Jury Duty

So about two weeks ago I got a jury duty summons. This is only the second jury duty notice I have ever received. The first one I got was right after I'd moved out of the county and I had to call up and explain that I didn't actually live there anymore.

But that was over 10 years ago. Some people get called every year and some people don't. So far, I've been in that "don't" category.

See, the thing is, I WANT to do jury duty. Yeah, that's right, I would LOVE to sit on a jury.

I read 12 Angry Men when I was 16. It remains one of my favorite plays. I really prefer to listen to it as a radio play, but it's also a pretty kickass movie. You should definitely check it out.

So I have spent the last 23 years thinking that sitting on a jury would be pretty cool.

The only problem is, I do nails. I'm self-employed. There's no one to cover for me while I'm out. And sure, jury duty is inconvenient for lots of people, and most businesses don't pay their employees while they serve — but I don't even have the option of drawing on vacation pay. If I get picked, I don't get paid. I mean, other than their generous $15 a day, which isn't going to go far.

Sure, the BF would kick in and make sure the electricity stayed on at the house and that I didn't go hungry while I was out of work, but who's going to pay my booth rent? Who's going to cover my health insurance? My business insurance? My car payment?

Scheduling time off in the salon biz takes a virtual act of God. In the 18 years that I have been doing nails, I have scheduled two weeks off in a row ONCE. It was back in 2005 and I had nine month's notice to make it happen!

I've long since figured out how to clear the schedule for a few days at a time without panicking, and I like to think my clients would be sympathetic if I were called to serve on a jury, but I still live in fear of ending up on the next O.J. Simpson jury.

Really, a couple of days? I'll make that happen. A couple of weeks? Sorry, Your Honor, I can't do it.

I hear all kinds of stories from people about going to jury duty. The law is set up to allow me to NOT face financial ruin at the hands of my "civic duty" but there are a few judges out there who don't give a crap. Which, btw, is really crummy for the defendant. You don't want a juror who's so distracted by the fact that being tasked with deciding your fate is costing her two-weeks’ pay and possibly her entire business that she's not paying attention to the evidence being presented at your trial.

Seriously, all I can imagine is how sick to my stomach I would be if I found myself serving on a jury in a trial that lasted more than a week. I guess that's what alternates are for though, cuz I'd end up in the hospital with an anxiety-induced heart attack for sure!

So anyway, I showed up as instructed and made my way to the courtroom with the rest of my group, where the judge explained the case to us and started asking people why they thought they needed to be excused.

He let some go, he made some stay. Then he simply picked 19 people and told the rest of us thanks for our time and have a nice day.

That's it. I handed in my badge and found myself at a loss for what I was going to do with the rest of my day. I went to the bank and then got some lunch and came home to my dogs. Who were happy to see me until they decided I wasn't sharing my lunch with them and then they just went back to sleep.

I'm bummed. I was totally willing to clear my schedule for the two to three days the trial was estimated to last.