I
strive to be a positive person and can usually take lemons and make the
sweetest lemonade. In other words, it takes a lot to get my tail feathers
ruffled – but ruffled they now are! I feel compelled to share (and yes
VENT) my frustration about a situation I was in recently and also to advocate
for others in the same situation but even less fortunate than me. This
rant is about the PROCESS of jury selection. I fully realize, recognize,
and respect that jury duty is a great civil duty and responsibility. So
please don’t rush to judge/hate on me. I
am cognizant of the fact that many people in other places in the world don’t
have the freedoms we do - or the opportunity to be a public servant or to serve
on a jury. So… I don’t take this issue lightly – I have served the public
for 30 + years in my career. Serving on a jury is a very important and
necessary right in this country. I suppose I will be thankful in the long
run that I got to experience the “process” – but right now is NOT the long
run. Right now I get to voice my opinion. In the old days, when you
got selected for jury duty it was because you registered to vote in that
particular county. I was recently informed that now the process is
done using driver’s license records. If I had known then what I know now
– I might have never registered to vote OR applied for a driver’s
license. But seriously, I am all about participating in the process.
I am all about being involved in community. But I also think things
should be done using common sense and with fairness. I have been
partially handicapped for 16 years. The what and the where of my accident
and the number of surgeries I have had doesn’t matter – but the fact that I can
no longer function as an able-bodied ‘regular’ person DOES matter. Or, it
should. Last week about 100 people showed up at the session I attended
for jury duty orientation. About 10 of us were on walkers or in wheelchairs
and about another 20 or so wanted to be excused. If one wanted to be
excused (for whatever reason) they had to stay until everyone else was
“processed” and go up individually to speak with the Judge. Ultimately, I
was excused from jury duty because of poor mobility and other health and work related
issues. What my main concern is about - is all those other folks.
Of all the handicapped citizens that showed up I, [undoubtedly] had to be the
youngest and the most able-bodied. (I know, that’s a scary thought, right?)
It honestly took everything in me to get to the location early to get a handicapped
parking space, stand in line to get in the building (which is difficult because
it is hard for me to stand very long), go through the security check points
(and watch in embarrassment as all the bells and whistles go off as they always
do when I go through them, wait on an elevator to go up, wait (again) for the
courtroom to be unlocked, and then F-I-N-A-L-L-Y the doors fly open and it’s a
free-for-all to get to a seat in the courtroom. --- All this may sound
like no big deal to you - but if you could imagine trying to ‘do it’ physically
challenged – you might not be so quick to dismiss it as a genuine
hardship. ---The next thing we learn at orientation is that we were not to
bring cell phones into the building. {Can’t believe I did something right
on the front end by leaving mine in the car – but - One fellow expressed out
loud that particular information should have been included in the
paperwork we received in the mail a week ahead of time! He further said
how he had walked several blocks from where he parked and NOW had to walk BACK
to leave his phone – suffice it to say - he was NOT happy! {And as a
result of many having to return to their vehicles to put their phones away – we
were delayed another 15 minutes getting started.} Finally, we were
instructed about the “process” and eventually told that those requesting to be
excused would have to wait UNTIL THE END OF THE SESSION until EVERYONE ELSE had
been “processed” and had exited the building. Then, we “get to” get in
(yet another) line and approach the judge one at a time to plead our case, so
to speak- pun intended. Bottom line….THERE HAS TO BE A BETTER WAY, FOLKS.
WHY ARE THE DISABLED CONTINUALLY CALLED FOR JURY DUTY? ISN’T THERE SOME
LIST WE CAN BE PUT ON – LIKE A ‘DO NOT CALL’ LIST? It could be flagged
that this person is disabled and therefore will be excused on the FRONT END
instead of the VERY BACK END. Or better yet – why not remove these names
from the data base altogether? OR AT THE VERY LEAST, have a staff person
designated to “vett” potential jurors. It’s
not like most of our physical conditions are going to change. I was
mentally and physically exhausted after sitting in the courtroom 3 ½
hours. I had a death grip on my walker during the waiting time and had to
pry my fingers apart because they were numb, asleep, and sweating
profusely. I could have gone home and to bed but I made it to work.
I work very hard and am not lazy. Some might have gone on disability 16
years ago but I wanted to continue to work and [thankfully] had a job that
allowed me to do that. But I am older and wiser now – I should be able to
retire and draw disability – but that is another story for another blog. Just
thought some of my friends and family who are lawyers and judges might weigh in
with ideas/suggestions/clarifications about the process or advice to share.
