Jury Ending

Well, I wound up getting to serve on the jury, and it was a pretty good time.

It was a civil case, and we heard testimony on last Thursday and Friday. During voir dire (the jury selection process) it came out that I knew members of the staff of the defense counsel, and that he knew the partners for whom I work, but for some reason (perhaps because I swore that I could be impartial -- and I was), the Plaintiff's attorney didn't strike me. So, with a low number, I was on.

I won't go into detail, but it was a dry and number-intensive trial. I was taking a lot of notes and treating it like a training session. The most entertaining thing was a witness who was old enough to be quite hard-of-hearing. There was a lot of entertaining shouting in the courtroom.

In the end (or actually the middle), the case reached a resolution mid-day Friday without going to the jury. So, we were all released with the state's thanks befor lunch.

I'd like to take this opportunity to thank the Boone County Jury Commission. They did (and, I presume, consistently do) an excellent job of dealing with people like me who asked a lot of dumb questions and required a little extra hand-holding. I knew I was being annoying, but they never let on that they knew, too.

Jury Duty

This morning I find myself in the Jury Assembly Room in Boone County. I have a low number, and I'm guessing that as an attorney I won't be here long. But, it definitely falls under the category of things I've never done. (Althouh I've helped pick a jury as a litigator and helped pick a Grand Jury as a clerk -- both in Jackson County.)

I have to say the the jury folks have been VERY helpful. I got to pick ny preferred week a couple of months ago, and yesterday I realized I didn't know my jury number (some had to be here this morning; some didn't). I left a message yesterday asking to call back with my number if they could, but I'd be there if I didn't hear. This morning I had a very gracious call informing me of my number and that I needed to be present.

So . . . Analysis so far is nice people, uncomfortable chairs.

Fun

This morning, as I was leaving the Holiday Inn Express (nice, comfy beds with wonderfully firm mattresses), I passed by the indoor pool. The lights weren't on, and there was just the grayest bit of lihght coming in from the new sun. I could just see dark sillhouettes, but it looked and sounded like a family -- 3 or 4 kids of elementary or middle school age and a grown-up or two.

I was very pleased that my first thought was "wow--wouldn't that be cool to be playing in a nearly-dark pool," and it was only my eighth or ninth thought that got to "wow--that's a lawsuit waiting to happen."