Jury Duty

While most people were going about their daily lives, I spent Tuesday and Wednesday sitting in the gallery of a court room in Glendale waiting to see if I would become a - tan tan tan - juror.

And as I waited in the hopes of full filling my civic duty, I was entertained by the plethora of irate potential jurors that went in and then out of the juror's box. Each of them thoroughly bothered by the mere thought that the city of Los Angeles would even consider them to serve on this particular civil case. They lectured the plaintiff and then the defendant and then their lawyers for even bringing their case this far and waisting tax payers money but mostly their time.

Some claimed they already knew who they were siding with, even before hearing any piece of evidence. Some claimed that they would not side with any one. Some decided that they wouldn't award any monetary compensation. Some did not trust lawyers or doctors or police officers or any of the witnesses much less the plaintiff and defendant. A couple people claimed that they did not believe in a "trial by your peers" which pissed of a retired lawyer (a potential juror) and the seemingly mild-mannered judge. One person claimed that they were biased against certain ethnic groups.

After many reprimands were doled out by the judge to the surly jury pool, people were sent home. And in the end, I'm am Alternative Juror #1 serving on a civil case for 8-10 days.

Side Bar: Unlike most people, I was actually looking forward to jury duty. I don't see it as a burden but more like a mini-vacation. Because for 8-10 days, I'll get to disappear into a court room and do something different from my daily routine.

This entry posted while listening to "I Fought the Law" by The Clash.