done that. I have not participated in the morning commute in our town for at least 6 years. I did not miss it.

I got started on the wrong foot when I turned into the employee parking structure, instead of the public parking structure. The entrances are less than a block apart, and I missed the sign. I realized my error after it was too late and I was already stuck in the lane where there was no where to go but forward....and I couldn't go forward without an employee badge. That was embarrassing. I pushed the panic button (some call button that had no audio response), and a security guard arrived to let me through the barrier so I could turn my car around and go over to the correct parking structure. He was cordial, thankfully.

I managed to park and find my way toward the courthouse. Going through security was a completely different experience first thing this morning, than it was the afternoon of jury orientation. The line was empty. The security guards were friendly, and even smiling. The courthouse is a completely different place early in the morning, before business gets rolling. The staff were smiling and welcoming. All throughout the building, men were gentlemen who opened doors or held doors for me everywhere I walked.

I was led to the juror waiting room. The regular panel sat in one room, the alternates waited in another. We all sat around and waited for each juror to show up. 12 jurors are required. If the regular panel has any of their 12 missing, then the alternates have to fill those slots for the day. We were handed a list of targets and witnesses and advised to make sure we did not know anyone on the schedule that day. Of the 8 alternates on the list today, 7 of us showed up. Of the 12 panel members, 10 showed up. We were informed that 2 alternates would be required for the day. The alternates were a friendly bunch. We shared small talk about how being called in the very first day was a bit more challenging than anticipated. Most expressed a desire to be dismissed.

One guy volunteered to stay. That left 1 remaining slot to fill. The juror coordinator decided to pick a number and have the person closest to her picked number be the other person to remain. She wrote her number on a piece of paper, and turned to us to guess. The game came to a quick halt with the first lady, because she guessed the number exactly. No need for the rest of us to pick a number also. I was internally amused because the lady picked the number that I was originally going to say....3. The two alternates were moved over to the room with the jury panel. The rest of us got our parking cards stamped, and we were dismissed.

I spent more time driving to the courthouse than I spent in the courthouse. I was pleased that I got to return home today. That was a big relief. That adventure completes my jury obligation for this entire week. The list for next week comes available Friday evening.

1 week down, 12 to go...

Jury Duty

I'm currently waiting to hear from the juror coordinator, sometime this week, regarding my jury duty selection. I've been told that courthouse time runs very different than real world time, so this wait could get interesting.

I was summoned for jury duty. It is a little amazing that this is a first for me. I am not sure how I've dodged it for so long. At first, I didn't really mind being summoned. I sort of understand that civic duty. It sounded somewhat interesting.....in theory.

As the details unfold, I am no longer intrigued.

The summons gave me a date to report to the court house for orientation. That seemed Ok, as I also had a dentist appointment that day, so my husband was already prepared to take time off work to be home with the kids.

Next, was a questionnaire to fill out, asking a variety of personal details. This startled me a bit. I understand the desire to find a jury of peers, so they would need some information on me. I was a bit troubled by the level of information they were asking. I was downright appalled at the level of information they were asking after listing a note at the top of the page that stated that the information I provided would be available to all parties involved in the court cases. It was absurdly comical that they were actually asking me to provide very detailed directions to my house, along with the number and ages of my children, along with the name, career, and employment schedule of my spouse. Is it me, or were they actually suggesting that I give very specific instructions...to someone accused of breaking the law... on how to find me and my children at a time when my husband would be away at work? Maybe they were wanting me to provide detailed information on how to get to my house at a time when no one would be home???

No thank you.

At the bottom of the page, there was a small footnote that said I could place an asterisk in place of any answer that I would prefer to answer directly to the judge. I exercised that option for every question that I felt was too personal or dangerous to me or my family. I had no problem answering all the questions about whether I worked in the court system, or whether I had been involved in any court cases before.

The summons went on to say that jury duty is never convenient, so please consider serving at this time, instead of trying to be excused. There were two reasons for excuse...1 was medical (if you provided a note from your doctor)....the other was if you were a convicted criminal who did not serve your time (huh? Were they sending these summons out through the wrong courthouse database?)

I followed the orientation instructions to the letter. It told the exact place to park, where they would be able to validate parking. Unfortunately, that parking structure has a height clearance that is too short for my big van. Fortunately, I anticipated this, and borrowed my husband's car that afternoon. I walked from the parking garage to the courthouse with a slew of other jurors and then received the opportunity to stand in the security line with them.

It was rather amusing to me the level of schizophrenia that is involved at the courthouse. (I'm not speaking of mentally ill folks committing crimes.) On one hand, the summons thanks me for assisting the judge in my civic duty. On the other hand, it threatens me with police action if I fail to show up. I am told to arrive at a specific time....along with 300 other summoned citizens.....and the courthouse workers grow quickly annoyed by the congestion in the security line. The security process in itself made me question which side of the criminal line I was actually standing on! When the security guards started barking orders about folks needing to remove their belts before walking through the metal detectors, I was almost tempted to look down and see if I was actually wearing a prison jumpsuit! Were we there as common citizens "helping" out our judicial system.....or were we just potential criminals in the making?

I made my way to the jury orientation room and stood in the line to check in. The efficiency of the place just blossomed from that point. For the 300 citizens summoned to orientation that day, they had a whopping 150 chairs available, and about 80 additional chairs squeezed into a room that probably breaks fire code when all 300 of us were in it. We each stood in line to be greeted by the clerks and coordinators. We were handed a packet of papers and a pen. The purpose of the pen was to write down our juror number on the front of our packet.

After the judge gave a little pep talk as to the importance of the jury, he read the official summons and turned our attention over to the juror coordinators. A lady actually stood at the podium and read a roll call of every one of our 300 names. She then told us our juror number. The numbers were pre-determined before we arrived, and they did not change even if no one answered to the name in front of us, so I am still not clear as to why they did not just hand us a packet with our name and juror number on it from the start, and save all that read aloud time.

I was one of the lucky ones.

Out of 300 summoned citizens, the computer randomly assigned me to be juror number 4. Then, the jury coordinator took the first 36 jurors and placed each of us on 1 of 3 jury panels. I was placed on the first panel. A jury panel gets the privelage of serving 2 days a week, for the full business day, for the full 3 months of our service time. Serving two 8-hour days....16 hours a week for 3 months.....that is a part-time job! Honestly, who has the time and ability to drop their current life and pick up a part-time job at the courthouse?

Actually, they pay minimum wage, so folks who are out of work might consider volunteering for jury duty in order to pick up a part-time job.

The remaining 264 folks were placed on the "alternate" list, to fill in when the regular panel members need to be absent. They have to call every Friday evening, to find out if they need to show up for jury duty the following week.

The panel folks were gathered and taken to a court room for further details. Here, the jury coordinators asked us how this panel schedule would work for us. At least half of the panel folks explain why they can't just pick up a part-time job like this. Many of them suggest that they could manage 1 single day a week. That makes me wonder why they don't just set up more panels overall and schedule them 1 day a week, cutting back on a lot of the scheduling hassle.

A few folks mentioned they work out of town all week long, and return for weekends. That was where we were informed that we have the option to reschedule our jury duty commitment one time. After that, we are expected to serve the next time we are summoned. The current summons schedule ends before Jersey #2's upcoming surgery, and I can't risk being re-summoned during her surgery and recovery timeline, so I chose to stick this out.

As the caregiver of 5 young children, I do not see a way to pick up this part-time job at the courthouse. Even if I could find babysitters to work those two full days a week, paying them would cost more than I would be making. The Referee could alter his work schedule to fit in 1 day at home, but not 2. The committment is so big that it just does not make any sense.

The jury coordinator says she will do all she can to work it out for us. She says there are folks on the alternate list who would like to be on a panel, so she thinks it may all work out. (So, why didn't they just take volunteers for the panels first?) But, she needs time to calculate and will let us all know some time this week. I have no clue what I am going to do if they decide to keep me on a panel.

It will be interesting to see what my Christmas present from the courthouse is this week...