Civic duty

Well, well, well, what do you know? Here I am at the Washington County courthouse getting the honorable opportunity to serve my civic duty as a juror. I have to admit when I received my summons I tried to defer it, but it was denied. I've deferred it every other time I've been asked to serve. So it was my turn and I was feeling a little bit of stress over it as I didn't know how long it would take and I have dental conference in Vegas in less than a week. Also, my office is currently short staffed, so missing work right now, would be not good. Fortunately, I was called to serve on a Friday.

Why is this fortunate? Two reasons. #1 - My office is closed on Fridays, so no extra stress on me, my boss or my co-workers. Yeah!!! #2 - I learned from the jury coordinator, the lovely Christine, that Fridays are almost always a 1 day hearing. Yippee!!!

An informative video explaining the details of what will happen when you are asked to serve for jury duty was provided. The video was very effective in educating me and changing my attitude towards the experience. As a result, I was a little bit bummed out that I was not selected for the 1st case being tried, but maybe I will be selected for the second case. So, I wait,.... Perfect opportunity to work on my blog!!!!

Well, it turns out that my civic duty was served by driving out to Hillsboro and sitting in the possible juror room for a few hours, drinking some free coffee and then going home. It wasn't bad at all. Christine said more than once, and I'm paraphrasing of course, We appreciate you saying, "Yes" when you were asked to serve jury duty today, we know it can be an inconvenience, but this amazing system of justice would not work if we as officials didn't have a group of willing people such as yourselves to select jurors from, so even if you are not picked, you have served a very important part of the process. We hope this inconvenience can turn into a positive experience for you.

Christine's hope was my reality. I am pleased to report that I will no longer dread jury duty. Well,...at least not until next time,...

Gimme a break! I'm only human.