Jury Duty

I did a stint as a juror in Pierce County recently. Here's a breakdonw of what happened:

Your mileage may vary, but in Pierce County, when juror summons' are issued, jurors are assigned to groups (usually from 1 to 25), and during the two week term of jury service, your group will not always be required to even show up at the court house (but if your group number has been called, you are required to be there). This was my third time serving as a juror.

Day 1:
Normally they bring in 6-8 groups at a time. This day they brought in all 25 at once for orientation. There were so many jurors (350+) that orientation had to be split in to two groups, and one judge got to take the morning off while her courtroom was 'borrowed' to get the jurors oriented. There is a whiteboard at the front of the juror assembly room showing how many trials were slated to start for the day. Normally, there would be only 2-3 superior court and about 2 district/municipal court trials starting that would require jurors. Today, there were eight superior court trials (each one of those requires a pool of 35-50 jurors for the voir dire process), and 4 district/municipal court trials). Anyway, right after orientation came the first jury call. 50 jurors were called. I wasn't among them. My turn didn't come (initial selection prior to voir dire was done by lottery) until the very last superior court trial to begin that day. Out of 35 jurors, I was #20 (they identify you mainly by number). The judge gave us the overview of the case and then sent us home for the day.

Day 2:
Jury selection began in earnest. In Peirce County, this is done 'Oprah' style, where the Judge or the Attorneys ask the entire panel general questions, and you indicate your answer by raising your number. Follow-ups are then directed to individual jurors as appropriate. This was a simple case of possesion of stolen property. After the attorneys were done questioning the jurors, the jury was seated. Twelve jurors were seated, plus two alternates. I was the second alternate. The trial began. During the recess, I was very popular among the other jurors. Apparently, I'm the only one in the Court House aside from the Judical Assistants (you may know them as baliffs) who know how to operate the coffee brewer. Justice runs on caffienne.

Day 3:
The trial wrapped up. The prosecution only called two witnesses, a Washington State Trooper, and another person who lost her wallet (whose cards where the stolen property in question). The Defense's only defence was to cross examine the state trooper and the other witness. After closing arguments, and juror instruction, the jury was sent to deliberate. Being an alternate, I was excused, and sent back to jury administration, who sent me home. But not before the Judge sat me down by myself in the jury box, thanking me for my service. I was not needed the next day, and this was the end of my service for week 1.

Day 4:
The beginning of my second week of jury service. I noticed one of the others jurors form last week's case that I was one, and she told me that they had reached a verdict on three of the four charges that were presented (BTW Guilty). Right before lunch, I was again selected for a district court trial. I was sent to the court of Judge Margaret Ross. One of the customary questions to be asked of all jury trials is if any of the jurors knew anybody in the court (be it any of the parties involved, or the judge). Two years previously, I was also a juror in her court, and she said that I had looked familiar when I answered the question. This was a case of DUI. I was seated on this jas a juror, not an alternate. Basically, if you're stopped for eratic driving, and you're asked to submit to a breathalyzer test, dont tell the State Trooper to, ummm, 'fornicate with himself'.

Day 5:
Trial wrapped up today (actually today was most of the trial). We were given our instructions, heard arguments, and were sent then home.

Day 6:
We began deliberations at 8:15. We went through all the testimony (we were allowed to take notes in the trial), and we came to a veridict of Guilty. We then reached a verdict that the defendant was given the opportunity to submit a breath sample and refused (in Washington state, that itself will cost you license for a year). This was by 11:15 am. We were them sent home for the day.

Day 7:
I was picked on the first jury call (dont I just have all the luck?). The case I was selected for would've gone into the following week, and my employer isn't paying me for this (they're not required to pay you, theyre just required to not fire you). I indicated this to the judge, and he mercifully excused me. JUry administration then sent me home, and said that my term of jury duty was done.

All in all, serving in a jury is a severe financial hardship for me, but I will always answer the summons and due my duty. Because, if I was accused of a crime, I would want a jury trial, myself. Ramen.