After serving a year and a half on federal grand jury, I have this to say to anyone who says they love America, these colors never run, etc.: The next time youre called up for jury duty, dont complain, dont try to worm your way out of it because youre so busy and important and work needs you or whatever else excuse you can come up with. If you are TRULY patriotic and a proud American citizen, serve graciously. Youre helping the justice system. No jurors, no justice. I heard things that upset me for days, things that will stick with me and make me feel absolutely sick because they exist. We NEED police, FBI agents, judges, district attorneys and juries. Theyre not a necessary evil ... they are necessary. Why the soapbox? Because every person Ive talked to about jury duty (even local petit jury) usually talks about getting out of it. Saying theyll tell the judge theyre all guilty or whatever so theyll be excused. First, its not that simple. Second, to be crude, suck it up. Consider if something happened to you or someone you care about, and a case went to trial. But all the jurors were excused because they were all too busy with work and such. Another reason Im on the soapbox is because there was one jerk on the jury who only showed up a few of the months when the rest of us showed up for all or almost all of them. He pissed and moaned and complained because his life was far more important than the rest of ours or those of the victims involved in the cases. He didnt follow the rules, and he didnt heed the laws of which we had been previously informed. Is jury duty fun? No. Does anyone really want to serve on a murder case or something else terrible? No. But you will learn about our justice system and how thorough it really is. Youll see how hard law enforcement works to keep us safe and put the proper people behind bars. And while you have to sit there and listen for an afternoon or 18 months to evidence that can be absolutely disturbing and upsetting, the agents and attorneys are faced with it every day. Im thankful its over and that my life wont be disrupted with overnight stays out of town every month. My daughter and husband are thrilled its over, because it was hard on them. Work people are celebrating that I wont be gone every month. My parents are relieved, too. While it wasnt a fun time, I learned a lot and helped make a difference. And thats not a bad thing.
Posted on: Wed, 24 Sep 2014 04:28:12 +0000
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