All Rise..

So yesterday my number finally came up. I was on stand-by call in jury duty and all the way up until Thursday evening I thought I was going to get away for the next 6 years without going to the Queens County court houses. Nope. Thursday evening brought the annoying news of making an appearance for jury duty. I guess I should pay my civic duty and go or pay the state $250 for being in contempt if I didn't. Me being naive on the whole thing (since I managed to dodge it for the past 15 years due to address changes and travelling performance gigs) didn't know what to expect. I thought it'd be a selection of jurors and if you weren't selected, you go home (which is true), but if you were selected, you serve that day and go home later (which is not true). For one the selction process is a day long process and you may be put on a few panels throughout the day if not selected on your first panel. You're not dismissed after your first rejection which I thought would happen. Then, I find out that civil cases don't start until next week and can take up to a whole week!! Yikes!! That was surprising news. I thought that's what this whole week of telephone stand-by was for. They'd select jurors for THIS week, not next. I suddenly got nervous. I didn't want to serve anymore with funds being a little too close for comfort and I JUST got this temp assignment to tide me over until March when rehearsals start. So I wait and it's getting close to lunch. I figure if I don't get called by lunch for a panel then my chances are slim for late afternoon. Wrong. My name comes up now. So, I'm in a panel of 30. They only need 6 plus 2 alternates. We all file upstairs to be seated in front of 5 (yes 5) lawyers. One for the prosecution and 4 for the defendant. Four on the defense!?! Turns out it was a car accident involving the plaintiff getting injuries from riding a bus. SO, the bus had a lawyer, the driver of the bus had a lawyer, the other car involved was leased so the bank had a lawyer, and then there was a lawyer for the driver of that car. Four against one. Well they THOROUGHLY examined the first 6 chosen (which I wasn't a part of) asking loads and loads of quesions. They filled us in on names, a synopsis of what was being argued, and what we as jurors would have to decide throughout the course of the trial(s). Yes. Multiple trials. Just my luck on Friday the 13th of all days. It was an accident that took place in 2000 which just goes to show how slow our judicial process really is. Well, of the first group they only kept 2. The other 4 had trouble understanding (since English was a problem for them) or they had conflicts of interest with the parties involved. A lunch break and we were all back. I was chosen to be grilled in the next 6. I thought, "crap, this could be me in the juror seat next." I had a little against me though. I have lawyer friends, doctor friends, cop friends, AND my temp assignment was with a lawfirm. Needless to say I was still grilled and still answered honestly saying I'd be fair and impartial regardless of my affiliations AND I wouldn't discuss the case with any of my friends. What struck a nerve with me was a fact surrounding the case that swayed my favorability to the defense. Needless to say because of that favorability, I was canned. Whew! Turns out the whole row of 6 was pretty bad for a jury on this case. Two taxi drivers and a citizen who have been sued before for car accidents and felt they were wrongly accused. One of those who could barely speak English. Also girl who was being sued currently and her job was at the scene of the accident. One lady had affiliations with many doctors in NYC and a son in law who was a cop, but she determined she could be fair and impartial regardless and she was chosen. The rest of us were dismissed to sit downstairs again and wait for our dismissal papers. I was still nervous because some people had already come back for this process 2-3 times throughout the week. Could I have to come back again on Tuesday? Nope. I got my dismissal and I'm good for the next 6 years in Queens County! Yay! Civil Service served.