I got called for jury duty (heh, I said doodie) this week. This means
checking a website to see when to report, if you're going to need to.
Yesterday I didn't have to go but today I did. I dreaded it on so many
levels:

-having to pawn off my work, possibly, for a week or more

-having to interact with a very broad sampling of the General Public for
a week or more

-having to figure out childcare on one or more Fridays

-the thought of having to send Val to preschool for another day per week
when in a lot of ways, she's just not settling in too well

But none of those things are compelling enough to get me out of my civic
duty. So I braced myself, ready for whatever may come.

The thing I didn't think to check until today was my company's policy on
jury duty. Turns out I'd only get paid for the first 2 weeks of a
trial, then I'd need to take PTO, after that, if the trial's still
going, I'd have to take a leave of absence. Unpaid.

So today, I sit in a very hot room with my fellow prospective jurors
listening to a voice over a loudspeaker tell us where to park and where
the restrooms were, after we'd parked and all walked past the
restrooms. Eventually the voice told us all to head upstairs to a
courtroom. We'd been assigned to a courtroom. Woo.

At this point, I'm ready. Bring it on. I'll see what the courtroom
adventure brings.

A clerk calls everyone's name. During this process, no less than three
people answered to names that were not their own (um, don't you know
your own name??). Finally the judge comes in and informs us that even
though we're in a civil courthouse, we're being considered for a
criminal case.

On a trial that's expected to take about two months.

Two months! Who has that kind of time? And more importantly for me, I
knew I'd only be paid for about 2 weeks of that 2 months. That seemed
like it would qualify for hardship but I wasn't sure if the judge would
agree. Though surely the man must have a mortgage too?

The people not asking for hardship exclusions were given a survey to
complete, then they were to return on Thursday with those surveys. The
rest of us were booted into the hallway and called back in 1 by 1 to
plead our cases.

I watched about half of my fellow excemption requesters come out with
surveys in their hands, meaning their requests were denied. I started
trying to figure out how we'd get by if I didn't get a paycheck for 6
weeks but finally it was my turn.

I stepped up to that microphone like a pro, waited for the judge to
address me, then answered the questions. It took about 30 seconds for
the judge to ask the other folks in the room if they had any objections
to my being excused.

They didn't. I was free to go. Woo hoo!

I wouldn't have minded serving but I would have minded blowing our
savings to cover 6 weeks with no pay. Maybe next time I'll get to grace
those vinyl chairs for a trial.