Duty Calls

Yesterday was a first for me. After somehow managing to avoid being summoned for 10+ years, I finally served jury duty. I must admit, I cringed when I initally received the letter informing me of this responsibility a few months ago, and requested deferral of my service the first go-round. As I watched Wednesday, May 5, quickly approaching on my calendar, I felt a little sense of dread. I knew a long, boring day lay ahead of me, and I was not excited about the possibility of being chosen to be on a jury and the extra time commitment that would require. (Does that make me a horrible citizen? Please tell me I'm not the only one who feels like this!)

Thankfully, I have an awesome friend in Amy, who was totally willing to take on Kaiser for the day in addition to her own two boys. What would I do without her? I loaded up my little dude bright 'n early (I'm sure he was wondering what in the world I was doing, barging in on him at 7am before he even started making noise!) and headed over to the Melders' to drop him off. After getting Kaiser started with breakfast and chatting with Am, I finally drug myself to the car to make my way downtown with what I thought was plenty of time. That was an adventure. I'm directionally challenged as it is, but when you throw in a city I still don't really know, one-way streets, lots of morning traffic, and a boatload of pedestrians, I'm in even more trouble. The parking lot I was attempting to locate was on a one-way street (not labeled as such on the map I was sent, of course) and was so not identifiable; however, several turnarounds and a call to the jury office (to make sure the fact that I was late by that point was going to be okay) later, I was parked and run-walking to the courthouse.

Juror #2010016798, reporting for duty.

I was supposed to arrive at 8:30am, but of course didn't sneak into the room until a little before 9am. Sorry, Pittsburgh Judicial System. I promise I tried! I didn't feel too bad, though, because nothing happened until shortly thereafter, when the judge entered to give instructions and explain what the day had in store for us. Other than the prospect of being totally bored, I had no idea what to expect, so the process that we went through was somewhat interesting. I did not realize that the questioning of potential jurors would be done right in the same large room where we all waited, much less that the accused individuals would be present at the tables, as well. I know I should have expected it, because I'd seen that I was doing jury duty for criminal and not civil court, but I was still not prepared to hear charges of robbery, aggravated assault, and first degree homicide read for the three men who would be standing trial. Call me an emotional preggo, but I almost started crying just looking at them and listening to the long list of crimes they had allegedly committed!

My name was not read in the pool for the first case, but was read for the second case, which was the homicide. I was praying so hard that I did not get chosen for that one; I didn't think I could handle it! Fortunately, the attorneys finished up their selections before even having to call me up to talk to me. We waited around for the next pool to be called, but at noon were dismissed for lunch. I found a Subway and then took advantage of the beautiful weather to walk around downtown. (Well, okay, so I might have walked laps around the courthouse. I didn't want to get lost and return late from our break!) After lunch, there was of course more waiting. Thank goodness I'd come prepared for the hours and hours of down time. I had my nose stuck in this great book:

So many of the girls whose blogs I read have raved about this, and several went to see her in Atlanta recently, so I decided I needed to join the club. I just got started, but I already feel like this book was written for me. (Based upon what other ladies have said, something tells me I'm not alone here...) Love me some Beth Moore!

I also was lucky enough to be getting text updates throughout the day about my sweet boy, whom I of course was missing. :) He was having so much fun playing with Miss Amy (who he calls "Ah-mee"), Tavin ("Baby Tav-ee"), and Koen (whose name he still has trouble saying), and I was proud to hear that he was behaving well and went down for his afternoon nap without a fuss at all. Here are some cute pics Amy took of their time together:

Finishing up breakfast after Mommy left.

A little morning playtime in Koen's room after he woke up.

Kaiser spotting one of many passing buses.

Chilling out with a Bob the Builder DVD while Miss Amy feeds Tavin.

The big boys got hungry, too!

Checking up on "Baby Tav-ee".

Anyway, back to the conclusion of my jury service. A little after 2pm, the third pool was named, and I was in it--#32 of 35. One by one, individuals were called up. I thought with as far back in the group as I was, surely I would escape questioning. I kept reading my book, but as I periodically glanced up I realized that they were going through the pool much more quickly than I expected. Six people were called forward, given papers, and asked to leave (turns out they had been selected). By then it was a little bit before 4pm. We had been told our day would end at 4:30; at this rate, I was definitely heading up there within the next few minutes--and they still needed 6 more jurors! I started to get nervous. #31 was called up, then returned to her seat, and I prepared myself to walk up next upon hearing my number. However, I watched as the lawyers, defendant, and woman calling the names talked for a while, then packed up their things and left the room without a word. The lady next to me and I were very confused. Another woman came in a few minutes later and informed us that jury selection for this case would continue tomorrow, and we had completed all our duty (for at least a year...hopefully more!) and were free to leave! Seriously, could I have had a closer call? Should I feel guilty for feeling so relieved?!?

I happily headed downstairs with everyone else to pick up my day's earnings:

$9 for the day + $1.43 mileage reimbursement.

Brett can never say I didn't do my part to bring home the bacon! :)

I got to my car and headed to pick up my babe as soon as possible. Upon arriving at the Melders' a little before 5pm, I found out Kaiser and Koen were both still down (Kaiser was mumbling to himself, but perfectly content). While Amy fed Tavin some rice cereal, we got some time to visit about their day, and I was excited to hear again that it had gone so well. I tell ya, she was ah-mazing to juggle my kidlet along with her own nursing 5-month-old and potty-training 3-year-old. Thanks again, Am, for being there for us! It meant so much knowing that Kaiser was in such capable hands and was having an awesome time with you and your boys!

And thus concludes my first experience with jury service. Not an ideal day, by any means, but I'm glad I fulfilled my duty, and it ended up alright in the end. My feeling won't be hurt, though, if I don't see another summons with my name on it come my way for a long, long time...