Once inside the jurors’ lounge some of us prefer to seclude ourselves from the other strangers – as best we can – by taking a seat against the wall. I rush to grab a seat close to the rear of the room, near the corner, where there is a wall to the left of me and another directly behind my chair. The room begins to fill up quickly with about 300 other prospective jurors – or if you prefer – civic duty draftees. Then the real fun begins.
I glance around the room to see if I recognize anyone I know. I don’t. A few people are chatting on their cell phones and some of them are talking loudly enough to be heard by people sitting across the aisle. Someone coughs, another person sneezes and snorts, making me wonder how many pneumonic germs I am inhaling and whether the chill from the air conditioner will kill their germs before they reach my nostrils.
After allowing adequate time for the stragglers to arrive, the court clerk comes into the room at 9 a.m. and gives the standard spiel informing us about the service we are about to render. “You are here blah, blah, blah.” I zone out during her brief monologue, because I have heard it all before. Then, before exiting the room she turns on the overhead TV screens so that we can view a 15 minute jurors’ instructional video that, among other things, asks jurors not to talk on their cell phones while in the lounge.
As recently as two years ago, which was the last time I was called to serve, the instructional video was followed by a movie. I clearly remember the film was The Secret Life of Bees. Even though I had seen the film in the theater, it was worth watching again. So, instead of “doing my time” reading, I prepared to enjoy the movie. That enjoyment was soon curtailed by a know-it-all sitting behind me and telling the person unfortunate enough to be seated beside her everything that was about to happen in each scene. I found myself wondering is there anyone else besides me wishing that mouth almighty would shut her face?
I read somewhere that you do not need any special skills, knowledge, or education to be a juror. Judging by some of the people you see and hear in the lounge, there is no question about that. [To be continued in Part IV.]