"You've Been Excused"
Well…I learned today that I am, in fact, not on the jury. (sigh of relief)
Oh, I had been selected to be a juror…along with 8 other people…for 5 spots. They didn't tell me that. After sitting around for a good 10-15 minutes with the other jurors…we were called in one at a time. After the fifth name had been called, and nobody answered, the Constable in charge read the 6th name…mine. However, after going over what was expected of us, I asked a simple question.
“Will we be out of here at 4:30 everyday like it says in the summons?”
“Probably not, why is that a problem?” was the reply
“Well, I’m not being paid for this, and I can’t get time off from work, so I have to work at night so I can, you know, eat, pay rent…and I’ve been scheduled to start work at 5:00pm while I’m here. I can be a few minutes late…but if its going to be a regular occurrence…”
I could sense where this was going…
“Well, I wish you had brought this to my attention before…”
“Well, nobody asked me...”
“Alright, I’ll have to go talk to the coroner…”
Sure enough, about 2 minutes later, I was called out of the jury’s chambers and told that this did constitute a conflict, so I was being ‘demoted’ to an alternate and someone else would take my place.
Aw shucks!
So, some big bearded guy named Shelly or something was called in to replace me. We were told to wait around, then sit in the back of the courtroom until the jury was sworn in…and then we were free to leave.
So that’s it…that’s my jury duty experience. Part of me was a little disappointed that I wasn’t going to get the chance to sit on a jury and experience a police inquiry from the good seats…but deep down, I’m quite relieved that I don’t have to do this. The next two weeks were looking awfully daunting with this and work creating some brutal 14-15 hour days…and as someone who isn’t very good at blindly conforming, and who doesn't always work well in groups, I found the whole inquiry process very rigid and, well, I just don’t think I would have had much fun.
Plus, as I found out today, I would not have been able to post anything about the inquiry on my blog…nothing…or else I would have been potentially guilty of contempt of court…so, you’re not missing out on anything because I got the heave-ho.
Hopefully, justice is served…I’m sure its in 5 (other) capable sets of hands.
Oh, I had been selected to be a juror…along with 8 other people…for 5 spots. They didn't tell me that. After sitting around for a good 10-15 minutes with the other jurors…we were called in one at a time. After the fifth name had been called, and nobody answered, the Constable in charge read the 6th name…mine. However, after going over what was expected of us, I asked a simple question.
“Will we be out of here at 4:30 everyday like it says in the summons?”
“Probably not, why is that a problem?” was the reply
“Well, I’m not being paid for this, and I can’t get time off from work, so I have to work at night so I can, you know, eat, pay rent…and I’ve been scheduled to start work at 5:00pm while I’m here. I can be a few minutes late…but if its going to be a regular occurrence…”
I could sense where this was going…
“Well, I wish you had brought this to my attention before…”
“Well, nobody asked me...”
“Alright, I’ll have to go talk to the coroner…”
Sure enough, about 2 minutes later, I was called out of the jury’s chambers and told that this did constitute a conflict, so I was being ‘demoted’ to an alternate and someone else would take my place.
Aw shucks!
So, some big bearded guy named Shelly or something was called in to replace me. We were told to wait around, then sit in the back of the courtroom until the jury was sworn in…and then we were free to leave.
So that’s it…that’s my jury duty experience. Part of me was a little disappointed that I wasn’t going to get the chance to sit on a jury and experience a police inquiry from the good seats…but deep down, I’m quite relieved that I don’t have to do this. The next two weeks were looking awfully daunting with this and work creating some brutal 14-15 hour days…and as someone who isn’t very good at blindly conforming, and who doesn't always work well in groups, I found the whole inquiry process very rigid and, well, I just don’t think I would have had much fun.
Plus, as I found out today, I would not have been able to post anything about the inquiry on my blog…nothing…or else I would have been potentially guilty of contempt of court…so, you’re not missing out on anything because I got the heave-ho.
Hopefully, justice is served…I’m sure its in 5 (other) capable sets of hands.
posted by neil at 2:01 PM
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