I got called to jury duty...starting today. Federal jury duty. In Manhattan. And, by 3:00, I was on a case. They say that it will only last a week or so.
I've been called before, but only for the state, and never before did I get past the voir dire.
But, I have to say, the feds treat you better, and their courthouse and courtrooms are way swankier than any state courts I ever saw. The building is relatively new, and rather dull architecturally, but has great views! It's a slim tower with not many peers, and the court room, the jury room, even the hallways, look out over Manhattan.
To the north is a City park: Columbus Park. From the air, I could see footsteps in the snow, and someone had drawn Chinese characters in the snow in the park. And elsewhere, the snow had been colored pink - almost like with spraypaint, it was so diffuse. So curious.
The voir dire was entertaining - I wanted to play matchmaker: 3 musicians, a handful of nurses, some computer guys, a couple of school teachers. It's funny how such a weird mixed bag of people ends up with so many strands of communality.
26 February 2007
Oh Joy, Oh Jury Duty!
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3 comments:
I served on a jury once in Manhattan, on a criminal case. It was truly a fascinating experience! I should post about it sometime.
I was on a jury for a criminal case, too. It was really interesting but in the end quite discouraging. They were totally guilty but we had to say they were not. It ended up giving me a lot of psychic trauma, as it were. Better luck to you! It IS exciting!
Wow, I have always wanted to do jury duty but the only time I was called I had moved out of the state.
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