About a month ago, I was talking to a young guy at work who told me about his adventures at jury duty. He’s barely 30 years old, and this was the second time he’s had to serve. I laughed and said, “I’m more than twice your age, and I’ve never been called for jury duty. Not once. I don’t know why. I’m registered to vote. I’m in the phone book. But I’ve never, ever been called.” (The fact that I used the phrase, “in the phone book,” gives you an idea how old I am. The 30-year-old guy had no idea what that expression even meant.)
My colleague looked at me and said, “Uh oh, Bill, I think you just jinxed yourself. You’re gonna get called now.”
I laughed and said, “Nope, I don’t think so. If they haven’t called me now, they never will.”
My colleague looked at me and said, “Uh oh, Bill, I think you just jinxed yourself. You’re gonna get called now.”
I laughed and said, “Nope, I don’t think so. If they haven’t called me now, they never will.”
So, anyway, guess what I got in the mail the other day? That’s right, it was an “Official Summons for Jury Service.” When I opened it up, I read, “This is a summons, not an invitation. This means you are required to appear in court on the day noted.”
Hmm, if it’s not an invitation, then I guess I shouldn’t ignore it. But on the plus side, if it’s not an invitation, then at least I don’t have to buy a gift for the bride and groom.
I have to report to the Hartford Superior Court at 8:15 on a Monday morning about a month from now. I can already tell you that traffic on I-84, along with trying to find a parking space, are going to be a nightmare on that particular day. (No, I’m not a psychic. I know it’ll be a nightmare on that day because it’s a nightmare EVERY day.)
Right now my schedule is wide open for that date. If I mark it on my calendar now, then it shouldn’t be a problem. And since I’ve never been called for jury duty during all these years, I feel like I’m overdue to contribute my fair share as an upstanding citizen. (OK, fine. I added the word “upstanding” just to see if you were paying attention.)
Hmm, if it’s not an invitation, then I guess I shouldn’t ignore it. But on the plus side, if it’s not an invitation, then at least I don’t have to buy a gift for the bride and groom.
I have to report to the Hartford Superior Court at 8:15 on a Monday morning about a month from now. I can already tell you that traffic on I-84, along with trying to find a parking space, are going to be a nightmare on that particular day. (No, I’m not a psychic. I know it’ll be a nightmare on that day because it’s a nightmare EVERY day.)
Right now my schedule is wide open for that date. If I mark it on my calendar now, then it shouldn’t be a problem. And since I’ve never been called for jury duty during all these years, I feel like I’m overdue to contribute my fair share as an upstanding citizen. (OK, fine. I added the word “upstanding” just to see if you were paying attention.)
However, what if I get assigned to some sensational murder trial and end up being sequestered for many weeks — or many months?! That is going to cause some major problems at work, with the most major of those problems being a lack of paycheck for me.
I checked online and found out the state will pay you $50 per day if you’re a juror for a long, drawn out trial. Well, I suppose that was a decent amount of money — back in, say, 1972. But nowadays 50 bucks per day will barely cover the cell phone and cable TV bills, let alone other sizable monthly expenses, such as the mortgage, car payments, taxes, insurance, Spam-of-the-month-club membership fee, etc.
I also saw online that if you ignore the summons and do not show up for jury duty, you could be fined $150. Wait a minute. If you do the math, just paying the fine is a whole lot better financially than being on a long, drawn out trial.
I checked online and found out the state will pay you $50 per day if you’re a juror for a long, drawn out trial. Well, I suppose that was a decent amount of money — back in, say, 1972. But nowadays 50 bucks per day will barely cover the cell phone and cable TV bills, let alone other sizable monthly expenses, such as the mortgage, car payments, taxes, insurance, Spam-of-the-month-club membership fee, etc.
I also saw online that if you ignore the summons and do not show up for jury duty, you could be fined $150. Wait a minute. If you do the math, just paying the fine is a whole lot better financially than being on a long, drawn out trial.
I’ve decided that I’m not going to take the easy way out. After all, if I don’t show up and just pay the fine, I won’t be able to include the word “upstanding” when I describe my citizenship status. So I will show up and do my civic duty. But if I end up a juror on a long, drawn out trial, someone will have to set up a Go Fund Me campaign for me. After all, that Spam-of-the-month-club membership fee isn’t cheap.
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