I wrote about jury duty a bit over six months ago. At the time, I had a previous commitment, so I delayed my patriotic duty for six months. I figured I'd have to serve the next time. And I was fully prepared to serve with dignity, unlike the last time I had jury duty in Milwaukee.
Back then, I saw jury duty as a hassle that seemed like a slap in the face, since I'd recently lost my public servant (teaching) job and been ignored by my union. I basically told the judge I was not sure I would have wanted someone like me judging me. Also that I was a satire writer and I was pretty cynical. I still am, but I also think I am an honest person. And I'd rather have twelve honest, intelligent people on my jury than a bunch of people who will believe anything. Not that I've been accused of anything.
So I was all set to head downtown to sit on a jury and see what it was all about. I was in group 18, and I could only hope that meant I'd get a good case. When I checked the court website on Saturday before the Monday service, however, I was informed that only groups 1-13 had to report. I checked again on Sunday, and still no dice.
I was kind of surprised. It seems like there's enough crime to go around, so what was the deal with getting cut from jury duty? Fine, this isn't a how-to about getting out of jury duty in Jax. If you're feeling particularly anti-everyone, just let the judge know, and that will probably work. But if you're a well-adjusted American, my advice is to NOT try to get out of jury duty.
