This month's PepperMill

Tim’s Courtin’ Lady Liberty

I received a notification for jury duty a few weeks ago. Just about every time I mentioned it in social conversation or even with business contacts, the responses were “too bad,” or “want to know what my brother-in-law’s cousin said to do?”

If you Google “jury duty,” you get 2.27 million results. An amazing amount of those listings have to do with how to avoid jury duty. What the heck is wrong with us? There was no lack of audience for Law & Order over 20 seasons, 5 spin-offs and countless reruns, so we must be intrigued with the judicial process.

We have the greatest (not perfect mind you) country in the world, and trial by jury is one of the privileges we enjoy as set forth in the Sixth Amendment—you know, part of that thing we call The Bill of Rights?

Is a couple of days every few years that much to ask? Are we so incredibly self-centered that we don’t spend a minute thinking about the trial participants’ rights and their futures that lie in our hands? Each day, as I sat in the jury room waiting for “the call,” I was getting very frustrated at all of the folks who were bellyaching. I truly wonder if it was mindless reflex (everybody else complains, shouldn’t I?) or were these potential jurors possibly afraid of the responsibility?

Is it about the time away from a job that just yesterday they were complaining about? What else was so important that they couldn’t serve? We had weeks to plan. Was it the idle time spent waiting? Each of us often wishes we had some free time to read a book or catch up on some paperwork. Here you are, afforded that opportunity, and you gripe?

At 3:15p.m. on the second day I made it to the courtroom selection process. I was pumped that I might get to experience this process firsthand. Civil or criminal? One day or two weeks? Exciting or boring?

The legal teams had been picking jurors for a day and a half, which usually means it’s a pretty important case. The judge said that they had already picked 12 jurors, but they needed two alternate jurors for the case. Disappointing, but who knows, maybe one would drop out. But first we needed to be “interviewed” by the judge and attorneys.

One of the questions asked by the judge was, “If you were sitting in that chair (pointing to the defendant), would you want you on the jury?” That was one of the best questions I’ve ever heard and put it all in perspective!

Some day we could all be sitting in that chair, rightly or wrongly accused of a crime. Or, perhaps wronged by a company with deep pockets. We’ll need a jury of our peers to provide an objective observation of the situation. If every one of us doesn’t answer the call, we won’t have a true cross section of our peers to sit on the jury.

In this case, I was not chosen for the jury because of a previous experience with the subject matter. And though I really wanted to participate in a trial from start to finish as a juror, it was only fair to the defendant that I not be on the jury because of my history.

So, I look forward to the next call and maybe I’ll catch a case then. And when your call comes, if you have been dreading it in the past, I hope you’ll approach it with a sense of duty, and honor, to serve. For almost 250 years, so many people have died protecting our freedoms and way of life. A couple of days of inconvenience to sustain that quality of life is nothing in comparison. Don’t you agree?

Court dismissed!

Tim Padgett
tim@peppergroup.com

The Sixth Amendment
In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district where in the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defence.

“	Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.” —Benjamin Franklin
“	Liberty means responsibility. That is why most men dread it." —George Bernard Shaw
“	If you want to be free, there is but one way; it is to guarantee an equally full measure of liberty to all your neighbors. There is no other.” —Carl Schurz