observing my civic duty

[kenjari]

I am on standby for jury duty on Wednesday - I find out tomorrow afternoon whether or not I have to go. I've come to the conclusion that, at least for me, jury duty is a little like a certain yearly diagnostic test. I recognize its importance and necessity to maintaining health (in this case civic rather than physical). And I absolutely would not want the option/duty to undergo it to be taken away. So I'm perfectly willing to do it. But I can't help disliking the experience itself.

Comments

[hai-kah-uhk.livejournal.com]

That's a very good way to put it. I feel the same way, now that you've spelled it out so well.

[tkstargazer.livejournal.com]

What do you dislike about jury duty?

Granted, it's a bit more responsibility than I USUALLY like in my life, but the process desperately needs jurors who are bright, attentive, and rational. I hate to think that 'typical' jurors are the ones who weren't bright enough to get out of the process.

[kenjari.livejournal.com]

There's a lot of boredom interspersed with minor aggravations. Being on a trial is fine, it's all the parts before and after. Plus, for some reason, Other Kenjari and I tend to to get called to places that we've never been and that are not exactly the best places to be traveling around when you're unfamiliar with the area. For instance, to get to the court I've been called to, I will have to take a bus to what is widely acknowledged to be one of the most dangerous T stations in the city.
That having been said, I have to emphasize that while I don't like jury duty, I'm perfectly willing to do it because I realize its importance. I've never tried to get out of it. Except for the time I was summoned to jury duty in Middletown over a year after I'd moved to Boston (they sent the summons directly to my Boston address).