legal briefing

This was supposed to be my easter break. I've been *so* looking forward to it, (desperately needing it, for that matter, after the kind of school year I've had so far...not to mention the trauma of Friday night.

Unfortunately, sometime a few months ago I was subpoenaed for jury duty. The police come by and physically hand you a subpoena nowadays around here, supposedly because so many people claim not to get the subpoenas in the mail due to the displacement caused by Katrina, so says the judge. Oh, and there's a 100 dollar contempt of court fine for not showing up too.

Monday, I reported. I've been to jury duty 4 times or so in the past, and it's almost always been a one day affair. Boring, but not too bad. It being on my day off, however, well, that had me a bit peeved.

I sat there from 8 till about 3, watching Regis and Kathy Lee and "The Young and the Restless" (it's the same story line since the last time I served jury duty I think), and reading Entertainment Weeklies from 2006. I had just gone to the bathroom when I heard the ominous sound of my name being called.

We were put under voir dire, and I don't know how, but I must have said the magic words, because they picked me among the first five. None of us ever could figure out what was the common denominator. I guess we will never know.

To cut a long story short, I was pulled for a a criminal trial. Thank God we haven't had to be sequestered.

Yesterday I was there from 8am till 8 pm. I've been there all day, every day since Monday. Of course we have been forbidden to discuss the trial (even amongst ourselves) until deliberation. Not sure when that will be. Today ran long...13 hours long.

Tomorrow the defense has yet more witnesses. I'm not sure how many.

The trial is at once fascinating and unbelievably boring. If nothing else deters you from committing a crime, going to trial ought to. It's punishment enough for me.