Doing My Civic Duty

I can't believe it, but I'm actually sitting in the downtown Los Angeles Courthouse waiting to find out if I'm going to be assigned to a trial or not.

Yes, I've been called for jury duty.

Every night this week, I've called the 800 number on my jury summons to see if I needed to report for jury duty. And every night, the automated voice said that I hadn't been called for the following day.

Last night, I forgot to call. I woke up at 6:30 this morning and remembered that I should probably call. I figured I'd hear that voice telling me that I was free to go about my regularly scheduled business.

No such luck. The voice said I needed to report at 7:30 a.m.

So now I'm in a room that sure as heck looks a lot different from those rooms on Law and Order. There's wood paneling but there are some really bright fluorescent lights overhead. I just finished juror orientation. During orientation, I learned that LA has the largest court system in the world, with over 6,000 trials. Over 5 million people intersect with the court system out here each year. Wow. I had no idea.

The guy giving the orientation, Jose, had jokes for days. He told us about how we got a raise for jury pay. It used to be $5 and now it's $15. He told us about jurors that will answer their cell phones while they're in the jury box. He told us we can't talk to the media, but he said, "If, after your service, you want to speak to the media, write a book, make a movie, that's up to you. But don't talk to the media now." Oh yes, I definitely live in LA.

I was hoping to be excused right away but Jose said we'll be here till 4 or 5 this afternoon. Thank goodness for wireless. Now I just need to find a plug for when my laptop battery dies.

We'll see if I get assigned to a case. It's a good hair day so maybe some lawyer will pick me.