Jury Duty - I Was Excused Today

I was seated with the first round of jurors called for this case that involved a dui, and some other misdemeanor charges like crossing the yellow line, etc. I made it through the preliminary questioning even though I disclosed the fact that I had been involved in a serious drunk driving accident in the late '80s. It surprised me that I wasn't dismissed with the first round, when all of the ladies who contribute to MADD were. I thought that was weird.

Then came the second round of questoning, in which I wasn't asked any further questions, although one woman proudly announced that she was a bill collector and "it's the end of the month and I still have $15,000 left to collect and that's what I'm thinking about, to be honest!" The defendant's attorney asked if that would distract her from the task at hand and she responded "I don't think so, but to be honest, I'm just not good at making decisions. Any decisions." The judge then told a simple story and at its conclusion he asked if it was "your son or daughter that was in court facing charges, would you want a jury member with your mindset on it, deciding the fate of your loved one?" and the potential juror said "no!". She was immediateley excused. I wanted to try her since she was a bill collector! LOL I was also sad that not only is she a bad decision maker, but that she openly admits it. She seemed so angry when she left, like her life is just the pits.

Well, then came another bench conference so I started reading the book I took to occupy my mind, because one thing I've already learned about serving on the jury, is that most of the time you sit and wait. A lot of that waiting is for nothing.

After that bench conference I was dismissed along with a few others. All in all I think the entire jury was replaced and after the bunch I left with was gone, and there was no one left in that particular jury pool. I don't know what they will do now, I don't understand all this court stuff. It's not like it is on Law and Order.

I'm assuming I was dismissed because of the fact that I had been involved in a drunk driving accident. I had explained that there were only minor injuries involved, but that the car was overturned. Or maybe I was dismissed because I was reading a book while lawyers were deciding who should be on the jury?

Either way, being dismissed took some of the stress out of my day not worrying about getting my shift at work covered.

I've always wanted to do jury duty, but now I'm hoping to get out of it!