I’d dared to hope that, after 50 years without having ever been summoned for jury duty, I’d make it through life as a jury virgin.
Three weeks ago, I – for lack of a better g-rated phrase – got laid by the Superior Court of Gwinnett County.
To say that I was not pleased by the county’s new interest in me would be a bit of an understatement. Sure, it’s my civic duty. Yes, it’s an honor and a privilege (I’m required to say that). And I even get $30 for participating in this incredibly boring endeavor. But the simple facts are these: I don’t want to do this, I’ve never wanted to do this, I have virtually no trust or respect for any aspect of our legal system, and I’ve done what I thought was necessary to avoid being in the jury pool – namely, giving up my right to vote.
Turns out that Gwinnett County started using DMV records to fill the pool…
To clarify one of the above statements, I should say that I think the idea of American jurisprudence is a fine one, and it might have been great at some point. Unfortunately, it’s turned into just another business, in my opinion.
The police are a revenue arm of the local government, not a force driven to “serve and protect.”
Lawyers have very little interest in “justice” out “finding the truth,” but are deeply concerned about their win/loss record, about how far they can climb politically, and about cashing in.
Judges used to be lawyers – enough said.
Prisons are more private concerns, with a financial stake in staying filled to capacity (or beyond it), cutting costs wherever possible, and using prisoners for what amounts to slave labor – road crews, for example.
In short, I think our legal system is a joke and a shadow of what it was meant to be.
Yet here I am…. Sitting in a big, hot, room, on an unbelievably uncomfortable chair, waiting for my little pod to be called. And I’ve been doing so for the last two hours.
Call me a cynic. Call me a bad American. Call me unpatriotic. Call me all the bad names you can think of.
But please – don’t call me for jury duty again.
