I have been summonsed to serve jury duty in downtown Los Angeles next month. I don’t mind serving but I live very close to a municipal court so it frosts my cookies to have to drive into downtown LA. But I may not have to go at all; these days you call in for 5 days and sometimes don’t have to actually go. If I do have to go, I get to park in the Disney Concert Hall Garage. That’s as close to going to that venue as I ever expect to get.
As you can see by Itzl's concerned look, this group is for us to check in at to let people know we are alive, doing OK, and not affected by such things as heat, blizzards, floods, wild fires, hurricanes, tornadoes, power outages, or other such things that could keep us off DKos. It's also so we can find other Kossacks nearby for in-person checks when other methods of communication fail - a buddy system. Members come here to check in. If you're not here, or anywhere else on DKos, and there are adverse conditions in your area (floods, heatwaves, hurricanes, etc.), we and your buddy are going to check up on you. If you are going to be away from your computer for a day or a week, let us know here. We care! IAN is a great group to join, and a good place to learn to write diaries. Drop one of us a PM to be added to the Itzl Alert Network anytime! We all share the publishing duties, and we welcome everyone who reads IAN to write diaries for the group! Every member is an editor, so anyone can take a turn when they have something to say, photos and music to share, a cause to promote or news!So I may not have to go at all. If I do have to go, I may not get picked for a panel. If I do get picked for a panel, I might get excused. If I don’t get excused, I will serve and be in Los Angeles, near Phillipe’s, home of killer french dip sandwiches, and Olvera St, home of great mexican food, so at least I won’t starve.
I served as an alternate juror on a murder trial at the LA courts in 1983. The trial lasted 3 months. It was very sad. I hope I don’t have to repeat that. Most of my time as a juror though, the trials were pretty short. I wish I could say I have seen justice done, but that rarely is the case. The people I have encountered usually wanted to do the right thing, but the lack of compassion, education, and dedication combined with bias complicate the process. I was deliberating with a jury when one of the members said “I don’t need any evidence, the police arrested him, isn’t that enough?”. And this fine member of society was a teacher in one of our inner city schools.
Have you served? What were your experiences? Will you be happy to be 70 and permanently excused?