The day before I was to report I had visions of Runaway Jury and A Few Good Men dancing in my head. I was gearing myself up for an intense, drama filled court room, with news reporters and photographers all around. I couldn't wait for my day in court and I was rehearsing my lines already...
Judge: Please state your name for the court.
Me: Natalie G. Horrance, G as in Guilty.
Attorney: Do you have problems passing judgement on other people?
Me: Guilty! I mean no, of course not.
DA: Do you believe the defendant has to prove his innocence?
Me: I will believe whatever you tell me to, if it gets me on the jury.
I was almost giddy about missing work and the chance to observe a real trial. I had hopes of getting on some high profile case and getting out of work for a least of couple of days. What I figured out over the course of the day, is that jury duty was nothing like what they portray in the movies, and it is really hard to get on a trial. Here is my jury duty summed up in 10 steps.
Step 1: Call the courthouse the night before to make sure you are still needed to report for duty. Check. (Thank goodness otherwise I would have been devastated at not even getting the chance to set foot in the court house).
Step 2: Report to the court house and stand outside in line for 45 in the freezing cold with all kinds of sketchy people trying to get through security. Uh...check?
Step 3: Sit in a room of about 50 -75 people all reporting for duty and watch a movie about the court process. Check.
Step 4: The lady comes in and informs us that they will only need jurors for one trial today, and if not selected you will still have to wait around all day just in case something else comes up. (Please pick me, please pick me, please pick me!). And hot damn, they called my name! Natalie has never sounded sweeter. They escorted about 25 of us up to the court room. Criminal court. Check plus.
Step 5: Waiting in line outside the court room in dawns on me that not all of us are going to make the cut. I start working my way up to the front of the line assuming that they will take the first 12 people that walk in the room to the jury box for questioning. I am number 12 in line. Check.
Step 6: Busted. They don't take the first 12. We all sit in the observers area and await instruction. And yeah, no news reporters or anything. The observers area is completely empty except for us. That's ok though. I can still be a part of this. I am trying to fight back my giddiness as the judge goes over the charges and the process. I am biting my lip to prevent my smile from emerging. After all, you don't want to seem too anxious, they might pick up on that and throw you out. Then they call out names at random? not sure about that, to come to the box. Unfortunately, they don't call my name. Check minus.
Step 7: Dismissed! Several people throughout the questioning either weasel their way out of serving or make some stupid statement like they believe the defendant must prove his innocence and get dismissed by the lawyers...things are starting to look up. Check and a half.
Step 8: Boo. They end up dismissing 6 or 7 people and I still don't get called to the box! Don't be a hater! Love me and call my name! Check minus minus.
Step 9: Alternate juror. My last hope. Because this criminal case will take more than a day (yes!) they will need one alternate juror in case something happens to the already chosen elite 12. You might have to sit through the whole thing and then not get to go into the special room to deliberate and convince people to vote your way. I could live with that. JUST SAY MY NAME! And they don't, and I almost start to cry. The woman called up nails the questions and seems excited to serve and is kissing everyone's ass. Suck up. Check minus 100 points, otherwise known as zero!
Step 10: It's over. They tell the left over 6 people (Yes, can you believe out of 25 people only 6 didn't get called to the box for questioning? and I was one of them! So close, yet so far) to go back and fill out some paper work, but that we are done for the day. I hate this country! All I wanted to do was sit for a trial, and listen, and learn, and get out of work, and only get paid $12 a day, but still it would be worth it to me and way more interesting than my normal job! UGH!
It was hard to hide my disappointment for the rest of the day. I wanted in that box so bad, I could almost taste it! I guess I am lucky to have made it that far in the process. After all, I could have been stuck in the waiting room all day, and not have even set foot in the court room. At least I got the rest of the day off to enjoy the beautiful weather. I guess in maybe 2 years from now, I will get another chance. Another chance for my day in court. Another chance to right the wrongs, and lock up the bad people of this world. But, unfortunately, that day, is not today.
9 comments:
That would be so neat to be in the box too. What an adventure you had for a day. Next time is to far away.
I, too, have always wanted to sit in the box, and I think that I would react just like you...not wanting to seem too anxious. The only time I have ever been called up, though, is while I was in Lisbon, Portugal on my mission. Kinda difficult to report for duty across the Atlantic.
- Tom
You should've gotten my jury duty... I too, had visions of Runaway Jury in my head, but I was 8 months pregnant. As in, I gave birth to Max the next week and one of my nurses had been at jury duty with me. Anyway, so I get there and we sit and fill out whatever and watch the movie and then sit there for an hour or so until they call everyone in to the courtroom. And the trial is a CAPITAL MURDER trial. As in, the accused could get the death sentence if found guilty. And this was already the 3rd day or something of trying to get jurors- they kept striking out on people. For this kind of trial, the defendant is trying to choose people who aren't necessarily against the death penalty (you can't be against it because it is part of our legal system, so if you are they can't choose you) but would lean more towards life in jail, for their client's sake. And they told us that if we are chosen they expect the trial will last about 2 weeks. Oh, and if you had read anything about the trial in the newspaper or heard about it before or knew any of the people or relatives of you got off. It was intense. I obviously couldn't do it, and so it annoyed me because I had to sit there all day- they didn't call me up until almost the end of the day and of course I got to go once they saw my big belly. And the chances are slim of me ever getting that close to a high profile trial again.
Oh my gosh. I just went through the same thing about two weeks ago! Except ALL of us got dismissed because both parties agreed to a trial without jury. So, I was kinda bugged by wasting all that gas to get out there and kinda relieved that I didn't have to leave both kids with babysitters all day. :)
Natalie,
There is this really cool thing called a Grand Jury that I got to be on. Here are the Details:
- You report for Jury duty 3 days a week (all day)
- It lasts for 4 months
- You hear about 15-20 cases a day (all criminal)
- You don't have to determine guilt (Just probable cause)
- You get paid like $10 a day
- You get to know the 11 other people who are trying to skip work, aka the rest of the grand jury
- You play cards while the DA tells you about some idiot who sells drugs to an undercover agent
- You get to become physically ill because you have to hear, and see(in photo's) mans inhumanity towards their fellow man
Greg
That's my wife . . . just dying to get into the courtroom! I just wish that you could be on my jury next time, or do I?
Natalie,
Most of us try to get out of jury duty. Hilarious that you wanted to be a part! Michael and I BOTH got called to jury duty in W-S right after we moved to the Boro. They didn't have our updated voter registration info in the system yet. So I just had to mail W-S a copy of our new address, and presto, we were out of it! I never once had visions of grandeur. Just glad I didn't have to go...
OK Natalie- you should be glad you got out of jury duty. I once was like you- excited to hear a case and decide the fate of another. I served as a juror for Melanie Bridge's mock court while she was in law school and it sucked!!! I was sooooo bored and in the end I thought the guy was guilty while everyone else thought not guilty. I was sick of arguing and sitting in the court that I finally changed my mind so I could just leave and get out of there. Luckily it was a fake case (I probably wouldn't be a good juror), but you should feel relieved!!
I'm with you Natalie. I have never gotten to serve on a jury but would love to! Every one thinks I'm crazy as well!
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