Freedom

You can't see me right now, but I'm doing a little happy dance.

I was dismissed from jury duty today, just before another sixty people were added to the jury pool so the selection process could continue. I can't say that I'll miss it....there were too many annoyances along the way. The hurry-up-and-wait attitude around the courthouse was quite frustrating; we often sat for hours in a stark hallway with not enough benches, waiting (with no feedback or accurate time estimates) to be let in to the courtroom after breaks and procedural matters. I certainly won't miss the logistical nightmare that was jury selection....we went through the first 60 people in two and a half days, and the jury was still not finalized when I left. Most of all, I'm relieved that I get to go back to work and meet the commitments on my calendar for next week.

While I think I would have been a good juror, I was pleasantly surprised at the caliber of people that were my peers in the jury pool, and I am confident that they will decide the case in an appropriate fashion. It was also going to be an emotional case, as the alleged victims were young children. While I think I could have dealt with it at an emotional level, no one wants to hear about crimes (even unproven ones) committed against a child.

I'm not sure what the rest of the week will hold for me, but for now I'm just happy with what I heard this morning:
"The defense would like to thank and dismiss Juror Number 10."