Adventures in Government

I was hoping for a snow day today, but not for the usual reasons. I had a summons for jury duty, and I only saw it about a week before I was due to appear because I had been in Miami, and someone did not mention that it had come while I was away.

If there had been a snow day, I could have left the big kids in charge of the almost three year old, and her little two year old friend who is spending two weeks with us while her parents are away.

So the predictions of 3-6 inches of snow did not materialize, although the snow is currently making a valiant effort to make up that deficit. We may end up with early dismissals.

Anyway, I figured let me go down and see what I can do, maybe the case will be dismissed and it will be considered "time served," as happened with MBB. Either way, I had been SUMMONED! so I needed to take care of it.

I asked my almost 16 year old to stay home, and I'd figure out around lunch time getting her to school for math, and getting coverage for the two little girls.

I went to do my civic duty, and got yelled at. After instructions on filling out the back of the summons (even that word makes it hard to try to think about dodging), and collection of those cards the movie began. The "you've got to be kidding me, my taxes paid for this???" movie about the jury trial system, that begins in medieval times with "trial by ordeal." If you're accused of a crime, grungy looking people, some weeping, some looking severe, bind you and throw you in the river. If you float you're guilty, if you sink you're innocent (and based on the amount of time it took the Obi Wan Kenobi looking judge to decide whether he sunk or not, I'd say possibly dead)all narrated by Ed Bradley. Right around the time Diane Sawyer came on to expound on the wonders of jury service, I went into another room to speak to the woman in charge,the Commissioner of Jurors, who with a title like that should really dress better, if not a uniform, then at least something more Commisionery then a V-neck polyester loud print tunic over black leggings and high heeled short boots. I asked if she knew when lunch was, because I had some child care issues to work out. She got all angry at me, and said "we don't know you have children, that's why we send the summons out three weeks in advance so you can send us this info."

In my defense, I did not tell her this, it says clearly that you have to pick a date two to six months in the future. Ummmm, that's not really any better for me, so I went down to serve the day, but apparently you're on call for a week, and she told me later when she called me back in that she can't take a chance that I wouldn't get selected, and gave me a two year deferment, contingent on my sending in a birth certificate for Little Miss Eat Everything. I also did not mention that I was in Florida when the summons came and did not see it right away.

It really doesn't say anywhere in the summons that you can be excused (not postponed)for young children, so I don't really feel bad that I went down there. It was my time that was wasted not hers, so I don't think she had to be so nasty. Granted, you want a pool of a certain amount of people, but c'mon! She does this every day, and I do it....never. Anyway, I would have liked to gone through Voire Dire, but I guess at this stage in my life (like many other things) it will have to wait.

Trial by Ordeal, indeed.