I’ve been on jury duty this month. I will freely admit I was dreading it, as most of us do.
Years ago, I served on a jury for a two-week trial that was awful, heart-wrenching and due to one juror’s personal issues, the guilty party was found not-guilty. I felt sick for days afterward and to this day, still wonder about what happened to the victims of his crime.
Because of that experience, I would rather do just about anything than serve on another trial. So it was with a decided lack of enthusiasm I reported for my first day of jury duty.
I sat in a room overcrowded with people feeling much the same way – they had other things they needed to do, places to be, people to see. But for one day, just one day, we were being asked to set all that aside and do our civic duty.
Watching a 20-minute film while we waited to be called to the courtroom, by the time it was finished, I think most of us were in a different frame of mind than when we arrived. Whoever put it together, did a great job of not only relaying important information, but relaying it in a way that made you feel inspired and excited to be a part of the jury selection process.
Called in again yesterday, I was again taken aback by what a good film they present that makes you want to serve on the jury, to take this service seriously and do a great job.
One of the attorneys said something that really resonated with me. She said, “Can you come out here today and be the kind of juror you’d want sitting here if it was your spouse, your sibling, your child? That’s the kind of juror we need you to be.”
Wow!
While it is easy to brush off this duty, to discount it as something that sucks up time we would rather spend somewhere else, look at it as an opportunity to do good and be of service to your fellow-man.
She Who Appreciates This Opportunity
