I've been picked again for jury duty. I may end up hearing a trial today, so I cannot talk about the specifics of that trial until it is over, but that will be relatively boring compared to the jury selection process, which is standard and I can comment on, legally anyway.

In Pima County here in Arizona, they ask people to report at 0730, and more to report at 1100. If you are unfortunate enough to have to report at 1100, you have to sit through 'orientation', then they - get this - break for an hour lunch. So, you are there for an hour watching a video which is nothing more than a history lesson, the purpose of which is to make people feel better about being there, then listen to some lady's attempt at comedy as she tells you what you really need to know. Everything they pass can be disseminated in written form, which could be read, even by a slow reader, in less than 15 minutes. This means they waste 2 hours of everyone's time for 15 minutes of real information. The 'orientation' takes less than an hour, barely, but then they send people to lunch right away. That pissed me off.

They called me to go upstairs almost right away after one o'clock. You file upstairs, taking an elevator to another floor because they forbid you to use the stairs, then wait around for at least 20 minutes outside the courtroom, standing room only. After filing into a courtroom, jury selection of an initial 22 people begins.

This was a painful process. They ask everyone questions about whether they know anyone concerned with the trial at hand, then the judge has to ask if anyone has had experiences similar to the charges filed. So for instance, if it were a rape case, they would ask a general question, whether anyone has a family member or close friend involved in a similar incident. I can understand the rationale behind the question, but it turns into a fiasco, a lesson in patience on everyone's part. This is an opportunity to speak on a personal level with the judge. It took fucking HOURS, literally, to pick an initial 22 people out of a pool of 50 or 60. There were three types, besides those that had to bring something up simply to tell the judge it wouldn't affect how they viewed the trial; those that wanted to get out of serving, those that wanted to talk about themselves, and those with a need to be center stage while they subjected everyone to some type of drama.

After this they have everyone answer some standard questions about themselves, which are listed on a poster at the front of the courtroom. Last time I had jury duty this was the painful process, because there were quite a few people that saw this as their opportunity with an audience. It wasn't so bad this time, partially because they weeded those out with the questions before, and partly because everyone was tiring of the ordeal. This was over relatively quickly. Quitting time is 5 PM there, and the judge cut it off after getting the 22 with only minutes to spare.

Today I have to be there by 1045 for something they call striking. If I remember correctly, this is the part the lawyers use to get rid of jurors without explanation. It would be nice to get booted, I would be able to make class still. Either way, I hope it is over today.