Jury duty

It's July 7th, and this is my seventh entry in July... still on track.

Jury duty is one of those obligations we may be called to serve if we are a registered voter in our county. I don't know how the process is handled in other states or counties, but in my county, we receive a summons by mail. There's a date that we must report by. A citizen can apply for an exemption, or a postponement (a letter in writing is all that is needed explaining the hardship) of the jury date.

In times past, I've been summoned several times. Each time I had looked forward to doing my duty, excited to participate in the legal process. Alas, I've never actually been through the selection process, called voir dire, which is old French meaning to speak the truth. That's the examination by the judge and attorneys to find out whether they want to keep you on the panel of jurors or not. You've probably watched this process in movies and tv shows. I've never actually sat through that process.

I had a jury summons back in September, but it was to be on the same day as my NCCAT workshop, so I asked for a postponement (you must do this at least ten days prior to your jury date). I was given a July date in place of the September summons date. Back in September I thought July was a great date for jury duty. I'd be home, no conflicts of interest. I wanted to be a juror just to see what it was like, so I could have something to tell my students from a personal point of view.

Then about four weeks ago my sister reminded me that she was going to be in Florida for one week in July. She has a condo, with plenty of room for all her kids and grandkids. And even an extra room for another couple. Would I like to come? She'd love to have us come down if we could. Misty had just passed away. My son had moved to Baltimore. I was off from school until August, and VBS doesn't start until August 10. With nothing keeping me home, I said I'd love to go.

Except there's that obligation I may have to take care of first, I told her. The jury duty. For the past two weeksI've fretted about it, thinking that this would be the one time they selected me, and not only that, in my imagination, it would be a serious criminal case, and it would take several days to a week to go through all the testimonies and deliberations. Worst case scenario nightmare.

Hmmm, jury duty versus a rare family vacation in Orlando.... let me think about it first. Just kidding.

My sister and I have never been on vacation together since we were kids living under the same roof. That's about 35 years. Her kids are all grown, and the grandkids... I have not seen some of them in over five years. How could I give all that up?

I had to wait until after 6:00 pm this evening to call the number listed on the summons card. As soon as I got home from the gym (yeah, it was abs workout night... ugh!), I called the number, holding my breath. Was my vacation going to get cancelled? Would I have to report for jury duty at 8:00 in the morning to be part of the selection process?

The female voice on the other end of the line said: "all jurors who were summoned to report for jury duty on Tuesday, July 8th, do NOT have to report. You're services are not required. I repeat, do not report, you're services are not required."

YEAY!!

I whooped out loud, and nearly jumped for Joy.... literally. My sister's name is Joy.

 

 

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