Reflecting on our civic duties
There I was, sitting on an uncomfortable plastic chair, staring at a blank wall at 9 a.m. on a Wednesday morning while an administrator droned on. It was not my idea of fun. I don't think it was anyone's idea of fun. In fact, it felt more like elementary school detention, because it looked like elementary school detention. We were spaced far apart, we couldn't talk, we had to stay in our seats, we had a dress code, we were advised to bring our own work and we didn't know exactly how long we were supposed to be there.
President John F. Kennedy once said, “Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country.” So, it's interesting what's considered voluntary, and what's considered obligatory. For instance, an immigrant, in order to become a citizen, must pass a test on the U.S. government, but if you're born here, you can be as ignorant as you want to be, and yet still receive the same privileges. Wouldn't it be interesting if everyone who voted had to pass a test on how the government functions first? Ironically, jury duty isn't voluntary, it's obligatory, which is how I found myself sitting in a room on an uncomfortable chair on a Wednesday morning.
Those people are all offered exceptions. But aren't those the people we actually want on juries?
I've been summoned for jury duty before, but two words have always resulted in me being excused. One is “bartender,” and the other is “journalist.” I don't know exactly why the court system doesn't want either on a jury, and neither is an excused category, but I've never even made it past the first round.
Our group was informed that we had to stay in that blank room until the judge in a courtroom downstairs decided whether we were needed. We were also informed that we wouldn't be getting the $15-a-day stipend for jurors unless we were actually selected for the jury. The same went for the 30-cents-a-mile mileage allowance (one way). It was different if we were a government employee however, then we would receive our full salary.
That last part caught me off guard. And not just me.
“Full salary?” someone asked. “Why is that?”
The administrator paused and then said, without a trace of irony: “Because government employees shouldn't be penalized for doing their civic duty.”
I guess the rest of us didn't matter.
It's almost as if the rules for serving on a jury are designed to omit certain people. What if a person has a job that doesn't have paid time off? Or someone has a child/parent who needs special care? Or you're someone who lives in an extremely expensive area to rent and simply cannot afford to take an unpaid midweek day off