Jury Duty

Forgot about jury duty
So a few months ago i got summons for jury duty on May 7th but i wanted to postpone it cuz i still had school. i forgot about it for a while and then i thought my just duty date was may 10th so on may 9th i looked for the notice to make a call and saw that i was 2 days late already. then i looked at the notice in the back and it said

"failure to respond may result in criminal contempt of court and is punishable by fine of $1000 of imprisonment not exceeding 30 days, or both."

then i started to panic a lil cuz i didnt want to pay any fines or get locked up for my forgetfulness. i started google-ing to see the consequences because it was a saturday night and i hadda wait till the monday to call.

monday came and i made the call and they asked me to reschedule and i was relieved to find out i didnt have to face any consequences. i chose monday august 10th.

Jury Duty procedure
today i attended the Kings County jury duty located on 360 adams st. i was scheduled for 8:30 so i got there at 8:20. they scanned my bag and i went thru a metal detector. then they took my camera and gave me a recipt so i can get it back later on the day.

once i got there i sat down in an assembly hall with about 300 seats. at about 9:00 the place started to get packed. then soon after a speaker comes out and tell us were gonna watch a couple videos.

I dont know if any one else was laughing but i found the video to be funny in a retarded way. it was like PBS channel 13 typa video from the early 90 featuring Diane Sawyer. it pretty much talked about how jury duty is a democratic way of resolving problems and if you ever were to be in court, you would appreciate a good jury duty staff as well.

so i just sat down on the padded chairs in the air conditioned assembly room waiting for my name to be called. i fell asleep a few times, got up to the vending machines and got some 50 cent doritos and 50 cent cheese doodles. then i ate them one chip at a time to stay busy. then at 11:15 i hear a group of names call and my name was announced. i got up and sat in a small classroom with 20 computer chairs. soon after 2 lawyers and a judge came and introduced themselves. then the judge left and the 2 lawyers talked about their case. the case was about a car accident and to see if the person injured deserved money for his injuries or if he got the injuries prior to the accident

right after they started to interview us individually. they had to choose 8 of the 20 of us. they interviewed the first 8 and at 12:15 we were dismissed for a 10 minute break so they can choose whose qualified. at 12:25 we came back and they choose 3. then we got dismissed for lunch and we had to come back at 2. so that gave me an hour and half lunch brake.

Got back to the assembly hall at 1:15 and just chilled there cuz outside was too hot, like 95 degrees. its prolly one of the hottest days of the summer so far. so i just talked on the phone for a little, checked my emails on the public computers and then went back to the room at 1:50.

there they interview more people and before they got to me they already chose their final 8. they told us to go back to the assembly hall where i had to wait for an announcement. we were either going to be dismissed or called for another case. After 30 minutes of waiting, they annouced they will dismiss most people.

They started to announce names in alphabetical order and we had to go upfront and take our proof of appearance. everyone was so happy. it was like graduation, just hearing all the names before you, anticipating your name to be call so u can get the "diploma" lol
finally they announced my name and i was unsure if that was me cuz they said it completely wrong. i got up to make sure and read the letter and it was me. it said i dont have to serve jury duty for another 8 years!!!!!!!!!

final thoughts
i actually wouldnt have mind being picked for the case cuz it seemed interesting. in the end im glad i didnt so i could just go home and not deal with going back the next day.

overall it wasnt too bad. i got paid $40 for just sitting around, sleeping and listening to my ipod. it was just really boring. i think i could of brought a friend along to the waiting assembly hall to chill with. or i suggest sitting by the left or right wall so that you can lean on it and nap and when people want to get out of their seat you wont be interupted because your not in their way.


laters,
-J.P.