I have jury duty tomorrow.
Or—I was supposed to have jury duty tomorrow, but it got canceled. They told me I don’t have to come in.
There was one part of me that was genuinely interested in the process. I am not a true crime junkie, but I did grow up watching shows like Criminal Minds, NCIS, CSI, Dateline, and so on. While I wouldn't have wanted to be put on a murder trial, I thought it would at least be fascinating to see first-hand what a court case is like.
However, as I got closer to the date, I got more and more nervous about getting selected to be on the jury. There was a part of me that was concerned about being put on a serious case, one that could take several days or longer.
On top of that, I imagine that it’s a lot of pressure to be a juror. Not only are you expected to pay attention for the entirety of the trial as both sides present their case, but you also have to make a judgment that impacts the future trajectory of a person’s life. That’s a lot of responsibility.
In fact, it’s somewhat crazy to think that we give strangers that much power. Our legal system is dependent on jurors showing up to trial, yet it’s bizarre to think that I or any of my “peers” could decide who’s guilty and who’s not.
I wouldn’t trust some of my peers with deciding where we should go for dinner, let alone deciding a guilty verdict. And yet, the system seems to work. At least to some degree.
I do hope that someday I’ll get to experience what jury duty is like. But as with anything, I have to be careful what I wish for, perhaps it’s better I’ll be sitting this round out.
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I have jury duty tomorrow.
Or—I was supposed to have jury duty tomorrow, but it got canceled. They told me I don’t have to come in.
There was one part of me that was genuinely interested in the process. I am not a true crime junkie, but I did grow up watching shows like Criminal Minds, NCIS, CSI, Dateline, and so on. While I wouldn't have wanted to be put on a murder trial, I thought it would at least be fascinating to see first-hand what a court case is like.
However, as I got closer to the date, I got more and more nervous about getting selected to be on the jury. There was a part of me that was concerned about being put on a serious case, one that could take several days or longer.
On top of that, I imagine that it’s a lot of pressure to be a juror. Not only are you expected to pay attention for the entirety of the trial as both sides present their case, but you also have to make a judgment that impacts the future trajectory of a person’s life. That’s a lot of responsibility.
In fact, it’s somewhat crazy to think that we give strangers that much power. Our legal system is dependent on jurors showing up to trial, yet it’s bizarre to think that I or any of my “peers” could decide who’s guilty and who’s not.
I wouldn’t trust some of my peers with deciding where we should go for dinner, let alone deciding a guilty verdict. And yet, the system seems to work. At least to some degree.
I do hope that someday I’ll get to experience what jury duty is like. But as with anything, I have to be careful what I wish for, perhaps it’s better I’ll be sitting this round out.
