Jury Duty

I had to go to jury duty on Tuesday. Here's the play-by-play:

Monday, October 16, 2006
11:00pm I had planned to get my hair cut real short again , even shaved, to look like a hardened criminal, in hopes of not getting selected for a jury, but I went to bed instead.

Tuesday, October 17, 2006
8:30 Check in at the Juror waiting area there are about 100 people in the room.
My address on the summons was wrong
I was put in jury panel #50
8:45 I started studying for the exam that I had at 3:00 pm in Steel Design II that I would miss.
The Guy nest to me is reading "Angels and Demons" by Dan Brown.
9:45 About 300 Jurors in the room by now.
A lady makes some announcements to the Jurors, She had the most robotic voice I have ever heard.
11:00 Finally panel #50 is called to the courtroom
There are 18 panelists on panel #50
11:30 Judge Raymond Funderbunk enters
I was selected as one of the 12 to be questioned
We were all asked several questions like "have you or any of your immediate family ever been involved in a motor vehicle accident?"
"are you married, have children,"
"whats your occupation?" and what seemed like four hundred other questions.
12:45 Judge and attorneys enter into a sidebar conference to determine who will be selected to be on this jury.
1:00 I was selected among 5 others to be on this case.
Trial was to be at 2:00pm sharp in room 1504 in the Daley center.
Lunch recess until 2.
Went to lunch at the Tompson center, had cream of broccolli soup, mmm. it was super hot.
2:15 Start of trial: Enterprize rent-a-car suing Carmen Freda for not paying for wrecking a car that he rented in feb. 2004.
The fact was established that he caused damage to the car, it was the juror's job to determine the amount Mr. Carmen Freda owed, or if he owed anything.
2:55 One of the Jurors was acting sick like she was gonna vomit.
But she was fine we we took a recess to go into the jury room.
3:37 Another Recess as we wait for the Attorney's closing arguments.
We waited there for over an hour, we played scrabble.
4:30 We began to wonder if they were going to send us away to come back the next day, after all, the summons said to be prepared to stay until 4:30.
4:50 We are called back into the room to hear closing arguments
5:05 We go back into the Jury room to decide how much the guy owed.
It was pretty quick, the documents were there.
Carmen Freda signed that he wrecked the car,
there were pictures of the damage along with the appraisal for repairs.
5:20 "We the Jury" Blah blah. He owed the full amount of $5154.84 for damaged done to the car.
6:00 went to take my exam, late, way late. Did pretty well I think tho.


When I share my faith with others I sometimes use a courtroom scene, God as the Judge, the defendant is the person, the verdict is guilty and the fine is hell punishment. Sometimes I would enhance the scene by saying that the judge is the vitim of the crime also.

Well, now that I know that most cases are civil, not criminal, and I see how the American justice system actually works, should I change the scene I use when i witness, or still go off of TV court style? hmmm. This is probably the biggest dilemma I have had since I had to choose what to eat for lunch that fatefull Tuesday at the Thompson Center food court. Please help me solve this problem!!!