jury duty.

I am currently a student and am unable to serve.

The past three times I have been called for selection, I have been able to check the student exemption box. Three years later, I am now out of school and have been called yet again. No one ever expects to be chosen.

This past Monday, I showed up at the McKinney Courthouse, and the process began. What a long process it was. It was long and tedious, and the jury of six did not get selected until 1:30 pm. The selection process was interesting. As the lawyers pointed out, the six of us did not get chosen, but rather the others were eliminated. The case involved domestic disbutes and violence. They elimated those with any history of violence. They also elimated the school teachers and counselors who may have a biased opinion about children and guardians. I was one of the six, which they thought could make an unbiased decision.

Though the actual trial was frustrating at times, because the judge would just send the jury to the jury room without reason and tell us it may take any where from 10 to 30 minutes before he called us back, it was extremely interesting. I witnessed a poor little 8 year old take the stand. Lawyers got frustrated, with their witnesses and with each other throughout the trial. Witnesses could not control their emotions and cried while taking the stand.

The most interesting part was the deliberation. After two solid days of trial, the fate of the defendant was in the jurors' hands. There were two charges: assault and violation of a protective order. We, the jurors, found the defendant guilty of assault and not guilty of violation of the protective order. It is amazing how the court of law expects a group of completely different people, let it be 6 or 12, to agree unanimously on such an important decision.

I have done my duty as a citizen.