Jury Duty Day 1

I took the #44 bus to the Sutphin Blvd courthouse in Jamaica and arrived 8:30 AM. They try to make the situation as comfortable as possible for those coming to do their civic duty. There was wi-fi access in the building and many prospective jurors brought laptops. There were a few computers in the back of the room for jurors to surf the web. I couldn't resist going there, but those computers were old and almost useless. There were TV monitors as they showed Ferris Bueller's Day Off in the morning and The Hunt for Red October in the afternoon. I brought plenty of reading material to amuse myself while waiting.

My name was called about 3 PM for a civil case where the lawyers choose the jurors without a judge. A few people were excused because they claimed they could not understand English well enough to sit on a jury. Queens prides itself on its diversity as there are immigrants from all over the world living here. However, these people are citizens and know enough English to obtain employment here. One woman who was not that old claimed she was hard of hearing and was excused. If she had a hearing problem she should get a hearing. After she was excused, my name was chosen. The three lawyers asked me several questions and were ready to make their decision, but a court clerk came in at 4:30 saying that they must close the building.

Since tomorrow is the eve of Yom Kippur we do not have to come in. I will have to wait until Monday to decide if I am selected for this case.