Jury Duty.

No way out.

A few weeks ago, I was chosen to serve on a jury. At first, I balked. It seemed like a ridiculous waste of time, and everyone I know (outside of my husband, but we’ll get to that in a minute) always tries to get out of it. I planned on trying to get out of it, too.

But I didn’t. And I am so glad. Turns out, serving on a jury can be one of the more interesting and rewarding life experiences. It’s eye opening, in fact.

A lot of people I know seem to think jury duty is beneath them – that they have better things to do, better ways to spend their time. But after experiencing it first hand, I proffer this – if you think jury duty is beneath you, then maybe actually you’re beneath jury duty.

No way to call for help.

In order to serve on a jury, you have to be able to set aside your biases, your past experiences, your imagination, and your inclinations. You have to be able to read and understand the law as it is written and you have to make your determination on that alone. It’s an extremely challenging exercise of the mind. Serving on jury is a chance we have to participate in one of the truly democratic aspects of our country. Maybe, you should give your self more credit and rise to the occasion.

My husband has always said it’s an honor to serve on a jury. I didn’t believe him. I was so disappointed I got picked that I wanted out, especially given the subject matter of the case. I wanted no part of any of it.

Even when the trial went on endlessly, jurors falling out for reasons ranging from auditions to death of a family member. Even when one of the replacement jurors turned out to be someone who could not follow the rules of the court, and after all that time, we ended up hung.

Reflections of freedom.

But Husband was ultimately right. Despite the delays, the waiting around, the inconvenience, my own personal baggage regarding the case; despite the fact that the case itself was barely a case at all – despite everything negative or dull, it was an honor and I’d do it again in a heartbeat. I met some cool people who shared similar interests as me. I met some cool people that I had little in common with. I had interesting discussions on topics I’d never had reason to broach before.

Jury Duty = Life expanding. Do it.

The view from the floor.

PS You’re not allowed to photograph anywhere inside the court house, so these pics were totally some guerilla shit…