Happy Juror Appreciation Week

I was on jury duty yesterday. Much to my bemusement, the jury pool waiting room was all decked out for Juror Appreciation Week - there were balloons, coffee’n'donuts, and a series of little activities and informative presentations. Since I was only called for one panel, I got to do everything but the stress ball arts’n'crafts workshop; I learned about police dogs, the Department of Consumer Affairs, and the role of Court Appointed Special Advocates in Dependency Court. They held a raffle, and I won a mug!

My one panel was for a guy who allegedly applied for a driver’s license under a false name. Since I was assigned to the criminal justice building, this was about as easy a case as I could’ve gotten - but I just sat in the back of the courtroom while other people told little stories about why they were too racist to be properly impartial and how their boss had just yesterday been attacked by a swarm of rabid bees so they had to take care of business, but they didn’t request a postponement in the morning because, um, because. But they still picked the jury before I was able to state so much as my place of residence.

In other words, the Superior Court’s random number generator was my friend (did I mention how gleeful I am about the mug? It has the county court’s seal on it, I won it, and it is mine!). Either that, or researching one’s judicial ballot is just plain good karma.

Comments

  1. des von bladet wrote:

    Look yami, I love you very dearly as a friend but I am A DECADE OLDER THAN YOU and I have NEVER been invited to play on a jury.
    This is, I consider it to be self-evident, NOT FAIR! And I didn’t even get a mug or anything.
    (There is of course no truth whatever in the rumour that my secretest and most cherished desire or fantasy is to play Ronald Reagan in a remake of _Twelve Angry Bonzos_. None! At! All!)

  2. Moebius Stripper wrote:

    I had a friend who’d been summonned for jury duty three times before he turned 21 - once, accidentally, before he was 18. He was never chosen.
    Me, I wouldn’t mind serving this summer. It’s not like I have a job or anything.

  3. yami wrote:

    Des: I agree, it’s most unfair! I am tempted to suggest moving to L.A. County and acquiring FDRUSian citizenship, as people here seem to be summonsed all the time. We’re not a proper democracy again yet though but, and I know you’re keen on that.
    I wouldn’t’ve minded serving at all, ’specially on a short case about a nonviolent crime. You get two hour lunches, with free entry to MOCA! But I did get a mug so I can’t complain.

  4. des von bladet wrote:

    The Museum of Californian Apes AND a mug? I’ll book me flight…

  5. Harrison wrote:

    Hey, I’m on jury duty too now!

  6. yami wrote:

    Too bad Jury Appreciation Week is over!

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