When I returned from vacation, I’d received a summons for jury duty. I filled out the form and submitted it, then kind of parked the thought at the back of my mind. Last week, I received an email from the court that I had been selected for a jury pool in the criminal court. There would be a pool of 25 prospective jurors, and four would be chosen to hear the case.
Today was jury selection day. The selection process was held by video conference. I got on a few minutes early to make sure everything was working well. At the appointed time, 8:30, the judge greeted everyone, explained the start of the process, then gave us all our juror number, checking our video and audio feed to make sure she could hear each of us.
The next step was asking people if they were able to serve. One woman was put back in the jury pool because she didn’t have a babysitter. Several people were put back in the jury pool because they were getting over a cold or had cold symptoms. As the people were dismissed, I was starting to feel pretty good about my chances of being a juror.
After the judge spoke with all the potential jurors, she greeted the attorneys and asked after their health. The prosecutor was fine. The defendant’s attorney was fine, too, but someone else in the defendant’s group had a lingering cough. The judge met with counsel in a breakout room, away from the jurors. We kept our video on, our mics muted, and hung out for awhile. When the judge came back, she said that we were all dismissed because it was her job to protect everyone’s health and even though she didn’t think the lingering cough was Covid-related, she wasn’t going to take any chances.
My obligation to serve on a jury is over for two years. If I get another summons, I can decline. I can also sign up, if I choose. For my trouble today, I will get $18.50 from the court. I also got a bit of a different start to my day, and a little story to tell.
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