Today I got my questions answered.

So today I reported for Jury Duty. I had a lot of questions; fortunately most of them got answered. When I arrived at the courthouse I was greeted by a metal detector and of course the alarm went off. The old guy with the wand scanned my shoes and I was good to go. Looking around, I was obviously late, as noone else seemed to be in a hurry to get anywhere. So I got the letter out of my pocketbook that said to report to the court officer upstairs.

Once upstairs, I was directed into the Jurors Assmembly Room, where over a hundred potential jurors were sitting, standing, leaning, reading, and yawning. I looked around and spotted a chair between two people, and had a seat. Shortly we were ushered into the courtroom where the Clerk o fthe Court spoke to us, followed by the Judge. For 90 minutes we were given a lesson on the county court system. Let me say, it is better than it used to be, I guess, but it is still pretty archaic.

The Judge who spoke to us does not believe in cell phones or the Internet. So much for those of us with a short attention span. I started to get antsy after about an hour, and I don't really remember much that was said after that. The judge explained the difference between the courts, the cases, and what our responsibilities would be. He also said we could not take notes. "It's not rocket science, people. Most cases are only 2-3 days long. You just need to pay attention." Great.

So we were finally given the Jurors' Oath and ushered back into the Assembly room where the Clerk of the Court asked anyone that had questions to remain behind. That's me! I had a question! I wasn't going to ask, but since they made it so easy, I decided to stay. We were asked to get into a line, and one at a time we had to walk up to the Clerk and ask our question or state our problem.

When it was my turn, I approached the Clerk and asked if it would be possible for me to attend a conference I am supposed to be presenting at next week. Not a problem! If I am selected, all I need to do is let them know I cannot be there that day. Question answered.

Lots of my questions and concerns were answered today and I learned a lot. But the day is not yet over.....