jury duty

when i registered to vote, i knew the summons was biding its time till it weaseled its way into my mailbox and then... it showed up. after spending 20+ minutes on a merry-go-round of an automated phone call trying to reach a real person, i finally, somehow chose the correct number option and set a date to show up to court (didn't go for the call-in option... big mistake).

i had visions of sitting, waiting (on a surprisingly comfortable plush fake leather work chair) with my laptop till 3pm and a terrible stomachache that showed up out of nowhere. instead, i got called to a courtroom before 9:30am and waited there for another 30 minutes. outside, i met a man who worked for the irvine company, right across the street from fashion island, whose son goes to UCI and whose coworker has stock in the company i work for and routinely stops by to see how they're doing... small world. or not. we got called in. my number was chosen to sit in the box.

and in the box, i sat for hours before and after the break, despite the judge questioning my criminology background, what my emphasis was, how many criminal law classes i had taken, how familiar i was with the penal code, and how fair i thought i would be as a juror, etc etc. after the first, second, third, fourth round of dismissals, i got REALLY worried that i would have to miss more work and have to sit on a trial. then, finally, during what i'm guessing was the last round of preemptory challenges, the defense decided he wanted to let me go.

i was so relieved when i left the courtroom that i almost felt guilty. in the elevator, i ran into another woman who had been in the same courtroom and asked me which side i was dismissed by. when i said, "defense," she said, "i knew they would..." with a mischievous look, "...you know too much."

really?