• The story so far

  • Day 1: He who answers “yes”…
  • Day 2: Questions and answers
  • Day 3: Illness counts for nothing
  • Day 4: The trial begins
  • Day 5: Simple questions made difficult
  • Day 6: Answers give birth to more questions

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May 16, 2007

When we returned to the courtroom, there were two extra deputies and another attorney. The deputies left the courtroom through the back - the same way we had entered - and returned with an inmate in an orange jumpsuit and shackles.

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May 15, 2007

I came back to jury duty and had completely forgotten where we left off. 5 days off jury duty will do that to you. It also helped that I was trying to forget what I had learned the Wednesday before.

The jurors milled around while we waited to be called into the courtroom. I glanced back at my notes to refresh my memory on where we left off.

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May 9, 2007

We had been instructed to ring a bell to be let into the jury room when we arrived. I walked into the jury room and most of the jurors were there. We nervously made conversation as we waited for the remaining jurors.

The bailiff checked in a few times to see if we had all of the members of the jury. We were missing juror number 1. This seemed all too familiar to us.

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May 8, 2007

I awoke the morning of day 3 feeling like I had been run over by a bus. I had some sort or illness, which I believed to be strep throat. I had a fever, chills, aches, congestion and obviously a sore throat.

“I’ve got to get out of jury service today,” I told my wife. “I need to see the doctor.”

I had a number for the bailiff, so I tried that. No answer, but I left a message saying that I was ill and was going to the doctor and wouldn’t be able to make it today. I then called my doctor and scheduled an appointment at the earliest available time: 10:45 a.m. I was scheduled to be in court at 11:00 a.m., but I would have to miss it.

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May 1, 2007

I arrived at 1:00 p.m. - about half an hour early - for my individual interview. I took the elevator to the eighth floor and rounded the corner to the courtroom. This was completely new territory for me. Maybe I played too many video games growing up, but the wood-covered interior walls of the courthouse reminded me of a level on Wolfenstein 3D that I first played at least 10 years prior.

A few jurors had already arrived and were waiting on the stone benches outside the courtroom.

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April 26, 2007

I showed up on the first day of jury duty knowing one thing. I would never get picked to serve as a juror on a trial. I knew this for two reasons. First, I worked for a media corporation. I don’t completely remember why I think this would be a deterrent for lawyers or judges, but I was sure that it was. Second, I have two family members in law enforcement. I have an uncle that is a retired Phoenix police officer and my brother is currently an officer.

I arrived right at 8:00 a.m. and, after going through security and receiving my juror badge, I settled in at a desk with my laptop. There were some issues at work that I wanted to clear up while I was waiting to be dismissed. I hooked up my iPod and started work.

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