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....
