Jury Duty

Okay, so you get that envelope in the mail from the Sheriff's Office and you think, "Uh oh, this can't be good." Then you open it and breathe only a slight sigh of relief when you realize it's just jury duty and not some crime you forgot you committed. But then again, you might be like me and actually be excited about the jury duty summons!

I don't know why I particularly like it. I mean, just about anything that requires attendance before 10 a.m. is not on my list of things I normally look forward to.

I got my first jury summons I guess around the year 2000 and it seemed to signal "adulthood" or something. It was a real honor to me! Everyone in the office told me, "No big deal. You won't get picked because you work at the newspaper." Well as luck would have it, I did indeed get picked. The case was a minor one involving a drunk driving incident. No one was killed or hurt so there wasn't much to it. The entire process lasted about three hours I guess and myself and my peers in the jury box didn't do much deliberating on it -- guilty as charged. But I remember it was all very fascinating.

I then once got a jury summons for federal court and was to report in Statesboro. It felt like a step up from the "regular" jury duty. I couldn't hardly wait. But then it got cancelled before the date arrived.

My most recent summons was for Tattnall County Grand Jury. Cool. Yep, I really was looking forward to it Monday morning, April 16 (even though I had to break the speed limit law and run across the parking lot to squeeze in the door as the last juror to arrive, only five minutes before the judge himself did). And what's even better than getting picked (as one of 23 jurors) was being elected as Clerk! Perhaps it had to do with most everyone already knowing that I worked for the Journal and had been writing stuff for almost 14 years now for the papers.

Although I can't divulge details of the cases we heard (38 in all) I can tell you that criminals are pretty dumb overall and must never watch cop shows themselves. Most of the cases involved drugs and/or theft. If you're reading this and think you may want to be a potential criminal, let me tell you that if you rob someone, the first place the police are going to check is at the area pawn shops. I was blown away by how many people actually steal something THEMSELVES and then go straight to the LOCAL pawn shops to get cash. How strange. I would think that personally I'd go to a pawn shop far away (like the big city where there are dozens and dozens of them). Another thing, if you are thinking of sneaking in drugs to an inmate behind bars, DON'T DO IT. How crazy. Charges just mount up on cases like that. And, I learned, it's the same thing as if you're at the airport (watch your bags, don't carry someone else's, etc.). If somebody asks you to deliver a package to an inmate, a bottle of shampoo, a magazine, or whatever, don't be an idiot. REFUSE! They find the slightest bit of drugs on it and it's YOUR felony charge.

I'm telling you, jury duty is a wonderful educational experience. There were a few things I didn't know going in, that I know now (after two days of it). If you get the chance to do your "civic duty" go for it. I consider it an honor to be asked and/or chosen to serve.