A chance to do my civic duty just went down the drain.

A couple of months ago, I was summoned for jury duty.  I had to go downtown with 3,000 other people and sign up for one week of actual duty.  This week was my week, so yesterday I went downtown with 200 other people to sit in the jury pool.  We sat and listened to Clyde Carson, the Jury Commissioner, give a one-and-a-half hour talk about the things we needed to know.  Mr. Carson is a terrific speaker, by the way, and seems to be very personable.

After that, it was time to wait to be called.  Two calls for jurors came in the morning, and I was not in either of those groups.  My chance came after lunch.  (Lunch, by the way, was a delicious bowl of red beans and rice from Elliot's on Second Street.  Heartily recommended.)  I got called up with about fifty or so people to one of the Criminal Courts.  At the end of vior dire, I had not been called up.  Those thirty or so of us who left the courtroom after the jury was seated were told by the sheriff's deputy that we were free to go.  There was no need to report back to the jury room yesterday or this morning.  All the courts had their cases for the week lined up and juries seated.  We were all done for at least ten years.

I must say, part of me is disappointed.  I was all ready to perform my duty and help the justice system for my state, and they tossed me aside without even asking me a question.  Yes, it would have been a hardship to be away from work and my family for the rest of the week (this jury I watched be seated is now sequestered for the trial), but it would have been a good experience.  I'm not going to say I would have enjoyed it, but I think I would have made a good juror and it would have been a good moment of growth for me.

The court will never know what it missed.  Maybe in ten years or so, I'll be given a chance.