Liese, I just got called for jury duty a couple of weeks ago. My experience: check in in the morning, then a couple of hours of waiting around (which was surrounded by people, but I didn't have to talk to them or anything (hooray for free wifi)), then judge assignment. We were a pool for a civil trial, so attitudes towards prison didn't come up, but about lawsuits in general and the specifics of the case did - filled out a survey before reporting to the courtroom. Maybe 2/3 of our pool got questioned over the course of the day, but I didn't, and it went on all day, which everyone said was unusual, but be prepared for that, I guess.

Oh, and they had estimated how long the trial was apt to take. People who had prepaid vacations scheduled during that time were excused from serving; people who would be missing work or had child care issues were not excused by the judge, but most of them were excused by the lawyers, I think.

My friend Curtis had a dog who was an ear licker and was, um, good at it.

It was frequent. Morgan would fly into a lap. The snuggling would start. In short order he'd go for the ears and the person would get this look...

It was fairly hysterical.

Yeah, Kat, I figure they`ll boot me if I voice my views about prisons (the entire system is deeply flawed (with apologies to our Buffista lawyers) and the punitive end of it particularly so, especially as regards minorities). But I don`t know how that would play out, empathy for the accused, empathy for the victim, in the actual courtroom.
 
I was joking today that the case I get will probably be that of our little local former fire chief who was accused of having stolen about a million dollars from our station, leaving firefighters unpaid and us without a fire station, during which time our neighborhood bar burned down. And then I`ll be all JAIL, SUCKA!

Walter's a toe licker. He does the occasional drive-by as well as occasionally settling in for some serious lickage. I don't mind, and he's pretty good about stopping if the lickee objects.

Ooh, wifi. I bet my county superior court doesn`t have wifi. But maybe I should bring the laptop anyway? Will they let me? And importantly, the website says I can, nay should, bring my knitting. So I need to get that into a workable bag.

Trudy, backsent. (Short answer: yes, with a but).

I've only been called for criminal court, I think, and they were: sexual assault or domestic violence (pled out while we were there), drugs (I was on the jury, and we hung), sexual assault (pled out after I got put on the jury), and some regular assault, I think (I got released after talking about the guy I know who was in prison). So I guess I've been in the jury-selection pool every time I've gone, but only actually served on the one jury.

I`m worried I`ll be the person responsible for a hung jury! I`ll be singlehandedly subverting justice! The victim`s day in court will all be for naught! OR I`ll convict wrongly and years from now the person will show up in my drug rehab class and will be all You! OR I`ll rightfully convict, causing infinite pain for a wife and family who are somewhere innocent of all this!
 
See what I mean re: Brane, shut up!?

Really, if you tell the lawyers all that, they will probably let you go. ;)

I was sort of responsible for the hung jury, but it was one woman who refused to convict -- she should never have been on the jury because she didn't believe anything the cops said. But I wrote the letter that made the judge let us go home.

I find it odd that I've never served on a jury. When I lived in Virginia, I was only called once, and only got as far as lining up before the defendant copped a plea. I had assumed that it was because I was a licensed attorney in the Commonwealth, but I haven't been called in DC either. I have a driver's license, I own a car, I own real property, and I vote. Three years and counting, and nary a peep. It's weird, because DC is notorious for calling people every two years like clockwork.