Thursday Thirteen - Things About My Glamorous Jury Job

Okay, here's a quickie. Thirteen things I CAN tell you about the last few days. Late because we had a long day of jury duty today.

1. In the jury room we have all the junk food we can eat. Twizzlers, Oreos, Reeses, M&Ms, Chips Ahoy. Oh and they do have some apples and oranges on the table.

2. As I said, there are nine of us. We laugh together. A lot.

3. Seriously, when I say a lot, I mean it. I'm going to miss these people.

4. I told one of the jurors today that he looks a lot like Tim Robbins. He didn't take it as a compliment. Um. Open mouth. Insert foot. Maybe I'm a little strange (okay I know I am) but I find Tim Robbins attractive. At least when he was younger.


5. Lawyer standard time is, well, interesting. If you ever have to deal with lawyers or a court case, know this. If they say they'll start at 8:30, plan on starting between 9:30 and 10:30. If they ask for a 5 minute recess, plan on at least 15 minutes. And 30 seconds, that's LONG.

6. You know that you're in the middle of boring testimony when you look over and the judge is nodding off.

7. One woman was being questioned today by the defense attorney (you know, the guy who NEEDS a haircut). He asked her something that made absolutely NO SENSE.

"Do you know what I'm asking you?" he said.

"No," she said. "And I don't think you do either."

8. The case we're listening to is a kidnapping case. It has been in the media. I have to be careful when talking to people, because they often say, "OH, you're working on that case?!?" and they almost start to talk about it when I have to put my fingers in my ears and shout. "LA,LA,LA,LA! NOT LISTENING!"

9. Haven't read a newspaper or watched the news for a few days for the same reason. Is there anything I really should know about? Is Vicente Fox running for U.S. president in 2008? Any tsunamis in Michigan?

10. If you're seeking the sustaining of an objection from the judge, it's better not to act like his 16 year old son. Attitude is everything. And respect matters, even to the most patient of judges.

11. And seriously, this judge is patient. He's so mellow and held together. It's fun to watch him. He does a good job.

12. We're not allowed to talk to anyone in the court house, except each other and the bailiff. So, when we get there we have to go into a tiny room with a table and chairs and wait for the bailiff to come get us and take us back to the jury room. More talking. More laughing.

13. We really are taking this seriously. Especially as testimony has come to an end and we get ready to hear closing arguments and deliberate. I can see in everyone's eyes the same thing that I'm feeling. This is one of the most important decisions of our lives. So much hangs in the balance. We all want to do our very best to give this person a fair trial.

It's late, so many of you probably won't be around to add a link, but here you go: