Thursday, March 27, 2008

Jury Duty



I recently served on a jury trial. Wow! What a learning experience! I waited my whole life to be called and was quite excited last year when I was finally sent the qualification form. Then I had to wait another six months to finally be summoned. The odds of ACTUALLY sitting on a jury are only about 10-20%; I was in the odds.



It sounds kind of like it is a bummer, but no, I found the experience to be a rewarding learning experience. Lessons I learned:



1) Our justice system is fair to both parties.


2) Judges are very powerful and revered people.


3) Jurors are teams.


4) Patience.


5) The process is painless.


6) It is my civic duty to serve.


7) Many people do not want to serve or unable to serve due to a wide variety of reasons.


8) Lawyers work hard.



If you are in one of the jury pools, report with pride and be prepared to do your duty. You will truly be rewarded and learn a great deal about our society.



I selected this silhouette of a tall and strong oak to represent our legal system. It has the framework in the form of the many branches, the backbone in the form of the tree trunk, and the basis for our system rooted firmly in the soil.



in the garden....

28 comments:

  1. I'd like to be on a jury someday, but everytime I get close, I get eliminated. I have heard that they don't like educators in a jury..something about us actually knowing things and being able to tell when someone's being truthful or not.

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  2. that is a bummer nancy! it was so interesting and i think i can speak for us, we felt like we were a part of something big. though, we didn't have any teachers on our jury...hmmm.

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  3. Tina,

    I don't get chosen either...no one wants a therapist on the jury!

    Gail

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  4. Hi Tina, very good perspective on what jury duty is like. The picture speaks words! A nice windy day but warm --need to get off the computer and get some work done. I can't tell you how happy I was to see all those original posts --there were quite a few I forgot to copy and print and ta-da they are back for me to get --can't thank you enough! :0) Where is Jean? She almost always beats me here --I try to catch her --hehehe Jean you are too quick for me --:)

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  5. Yes, I think it is our duty, don't know if I'd want to be on one, guess it would depend on the case. All must not be pleasant but some smaller than others. Everyone is sworn to not dicuss. Can make new friends; I surpose?
    Oh, and I did see you worked very hard on the archives, good idea to seperate the subject matter.
    Nice day today! I'm wearing my fleece! Nearly sweated like a sauna yesterday.

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  6. gail, so you have that in common with nancy? that is so funny. no therapists and no teachers. it was such great fun and exciting.

    anonymous, i am ever so happy to see these old posts too! i forgot about them all and have to refresh my memory at times. plus, now that i figured out ALL on my own how to customize my blog, i may have to figure out how to link to them when i talk about the same subject again. have fun outside. i am headed that way soon too. i got excused from jury duty today since i sat on a trial. no trials begin on fridays in montgomery county, so no danger of being called tomorrow either.

    where is mom this morning? dawn with peaches? lola? dave? skeeter? (who we hope is recovering well) nina emailed me. her back is giving her some trouble. she told me the hyacinth bean is sometimes used in Asian cooking. i can see where it would be pretty to eat but don't know how to use it myself.

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  7. good morning dawn with peaches! we were posting at the same time i guess.

    i think you would love jury duty-no matter the case. we didn't find out until we were interviewed in the jury box. that is when the judge tells you the case and asks if you know anyone related to it. we had a breach of contract case. i have been a plaintiff in one myself when i purchased my first home and the previous owner and termite company covered up termite damage. it can be emotional in breach of contract, as it was here. we can't discuss the case outside to the jury room while it is going on. once it is settled we all spoke to both sides and then it is ok to say our reasoning and so on. everyone on our jury took down each other's names and contact info. new friends indeed! some old ones too. i bet where you live you would see some old friends on jury duty.

    the archives and labels are something i need to work on. less specific categories mainly on the labels. i find this feature helpful when i visit other blogs to be able to read material specific to my needs at the time. titles help too.

    hot today in maine? is that what you are saying by wearing only fleece? we are due rain so i have to decide if i go to the garden to divide dds, or go do chores. i think the garden is calling....

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  8. Hi Tina --still looking for Jean --maybe she had errands to run this morning. We just got back from the river --boat trailer is okay --defective clamps on it:( Waited 6 months and now that --it can still be used but for that amount of money and time you'd think they would do better. I am relieved to be home --pouring down rain a tiny bit of thunder and lots of household chores that didn't get done, lol. And, onto the best news --my brother found a new rearend for my truck --so we will fix this one again. I get tired of it breaking down so much but the repairs are cheaper than a monthly car payment --have to weigh the odds on that one. I just hate the thought of a car note --ack!!! I won't lie I think a nice new ride would be great but as long as he can fix this one again --I'll be okay until it breaks again, lol. He is still keeping an eye out for a good repo that would fit our family too:) Don't worry it won't be a sporty car, hahaha just another SUV type that could fit me and the kiddos. I am very, very relieved --ahhhh. Catch you later! Hi Nina --I hope you start feeling beter --get some rest so you'll be all set to get back out in the garden after this rain today. Any word on Skeeter? Still keeping her in my thoughts and hoping for a painless and speedy recovery. Howdy Dawn with peaches, Gail and Nancy :0)

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  9. Hi Nancy. Always nice to see a new name so welcome and hope you join us often.

    Thanks for missing me Anonymous. Long morning today. I have to clean 3 bird cages every 3 or 4 days and today was the day. But today I also changed all the perch covers and washed everything. Plus I did the play pen (which does not get cleaned as often) so I spent over 3 hours on that and then ate before I even turned the computer on. Usually I turn it on before I get the birds fed each morning. Why I did all that on the same day as regular cleaning baffles me. :)

    I agree it is GREAT to have all the old posts there, even if I did read them all. Now I can look up things. Most all, if not all, bloggers have them there.

    Oh no Nina, so sorry you are having pain and hope you feel like a teenager soon!

    Tina you will not believe this but I read this post last night on the paper site!!!

    Hope everyone has a great day.

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  10. I forget something so often but, Nancy I was wondering if you are the Nancy in the garden club that I met (I am Tina's mother)?

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  11. hi anonymous and mom.
    anonymous, i am so happy you got a rearend. i know you didn't want to break down (pun intended) and buy a new vehicle, but you do need reliability. glad your brother found you a new rearend for your suv.

    that is a bummer about the clamps on the trailer. but i am glad it works and you finally got it. just sprinkles here and i worked through them. though i think we can use a few inches of rain. the ground is so warm things are drying out quickly. not looking forward to another 2007 so a drought is on my mind. i hope you and the kiddos stayed dry while you waited for dad to come back with the boat trailer.

    good mornining mom. sounds like you must be exhausting cleaning all that stuff-and the birds. i so much rather clean bird cages than rabbit cages though. anyday! which is in need of it now.

    nancy on here is not the same nancy you met last summer. this one lives in texas and is a garden blogger. her blog can be found at: http://nancysgardenspot.blogspot.com/ and i will add it to the side of my blog too. you can find out who people are when you click on their name and go to their profile. then you can find out what and how they write and what you have in common with them. texas has TONS of garden bloggers and they are having a big conference coming up soon. gail will be attending with her hubby and i bet they will all have fun.

    the paper post was on the new website right mom? i had it up for a hot minute as i was intending to keep that blog going, then the editor pulled it all and changed my user name. you must've seen it before she pulled it. nothing should be on their new site under me as i deleted my account. the old blog may still be on there but too will soon come off and no new posts should go there. anyhow, i have some errands to run.

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  12. Hello Tina and Everyone, Tina I do like your new blog page, especially the archive. As a matter of fact I looked up an old post just this a.m., the foundation planting one.

    I have received a summons to jury duty on two occasions, but didn't serve for various reasons.

    An update on my Dad. We did arrange for him to be moved to a room with a window bed. I tried to install a bird feeder for him, but couldn't get the post "pushed" in the ground. I'll have to get someone to install it for me.

    I hope this isn't a duplication. This is my fourth try - talk about determination!!!

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  13. Tina,

    Make your list...or you will be buying stuff you have no idea what to do with! That's how I do it! See you at Cheekwood.

    Gail

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  14. hi nina, i am SO glad you like it. i have kept all of you in mind when designing it. i must say though, i have to be more precise with my labels and i will be adjusting them soon. they will be more like categories. one for plants, one for gardeners, maintenance, etc.

    jury duty is so fun. many people dread it that is why i wanted all to know it is not really so bad, but sometimes people just cannot serve.

    no, no duplication. was this site easy to post on for you? i hope so.

    great news on your dad! i passed this information onto my friend ursula about joe. i will be checking in on him next week and she will also pursue a window. this is a good hope. someone there should help you put in the feeder pole. i hope you get it up.

    gail, i am not sure if i will go to the sale. if i do, it will be on saturday. still checking with geri. since our kids are on spring break this week the week has been busy for us both. but you have me sold! i hope you get lots of buys.

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  15. ok everyone. it is ok the photos from the old posts are not on here. i have most if not all and will reload them when i can.

    one of the quirks of switching from an ftp server to another server is the possibility of losing pictures. the pictures are on the leaf's server and they have deleted the old blogs-all of them. not sure why but it was in the directions when i switched that it may happen.

    i will fix them-so don't worry! the writing is still there and that is what counts for now. more pictures will follow! don't worry!

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  16. Yes Tina it is much better to have to do bird cages than rabbits. I remember what that was like from when you kids were little.

    Thanks for infor on Nancy and I will check her blog out, just as if I needed to read another.

    Yes todays post was on the paper's new site but it was real late when I saw it, maybe even early this morning.

    Oh Nina I am SO GLAD your Dad got a window bed and I know you will get the feeder in for him.

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  17. Hi Guys,
    Just surfing on the web. Tina, you found the right area for your blog. It will appear when anyone puts "blog,gardens" in any search engine. I like the orange "b" in my faves, shows real easy.
    Yes, in the 50's for the past two days, well mostly yesterday. Too warm to wear a fluffy coat.
    Baseball for my kid on Monday, oay vey. Takes up alot of time, not to mention--gas.
    Nina, I'm glad your dad got a window bed, ask maintaince of the Nursing home to plant the bird feeder. How can they say no? Hope your back is feeling better.
    Well, my songbird was back today, the mourning doves yesterday, and woody wood pecker tried the trees over the weekend. Yeh!

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  18. Hi Y'all --sounds like everyone is in the swing of things with spring. I am so excited I actually weeded the flower beds around the house today --it was so easy since it rained earlier today. And, whoa --the wild onions are growing like crazy around my house/yard. I wonder why I planted onions now, lol. These wild ones are EVERYWHERE and I would use them in a second --they have just as good flavor -and my family doesn't eat onions --I just use them for flavor for them. Oh Nina, I am so happy that your dad got a window view --I hope you can get the bird feeder up soon. He will enjoy that so much. Tina, I sent a note to Joe --I know he has no idea who I am but I told him I read the article you wrote about him in the paper. I sent him a few pictures of the area around my house --yes the daffy's:0) They are just about finished now --starting to look sad and mostly a big green patch with a few late bloomers. Jean, you were one busy lady today --I had the boys clean out the duckies homes the past two days. Hubby said they wanted them so now we have them doing the cleaning --oh so sweet for me --lil duckies are very messy, hahahaha. And, Dawn with peaches I hear you on the time/gas with baseball. The two small ones are going to play and lucky me they have two different days for practice times and games, hahaha. So, it will take up a huge chunk of time. I can't wait for them to start playing --they are so much fun to watch at this age. I think it's more of a humor thing for me --I laugh so much just watching them play --pick flowers, dig in the dirt, watch the ball roll by --I could go on and on but I know you understand what I mean. It wasn't nearly as fun watching the older two last year --hahaha much more competitive. The big ones don't want to play this year:( I guess I should be smiling but I love for them to play sports and stay active --not just holding onto the Wii remote, rofl. Guess I better get a move on --nighty night everyone.

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  19. I was on jury duty when my son was a baby. It was 9 years ago, but let me tell you that was SO much better than going to work! I worked at KMart at the time. They didn't know I was a teacher, maybe they would have black balled me if they would have known? I even got paid to do it too. When we were sent out of the court room we had a good time chatting and playing cards. We learned to be very patient. The trial lasted over a week, but it was very interesting. I know I'd do it again in a heartbeat!

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  20. hey mom, that is interesting about the leaf's site since she changed it all out yesterday. but they have been working on it. it is a work in process these digital changes.

    dawn, i say go back to dawn too, shorter. did you find this blog with the correct address and not the leaf's?

    glad to hear it is finally warming up. we are like in the 70s down here. lots going on in the garden. it is keeping me busy.

    baseball, huh. have fun. i am so glad i am done with all that. i am like anonymous, i watched the jimster pick flowers in the outfield. the older kids were much better than him.

    anonymous, you have fun with it too with your younger kiddos. you are funny-lots of onions-huh! dave at the home garden says you know it is spring when you smell those onions in the air. it is here.

    cinj, i am so glad you back me up with the jury duty thing. it was fun. you had a long case. mine only lasted two days. they only pay us $10 a day, which is a paltry sum for the time. but i guess i should be happy they pay anything. patience is a trait you need as a juror-for sure!

    good night all. i have been trying to get my blog right. soon. i have a great lead on a job and must prepare my resume. it was from one of the jurors i met and we'll see. i am not really ready to work until the fall but you never know with the right job. wish me luck.

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  21. As of an hour ago it was still there and boy oh boy, IT IS HORRIBLE. The print is so small it is real work to read it. The comments are in order but backwards. Everyone is complaining about it except Sandy and since she gets a pay check I suspose she has to be careful.
    Guess they have a lotta kinks to work out. I do like reading about the pets and vets but if it stays that way I will stop going there and telling people about it. When you comment they don't answer anway so I just go to read and I can read plenty of other stuff.

    Good luck on the job you are looking into.

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  22. hey mom, thanks for telling me the leaf still had some stuff on their webpage. i have no idea why it is there since i DELETED my account. AND the editor did something to it as well. there should be nothing there. people are even commenting on a post. i wish i could take it off. but after a while it should drop off.

    the new blog format over there stinks. one of the staff blogs is even talking about moving their blog to blogspot. you are right, being paid they have to be careful. i was not an employee so i had some room. i am glad i left and had i known about blogging on here before i started that blog there, i never would've gone onto the leaf's site. much more freedom here. still updating it though. so time consuming! ttyl

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  23. Well, I got paid a bit more than that but it was interesting anyway. Luckily my employer made up the difference too, so that was nice.

    Thanks for stopping by my blog!

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  24. i think tennesse is a bit low on the jury pay compared to other states. but the judge said if 300 people show up each day, that is $3000! it does put it into perspective.

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  25. Tina, In my years of doing accounting, any company I ever worked for would pay an employee for any work hours missed while serving on jury duty. Less of course the pay they received from the courts. This always seemed to be the fair thing to do.

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  26. hi nina, it is good employers pay their employees-full pay. the courthouse here provided us all with letters to verify our duty. some employees required specific times. another thing, do you know if you are a night worker or the shift worker right after court you do not have to work and the employer still pays?

    i got a nice letter from Judge Hicks thanking me for my jury duty. along with some nice looking plants from spring hill. this is the first time i ordered from them and i am so pleased with the quality. usually i wouldn't order mail order but i wanted a specific cultivar of clematis (love em) and i got some wax bells which i had never heard of. they are bareroot, i hope they grow. the clematis is already growing strong. wunderbar!

    did you get your new viburnum in the mail yet? i am still looking for a cultivar which will bloom the same time as my mt airy, i REALLY want berries this year.

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  27. Hey Tina, I did receive one of the viburnum that I ordered. the winterthur, what a sad looking little thing, don't think it will be blooming for a while yet!!

    The Cardinal Candy one has not shipped as yet.

    I usually have good look with Springhill and they do honor their guarantee.

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  28. nina, you would be surprised. the viburnums seem unstoppable and will grow quickly. they can get pretty big. i had no idea when i planted my mt airy and i even moved him a few times. i think winterthur and the cardinal candy will also grow fast. i really like springhill. thanks for the info-hope i don't have to use their guarantee though.

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