So, it’s the first week of May, and I have jury duty. Yeah! Actually, other than having to make changes in my usual Wednesday, it isn’t that big of deal. Sitting in a quiet room with a hundred plus strangers is a little odd, but otherwise, nothing too exciting.
The “orientation” is an 18 minute video with a local news anchor providing the narration. After spending way too much time studying and analyzing various training techniques, I can’t help but notice them in the video. Although there are no explicit directions as to what you have to do as a jury or juror (there can’t be, by law), the “examples” from former jurors are carefully structured to “suggest” some rules. No less than four people come on the screen to metion how they “were impressed with their fellow jurors” and came to realize that each of them “deserved their respect.” Translation: You are getting sleepy…You should respect the other jurors even if they look like scumbags or seem stupid.
Then, there are the seemingly unrelated yet repeated by each person on the screen topics of “everyone has their say”, “we made sure everyone said something”, and “we went around the table by juror number and everyone said at least one thing about each point,” and my personal favorite: “I think it is important to speak up and at least say something even if you are introverted like I am.” Translation: You are getting sleepy…You will go around the room and make sure everyone says something. You will say something even if you are shy.
I can’t decide whether to mess with the system by pointing out in the juror room that none of those ideas are things we actually have to do, and maybe we would be better off by only listening to the people who feel strongly enough about something to speak up themselves without being called on.
I would post live from here, but I can’t get Internet access despite having connect to a strong signal from wireless network named: “Free Internet Access”. I’m not getting a default gateway and I think that is the problem, so I don’t get name resolution and can’t seem to ping or tracert to anything. I don’t see any signs or handouts regarding access and the people working the window don’t strike me as the kind who’s forte is wireless hotspots. When we get a break I’ll pop down to the cafe. I bet the access is from there and they may have instructions. For now, I’ll type into Blog Desk and mass post when I get access.