jury_box Hi, folks. Remember this post wherein I told you I was so worried about being picked for jury duty and lots of you said I probably wouldn’t get picked?

And then remember when you all left really interesting comments and I responded to them for a good stretch and then I stopped cold and ignored you completely?

Yeah, well, I got picked.

On the day of jury selection, I sat among a horde of prospective jurors, watching as batches of people were summoned while I remained unpicked. We broke for lunch and then afterwards started the waiting game again. I made it all the way until 3:30, thinking my day would soon be over.

Not so fast.  The last 40 of us were called into a courtroom, where we were asked a series of questions that got some prospects eliminated. The attorneys spent about 20 minutes reviewing our questionnaires, circling the names of some, while crossing off the names of others. When they were finished, it was time to read off the numbers of those who were selected. I was Juror #3.

Right off the bat, they picked jurors 1, 2 and me. Crap on a stick. It didn’t take long to hear the rest and before I knew it, I found myself taking an oath in the jury box.

The judge told us we couldn’t talk about the case and specifically mentioned not blogging the details. So like a good juror, I shut up and didn’t blog about it. I ignored everyone who asked me if I got picked. Just disappeared. I’m sorry I left you hanging, but the judge made us swear.

So what kind of trial did I get put on? Attempted homicide. My first time being called for jury duty and I get attempted murder. Joy.

I spent the next ten days stressing about it until the day we were to report for duty, which was this Monday. We were told the trial could last up to a week, so I put up a post that could live without me. I needed to be laser-focused for this thing.

What’s the good news? The day of the trial, we were led into a jury room where we waited several hours before the judge came in and told us the trial was dismissed! He explained in detail why that happened, but all I really heard was dismissed, dismissed, dismissed. We were thanked for our time and sent on our way.

I could not be any happier that I didn’t have the burden of possibly sending someone to prison. I later learned the defendant was already serving time for another serious crime, and had we convicted him, it’s possible he would have seen a good chunk of the rest of his life behind bars.

Not sure I would have wanted that on my mind. Still, I would have done my civic duty and been proud of it. I’ll do it again if I must, but since I’m considered to have already served, I can’t be called again for at least three more years.

Again, sorry I couldn’t post about this until now. Glad you had fun with the Comment Game while I took a little break from blogging. I hope to have a What’s That post up this weekend. It’s time for something light and fun. I’ve had enough serious for the week.

Stumble it!