I recently got called for jury duty.
Like any other civic-minded, patriotic Canadian my first thought was: "How do I get out of this?"
But then, I realized going through this process might be a learning experience.
And it was.
I learned courthouse was a long drive from my home; I learned the steel benches me and other potential jurors had to sit on for two hours are really hard; and I learned there are all sorts of excuses people use to get excused from jury duty.
Anyway, to make a long, boring story a short boring story, all of us potential jurors got released when the accused changed his plea at the last minute.
So that's it, I did my duty and won't get called again for years.
I just hope next time they get more comfortable benches.
I the Witness (I loved Mickey Spillane, the great anti-Communist and crime buster writer)
ReplyDeleteDidn't you get paid something? I was a witness and I got paid for a half day and parking.
However it was a domestic assault case and the wife decided to drop the charges. I thought nowadays (in Quebec) if there was a witness and the police picked up the suspect after a call there would be enough to sentence the guy. Apparently not, unless they thought she wasn't injured enough for it to be worth it. Dropping charges does discourage citizens from going to the trouble, especially if they did so despite fear of retaliation.
... Perhaps, in order to expedite your early release, it would have been a wise strategy to sustain a look of fury, all the while shaking your finger at the accused.
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