I’ve finally made it to the court. Eyes still foggy from 4 hours of sleep after a fun night of Payday 2, it’s the first time I’ve woken up at 9 am to do something scheduled in weeks. It was 9:46 am as I sat down in the back of the Juror waiting room. Sitting near another dude who was dressed in more casual clothes, he explained that he’d been waiting for half an hour since they opened at 9. Good thing the court allowed [a surprisingly large amount of] time for tardiness.
Filling out the Juror census information, it had no way to identify a person. I bubbled in as much relevant information as I could, also a guess as a Trial Juror. After the woman gave instructions that we should fill out the Trial Juror bubble because we were not serving as Grand Jurors, the right choice. The female Court Officer told us to fill out the information behind the juror card that we received in the mail. I could occasionally hear quips with simple complaints about the slowness of government processes.
Eventually, for those who met the criteria, they were allowed to line up and vouch for their way out of duty. About half were able to get out; others simply sat back down and waited like the rest of us. Sickness? Un-reschedulable plans? Incapability with English? What other excuses are possible? It was a good chance to take a small nap, I hadn’t slept enough anyway. The chairs were surprisingly comfortable and cushy, it was mostly quiet, the other potential Jurors probably shared the same opinion as I.
Eyes darting around every now and then, was it our turn to be called up yet? I looked around once again and saw a poster telling civilians to do their duty and be happy to serve; there was an instructional video playing about a juror’s role and information. Nope, it wasn’t until 3 groups had passed until I became a bit more conscious. A resounding “Here!” echoed out of my body as I was called first for the 4th group. Lining up in the middle row, there were 30 of us, who wrote PART18 on our ID cards. We crossed the street in lining up in single file to a chaotic group of 30 at the steps of another courthouse building. It was old and rickety, but functioning and imposing. Beige and brown were consistent colors, while some sculptures lined pillars; this building was definitely a piece from many decades ago. It was a chance to finally participate in the legal system and make decisions!
We were finally able to enter after everyone had a bathroom run; it was time to see how things worked in a courtroom. It was much brighter than the one I was at in the Bronx. Judge Hart came in; we rose, sat, and rose and sat. Now it was time to see if anyone had objections to participating in the case. It was mentioned to be one of the shortest ones despite how he usually undertook longer cases in his career. At first, the thought of participating was no problem, but then the incoming work for BPL 5100 was my reason to get on line.
Everyone was rejected and told to sit, aside from one woman who was able to prove she had tickets to get out of becoming a juror. In came my turn, I mentioned all the typical pressures of a student, but this summer class was one that would have set me back, had I participated in the jury. Even my ID was good proof, until he came to ask for my class time, 5:30 to 8:11 and that was probably what set me back. I was told to sit, and another topic chuckle came from the peanut gallery in the back. If only I had a chance to mention my entire workload.
The case was then overviewed and we were told of a break between now and 2:15 when we would meet at the 3rd floor of the same courthouse. For me, it was just a quick run to Dunkin Donuts and some lunch with redditing in between. Some customers behind me chatted in Spanish, noticing that I was able to use my phone’s Dunkin Donuts app to pay for my meal, definitely another convenient advancement in technology. Eventually, everyone gathered back up but we were told to go back to the jury waiting room for pickup of something. We all walked back again and sat down, the same atmosphere lingered with an Italian soap opera running on the television at the front. A few people from other courtrooms came in and out to take care of their needs, ask questions, and the finally wait. The time for another nap was now because nothing really seemed to go on. It wasn’t until an hour later that we were abruptly notified that we fulfilled our duty and were exempt for 4 years. Everyone cheered and eventually went on our own way. It was kind of a lazy day for me, but it was now time for me to head to class!