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Photograph ©2016 by Brian Cohen.
Brian Cohen·
Safety and Security
··9 Comments·2 min read

Why I Went Through Security But Not Flying Today

Going through a security checkpoint is never my idea of a way to have fun; but I was required to do so today and may need to do so for the remainder of the week. The reason is because…

Why I Went Through Security But Not Flying Today

…I have been selected to report for jury duty and am sitting in a crowded room right now; and as I am sitting here waiting in the courthouse, a few thoughts came to my mind.

In the past, almost every time I received a summons for jury duty, it occurred when I was already in the process of moving out of the state prior to service. The lone exception was last time, when I was called to report on the first day, sat around all day, and went home. I was not needed for the rest of the week. It was arguably the easiest $25.00 I ever earned. I realize that breaks down to approximately $3.50 per hour of sitting around and waiting; but I am attempting to be positive here.

The chief judge addressed the room filled with potential jurors earlier this morning and talked about how citizens of the United States have more rights and freedoms than in any other country in the world. I immediately thought about how you would reply to that statement. I look forward to reading the comments in the Comments section below.

Why are movies and television programs which involve jury trials so popular and yet no one ever seems to want to serve on a jury? I overheard at least six people talk about how they would rather be at home sleeping or somewhere else.

Although I understand the obvious reasons why a courthouse needs a security checkpoint, I thought about the many other places where security checkpoints are currently used where they had not been needed in the past and thought about how sad that was for a variety of reasons.

I just found out that a major trial has pleaded out; so fewer jurors will be needed.

Summary

I have traveled to every state in the United States and to every continent in the world except for Antarctica; but I have never actually served on a jury in my life. Perhaps this time will be the first time; and if I am selected from the pool of potential jurors, perhaps it will be an interesting experience for me…

…and arguably more interesting than wading through all of the articles pertaining to Amazon Prime sales which have been posted today.

See also

For me, serving on a jury is just what I need to get my mind off of some things which have recently been going on in my life but am powerless to do anything about them.

More importantly, it is a way to serve my community.

If you have ever served as a juror, I am interested in reading about your experience. Please post it in the Comments section below.

Photograph ©2016 by Brian Cohen.

Related

9 Comments

  1. citizens of the United States have more rights and freedoms than in any other country in the world. I immediately thought about how you would reply to that statement
    ———————————
    First of all, has there ever been a side-by-side accounting of how many “rights and freedoms” each country offers? Pretty subjective statement there.

    Second, we do have many rights and freedoms, and yet we have the highest raw number of citizens behind bars and the highest percentage of our population behind bars in the entire world. What does this say about human nature and its ability to handle rights and freedoms?

    Prison rates in the US are the world’s highest, at 724 people per 100,000. Moreover, with 2,121,600 people behind bars, and China a very distant second, we can all be proud that the rights and freedoms that we US citizens enjoy are indeed exercised properly and respectfully…NOT!

    Perhaps we have too many rights and freedoms. Is that possible? Or is it just happenstance that the country that leads the league in rights in freedoms also takes top billing in terms of removing its citizens from the enjoying those rights and freedoms – and at enormous cost to those enjoying their rights and freedoms – but alas…a topic for a different day.

    BS

    Reply

  2. The court room security is slightly different than TSA. For example, my TSA-compliant corkscrew is not allowed in the courtroom, even as a juror.

    Reply

  3. Have served on a jury in a manslaughter case for a week which prevented me going out of state for a famly reunion. Very interesting experience to see the dynamics involved in a jury decision.. The most liberal of our jurors was the hardest on the defendant while the most conservative was the lightest. Because the defendant middle-aged and previously convicted of a felony, our jury functionally put him away for life with a sixty year sentence. The defendant was a former marine, apparently once well regarded for playing some role in black operations in the Vietnam War, but he wound up a severe diabetic and a severe alcoholic who hit the victim with his car and drug the victim under his car for several miles while at the front of a police pursuit. The police finally caught him when he turned into his home driveway. The evidence, especially the bloody clothing of the victim was something the jury had to see in lieu of the victim’s (parts) photos which were far too gory to examine in the jury room. The defendant was so intoxicated as to have had no idea at the time as to what he had done (he apparently though his car was driving funny because he had run over a tire on the road). After the trial we were debriefed by the judge and the attorneys and even the defense attorney agreed with our verdict. Absent taking the defendant off the street for good he was likely to be dead within a short time as severe diabetes and severe alcoholism are a deadly match. In the process of killing the victim, the defendant orphaned the victim’s young daughter.

    Reply

  4. One problem is that jury pay is almost zero. If you have your own business, you cannot afford to be on a jury. Perhaps there should be professional jurors that are eligible for 2-3 years after retirement, i.e. age 65-68? For criminal trials, maybe settlement (plea bargain)?

    Reply

  5. I was once a star witness two and half years after I filed the break-in charge against a guy, who was a repeat offender with a long rap sheet. I looked at the jury make-up and had a nagging feeling that my case would not prevail. I lost the case. I will never be a part of jury again. When I receive the jury duty notice, I will report but will display a high prejudice just to be excused. They must require all potential jurors to pass a competence test before being selected, especially when a person’s life is on the line. The majority of native born locals with whom I have contact have major writing problems, especially in spelling. If they cannot spell commonly used words, they have no qualifications to decide any case because they will not comprehend the complexity of a case. Take the OJ Simpson’s case. Oh wait, Trump is the only US President who consistently fails a spelling test in 90% of his tweets. For instance, Prince Charles is the Prince of Whale.

    Reply

    1. Oh wait, Trump is the only US President who consistently fails a spelling test in 90% of his tweets.
      ———————
      What a disjointed mess of a post. From jury duty to bashing Native Americans to OJ Simpson and then of course to Trump. Wow. Talk about an inability to understand complexity. Stick to one topic, please. And what’s with “take the OJ Simpson’s case” sentence. Why do you say “Simpson’s” and not “Simpson”? Or you should drop the article “the” and say Take OJ Simpson’s case. See, when you make fun of someone else’s grammar, sentence structure, diction, etc., you become a target yourself. Touche.

      As an aside, the illiterate or incompetent or unqualified Tweeter in Chief is certainly worth just a bit more than you are in terms of his net worth…so really, what is your point? Do you have one or are you in between bong hits waiting for the next unemployment check to show up in your account? Oh wait, the economy is on fire thanks to the guy who can’t spell. So even if you’re working at the local DQ slinging burgers at least you’re working…unlike those jury folks for whom you seem to have so much disdain.

      Wow, now you’ve got me rambling. Maybe I need a bong hit.

      BS

      Reply

  6. I’d love to serve on a jury! I got called twice, once for local and once for Federal. Both times I wasn’t selected. I was very upset!

    Reply

  7. I was elected the jury fore[person] more than a decade ago in the 18th Circuit Court of Michigan, the highest court in the state. I won’t share the details of the case, only to say that the defense lawyer came in to ask why we found for the plaintiff. I explained our finding to him and he went away with his tail between his legs.

    Reply

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