So I got this letter:
First of all, there should be, like, painted feet on the ground to tell a person where to go--SO MANY DOORS AND HALLWAYS at the courthouse. Jeez. But after I got all wanded and inspected by the security officer, I reported to a wood-paneled, hot, crowded courtroom that contained all the other dutiful citizens of Williamson County; after settling in with my bag and wrestling my coat off, I looked around for some people-watching. I found three people that I knew, and proceeded to entertain myself by making up backstories for everyone else. After a while, a lady came in a fired up a TV/VCR on a cart, and put in a movie that explained to us How To Be Good Jurors, and I began to see the writing on the wall. In my mind, I was going to explain to the persons in charge of jury duty that I am a TEACHER, and it was PROM SEASON and ACT PROCTORING and I needed to be with my bestie at NHS INDUCTION. All of these, in my opinion, were far more important than jury duty, and the judge would waive my duties and dismiss me at once.
That did not happen.
What happened instead was, we were sworn in, led to a small room with no wifi or coffee, and asked to wait there as the lady with the TV/VCR skills called us in, six at a time, to be questioned. Oy. But I brought grading! As it was term paper season, I busied myself with correcting papers and, even better, unabashedly people-watching. At first, no one spoke. Like, no one. We had all brought entertainments of various activities--phones with Facebook, books, magazines, knitting, sleeping upright in chairs.... I got a lot of papers graded in the silence. But after a couple hours, the judge came in and dismissed us for lunch--he gave us AN HOUR AND A HALF. I cannot even express to you how luxurious this is in my world. At school, I share my lunch hour with the scholar bowl team and eat while I call out practice questions, and then the bell rings and I go immediately in to 4th hour--a full hour and a half, by myself, armed with a book and within walking distance of Bennie's was decadent beyond measure. I enjoyed every minute of this. Jury duty was ohhhhh-kay.
Upon returning, I discovered that the silence was broken irreparably. Two men were arguing about the mayoral race in Marion, but before it came to fisticuffs, they determined to "agree to disagree," probably mindful of the setting and close proximity of policemen. But, the ice broken, everyone trickled in and commenced to Get To Know Each Other. I listened to, and live-tweeted, conversations about diets, children, grandchildren, horrific surgeries gone wrong, medicines and their side effects, good books, bad movies, previous jury duty experiences, sales, and, above everything else, The Weather. That night, a snowpocalypse was scheduled to arrive, and it did, closing school for the rest of the week and RUINING EVERYTHING. But, before that happened, I finally got called in for questioning.
Five other ladies and I walked, single-file, into the courtroom to be examined. It was, actually, pretty nerve-wracking--I felt as if I were on trial, and had to actively remind myself, "You are not on trial. You have committed NONE OF THE CRIMES." --The two lawyers asked questions that pertained to the case and also some that seemed out of left field but which probably weren't. The case, which I can discuss now, was about a man accused of child molestation, and it's a good thing I wasn't chosen. As a teacher, I am a mandated reporter, trained to report and hint of abuse and to support the child with no questions asked; not to mention that my whole livelihood depends on my having a heart for children. I'm not sure I could have been truly impartial. Plus, he looked sketchy. And he turned out to be convicted. So see? Best to have been dismissed.
But I was not immediately dismissed--no! The first batch of six jurors who got questioned were, I assumed, dismissed as soon as they got questioned--but, in fact, they were funneled into another small, hot room to wait, which is where we were led after our questions (about work, hobbies, reading preferences, family, and loads of other topics). Oy. This day was interminable! At the end of the day, however, twelve lucky jurors and four alternates, all of whom were people other than yours truly, got picked, and the rest of us were sent home with instructions to come back again NEXT TUESDAY. And, we'd find out later, THE TUESDAY AFTER THAT. Oof. Being a dutiful citizen is time-demanding.
The bottom line is, though, that I would totally do it again, because my having been chosen was due to my participating in very American activities. A person gets chosen because she is a Williamson County driver's license holder AND a voter. Voting is very important to me--my voice WILL be heard, dadgummit--and it makes me feel connected to the founding fathers (no taxation without representation!) and Elizabeth Cady Stanton (votes for women!)--she was ARRESTED for trying to vote, and women honor her memory every time they cast a vote next to the men in their communities. So. As tedious as the day was, it wasn't all bad. A list:
- lunch at Bennies.
- truckloads of grading finished.
- fun live-tweeting opportunities.
- a glimpse into The System.
- a day off from ACT prep.
- lunch at Bennies.
And another First was achieved for my list!
