Know the jury is here

It's true that when I got my jury summons, I groaned. Don't we all. I even called and rescheduled it because the day fell on our company's Christmas lunch. And when my rescheduled day rolled around, I was super swamped at work. Crap.

I showed up today at the 52nd district court and felt a little put out. Just a little. Not a lot. We waited for half an hour before the clerk came in and gave us the run down. Then, we watched a crappy video and waited some more.

A judge came in and thanked us for showing up. He then went on to tell us some of the most amazing stories.

First, he talked about how most jurors just don't show at all. A few years ago, he had to hear 4 cases, 3 of them were child cases. Cases dealing with children are really sensitive. The judge speaks to the child in his chambers without his robe on to get the child comfortable. Then, he puts the robe on. They move the child into the court room, usually with the child's advocate there. They have to warm the child up and make them feel safe. All of this was done and the judge went through the stack of jurors. Only 11 had shown up.

The cases that day could not be heard because the there weren't enough jurors. The cases couldn't go to trial and three possible predators were back on the street.

This same judge went to study the judicial system in Russia. For 10 million people, there are two judges representing everyone. 10 million. 2 judges. There is no time for a formal hearing. The people come in and....they pay. The judges in Moscow asked our judge how much he charges for a rape or a drug charge. Charge? They don't have a jury. The people there don't get a choice if they want their peers to decide the outcome for them. If you have money, you aren't guilty. So who is in the prisons? The people who can't afford to pay: the poor and the mentally unstable. This judge asked to see the prison and found a third group in there: the political dissidents.

Be thankful for the jury or at least for the option. This judge said he resents it when his friends ask him what they have to do to get out of jury duty. Think of all the armed services people who have given up 2-3 years of their lives to serve us. 2 days. For most of us we serve 2 days.

Most times, people choose to have their trial heard by a jury instead of a judge or settling. But then the day comes and if there are people sitting in the jury room waiting to go, things change. Most times, they change their minds. They know the jury is here.

I didn't end up serving on a jury. I guess the people who wanted us so bad decided on their other options. Still, I think I'll look at jury duty a lot differently. Oh, and I got $12 from the county!