I agree that she could have worded her statement a little less crudely. But she deserves bonus points for creativity. I think she painted an interesting picture. The courts are not near lenient enough when it comes to hardship cases. It could cost me more than a little money everyday to serve on jury duty. Am I supposed to just eat that money because I am a good citizen? A 2 week trial would put me out of business. Is the court gonna write me a check every week until I build a new career? They actually laugh in your face when you bring that up. In my job, I have to work very hard to not judge people. It's not something I can just turn on when jury duty calls. I don't feel it's my place on this earth to judge others, and will never participate again.
The last time I served on a jury, and it will be the last time ever, we were in court all day, and sent to the jury room about 8:00 pm. Well after midnight, I called the bailiff in, and told him I was done, and was headed home to get some sleep. He informed me that leaving the building would result in charges against me, and I was sure welcome to get some sleep in jail, if I decided to leave before we had a verdict. I was told we were not leaving the building until we had a verdict. When I informed my fellow jurors of this, the case was decided 10 minutes later. Do you think this defendant got his just due? He may have, but we will never know. But I was not spending another minute being held against my will. And I got a check in the mail for $18. That amounted to about $1.00 per hour for my time. The system is broken, rather badly in my opinion. I'm not sure if professional jurors are the answer, but something needs to be done.
The last time I was called for jury duty, I loudly declared that I hate everybody. And then ran thru the list of usual suspects. Loudly. Jews, Christians, Mexicans, Blacks, Indians, Old People, Kids, etc. I think the only ethnic group I missed was white women between 25 and 30 years old. I was politely asked to leave. I hate being forced to sound like a bigot, but it worked once, and I will use it again if I ever have too.
For a little perspective, I am also an officer of the court. But the system is broken, and I refuse to play the game until there is some real effort to fix it. Civic duty my butt. Civic duty is whatever I decide to do for my city. Not what I am forced to do.
[This message has been edited by Matt Schmitz (5/4/2009)]