My first jury service

Today was an interesting day. I left the house around 7:45am to report to the Dekalb County Courthouse in Decatur. In typical Carrie fashion I got turned around in Decatur and than was late getting to the courthouse. I'm not sure why I always  lose my way in Decatur - it's not a big city. I arrived at the courthouse, took my seat and awaited being called. Of course, I sit down beside a gentleman who decides he wants to take a snooze and snores on top of that. I quickly made my way to the bathroom hoping to find I different seat after that. As soon as I sat down again, I was called to the back of the room for a jury selection. 

Having never serviced before, I didn't know what to expect. I was one of 15 jurors brought into the court room. The questions revolved around car accidents and injuries. I haven't had too many of those and I, thankfully, have never been injured in a car accident. I did notice that one of the lawyers for the plaintiff, who must have been 95 years old, had fallen asleep. I would have been ticked if I were the plaintiff. Out of the 15 juror, six were picked for the trial. Of course, I was one of them. The judge promised we would be let go today so they proceeded with the trial. 

I have to say at this point I was nervous. My opinion was going to decide the fate of something - money in this case. Would I be able to understand everything? Could I not be biased? Lots of questions ran through my head. Once the witness took the stand and we had more of an idea of what the case was about - I was definitely more comfortable. 

The lawyers were nothing like I had seen a million times on "The Practice". One could barely get his thoughts together and the other sounded like a preacher. There were several incidents where I just wanted to turn the channel - oh wait, I'm actually living through this!

All and all, it was a good experience. Everything moved like clockwork. I didn't have to sit anywhere too long and be bored out of my mind. And now I feel good that participated in the process. And the judge had a great sense of humor so that helped as well. I can check this off my list of "I never have.  . . "