So, my luck finally ran out today. My number came up for Jury Duty. I know, it’s your civic duty as a citizen to sit on a jury, blah blah blah. That doesn’t make it any less inconvenient. (That said, I’m lucky I was called this week. If I were called anytime during my SRP committees, I would have been so royally boned.) Anyway, I thought that while I was there – doing nothing for the better part of the day – I might as well jot down some notes and thoughts for your amusement. (Insert the “Law & Order” interstitial chords between entries, if it helps.)

9:00 AM
I’ve been sitting in the Jury Assembly Room for about 45 minutes now, trying to figure out how to make the best use of this day. On the one hand, it’s a day off from work; on the other, I’m sort of a prisoner of the judicial system. (Ironic, isn’t it?)

As though being stuck watching Fox News Channel (“Your Home for Evil”) for the better part of the last hour wasn’t bad enough, they’ve just started a video called “You the Juror”, starring some guy from New Jersey Network. This should suck.

9:30 AM
Well, I was right. That video sure did suck. But I suppose it hit all the important points of being a juror, and it wasn’t overly boring. But the acting was just terrible.

The process seems not to have changed much since the last time I did this, about 8 years ago. One change for the better is the relocation of this holding room. It used to be in the old courthouse, where there there was never enough room for the number of jurors they called. The holding room has been moved to the new courthouse (which is quite nice, btw) and is actually pretty roomy. I’m just wondering when they’re going to start calling us over to the courtrooms…

11:20 AM
Crap. Right after I finished writing the last entry, they pulled all of us over to the old courthouse. And after about an hour of listening to other people’s reasons for being excused (and saying a quick & silent prayer each time someone else’s name was called), my luck ran out. No justifiable reason to be excused, and so, very shortly & barring a preemptory challenge, I will be empaneled on a criminal jury. Yay.

And the really freaky thing? The judge looks a LOT like my boss Kathy.

Noon
So, remember what I had said earlier about preemptory challenges? I was the first juror “thanked & excused” by the prosecutor during the “challenge” phase. The thing about preemptory challenges is that you never find out why you’ve been tossed off the panel. My curiosity is peaked.

So, for now, it’s back to the holding room to find out if my services will be needed elsewhere. I can think of worse ways to spend a morning. Being forced to watch Fox News Channel, for instance.

Epilogue
They didn’t end up needing me for another trial, and I’ve been excused for the rest of the week. What’s more, it turns out that one of the other castoffs from the jury not only went to Stagedoor with me, but also knows Darren from Rutgers. Small world, isn’t it?