On Jury Duty

So, after being a registered voter for 20 years, I finally got summoned for Jury Duty. Down here in GA, you serve for an entire week. That is, you are oncall for the entire week. You call in each evening to see if you have to report.

So, I did have to report on Tuesday. How disappointing it was to sit there for over 4 hours only to have the Judge come and thank us for our patience, but, we must have been a "tough looking jury" because all 5 of the criminal cases on the docket that morning pleaded out. :-(

I so wanted to see the entire process and be a part of the jury. Maybe next time. But, the real reason for this blog, well, I was quite irritated. Now, I know that some people don't get paid for Jury Duty, but here in GA, it is a statute that your employer pay you. So, why were so many people bitching and moaning about it?!

Have a standard of trial by jury is one of the things that makes this country so great. I find it ironic that so many people will sit back and complain about the horrible things that happen, but then not want to do their civic duty when called upon. Many countries would kill for the opportunity to have a jury system such as ours.

It is a sad reflection of our society that we now hold athletes and stars on higher accords than our doctors and teachers, and that we can't inconvience our lives a little bit for the greater good of our judicial system. What if you were erroneously charged for something? Would you not want the most professional, educated people on your jury instead of unemployed people just there to collect the 30$ a day paycheck?