Jury Selection

apineappleisasymbolofhospitality
6/25/2007 12:15:51 PM
Jury duty is over for this window of vulnerability.
After not getting to sleep until way past my bedtime, I was up at the standard 620 this morning. Navigating Clairmont Road without incident, I got to the courthouse parking lot just in time. Standing in line to check in, I saw at the window my friend "J".
He is wearing bib overalls, and his hair is cut short. He walks by me to find a seat, and I tap him on the shoulder.
Room 102, where the jurors await assignment, was crowded. "J" walked over to where I was in line, so we could talk during the waiting to serve period. I got to the check in window just as the orientation speakers were starting, The questionaire caught my eye by asking if I had state farm insurance (yes) or allstate(no). I recall how my dad got burned by allstate in 1952 and never did get over it.
"J" was a great person to spend the morning with. I was anticipating the books and magazines in the jury room, which was not unpleasant, but a live person to tell you stories is much better. His big news was helping a friend of his redo the roof on his garage, with abundant details. I mentioned that I had been to the parade the day before, and had missed seeing him ride with the dykes on bikes, which is now co ed.
As soon as I said that, a woman with short bleach blond hair was the first speaker of the day. She introduced a Mr. Wong, who is a state court judge. ( Or was it Mr. Wang, who is a Superior Court Judge?)
There should be a law against an Asian Judge who thinks he is a comedian. He spoke...for too long...about the jury system, and said we were very important. He told us to do what he does when he goes shopping with his wife...take a deep breath, and be patient.
Next was the movie, which shows pictures of all the Dekalb county judges. We learn that we are very important to the justice system.
While we await the next speaker, "J" tells me about the renovation he is doing at HIS garage. This and several other things, until it is time for the red haired lady to read the list of names. These are the people who will be going to serve on a jury. .
After these people were ushered out of the room, chairs started to be available. We found two on the front row, with lots of leg room and no people easing by to get out.
"J" is a former legal secretary, and he knew some of the judges in question. He was excited about being on jury duty...he said it was better than reality tv.
I had my comments from time to time....about the parade, Milton Berle, blogs, picture making, and life in general. "J" was following with stories about gardening, home improvement, Happy Texas, O.Henry, and much,much more
The red haired lady got back on the stand, and read another list of names. When she got to "J", he said "I'm here for you". The red haired lady was charmed. When the people on the list were all accounted for , the red haired lady told the rest of us to go home. This included me. My feelings were not hurt.