Narrowly escaping my civic duty...

Today I was scheduled for jury duty at the Superior Court in Brooklyn Heights. Like all people called for jury duty, I had a million other things to do and this was an inconveinant time at work. It's always an inconveniant time at work though, so I figured I should go.

Less than two years ago, I've served jury duty in New Jersey, back when my permanent residence was still my parent's house. (In fact I still get informtion about voting in New Jersey sent to their house though I vote in New York. I've toyed with the idea of voting twice thanks to the conveiniance of the smelly old PATH system.) It was the summer of 2003 when I spent the day sitting in an uncomfortable chair in a hot, dark room reading trashy magazines. Not unlike my everyday life, but this place had no Diet Coke, only terrible coffee with sugar. No Equal! Not even Sweet'n Low!

As I've blogged before, it's as if civics is my religion. I find nothing more thrilling than the chance to be a part of the process of government. But even I was dreading the long days of sitting and waiting. And there is always the fear of being sequestered!

So I called to explain how I've been to jury duty in Jersey in 2003, but the lady on the phone told me that it didn't matter a lick to the state of New York. I like here now and I have a committment to the people of this state. So I showed up at 8:45 this morning and sat in an even more uncomfortable chair in a hotter, darker room devoid of any coffee at all. We had to watch a video hosted by Ed Bradley of 60 Minutes and Diane Sawyer of ABC's Primetime. In the movie it was explained to us how in olden times, people used to be bound and gagged and thrown into a river to determine their guilt or innocence, so we should be grateful and all stop complaining about the lack of sugar substitiute.

On the off chance that the ornery woman on the phone was wrong, I explained my New Jersey service. A very polite young woman told me I shouldn't be here. She said the crazy phone lady was either ignorant or lazy, but probably both. I had only to send proof of my service and I was free to go. She told me to pack up and leave, though she didn't give me the complimentary copy of The Daily News.

I feel slightly guilty for not staying to serve, and if I could be guarenteed I would be on a jury for days and not have to sit around and wait, then I may have stayed to enjoy. I'm sure it would be just like Law and Order, right down to the wisecracks and the overbearing attorneys.