Jury Duty

On Monday I had Jury Duty. Let me just say that if you are pregnant (especially 3rd trimester), it is probably wise to get a doctor’s note to get out of it. I received the jury summons in early December when I was still seeing my doctor every two weeks. Since the jury notice had to be sent back within 10 days, I would have had to make a special trip to my doctor’s office for a note. I also assumed that I would be on bed rest by the end of January, and therefore would be able to get a doctor’s note then. Luckily I am not on bed rest. But instead of asking for a doctor’s note anyway, I just let my doctor know I had jury duty. After all, the last time I had jury duty I just sat in the jury assembly room all day and read my book - I wasn’t even called for jury selection. My doctor was supportive, and told me that if I was put on a jury, I could reschedule my Tuesday appointment.

Sunday night I didn’t sleep well. If you recall, my left hip starting hurting the previous night. I was afraid to sleep on it since it was still sore, so Sunday night I slept on my right side the entire night. Luckily my left hip didn’t flare up as well. But I’m not used to sleeping in one position all night, and I don’t like sleeping on my right side as much. We also had to get up an hour early to make sure I could get to the courthouse on time.

At the courthouse, a lady who went by the nickname of “Bug” welcomed us and started to give an orientation. Before she was through with orientation and could start passing out colored cards, bailiffs were already showing up for jurors. That didn’t bode well. Most of the time a judge asked for 18 jurors at a time. Bug passed out colored cards to potential jurors. The color indicated which courtroom you would go to, and each card had a number that became your identity in the courtroom. A specific color and number were assigned to a juror by name.  The last color to be assigned was orange. It was for a criminal case, and instead of 18 potential jurors, the judge wanted 100! I had still not been given a card, and I certainly didn’t want an orange card! Card 95 went to the lady beside me. “Oh hell!” she said, loud enough for a lot of people to hear her, including Bug. We all laughed, including Bug. A little while later the lady “repented” by signing up to donate her jury payment to the Generous Jurors program. Whew! No orange card for me either.

Sometime between 10:00 and 10:30, I ate a snack. Just after I had finished, Bug came back into the room and announced that the Yellow panel needed more jurors. Instead of 18, the judge wanted 60 for a criminal case. I ended up with number 35. I quickly went to the restroom, ate some tums, and drank a little bit of water. Although we could take our belongings with us, we were not allowed to eat or drink in the courtroom. For some reason, the judge wasn’t actually ready for us. We stood in line in the jury assembly room for 10 minutes before heading out, and then waited in the hall for several minutes too.

When we finally got settled into the courtroom, the judge explained that she was going to ask some questions, and if we had to respond in the affirmative, to stand up. I was terrified. I don’t remember what the first question was. The second question was something about whether we had a disability that would influence our ability to come to a conclusion in the case. I knew I should have stood up, but being pregnant isn’t a disability. And since I had no idea how long this case was going to be, I didn’t really know if being pregnant would be an issue.  Eventually 2 women stood up. One was elderly and had been helped to the courtroom with a wheel chair. The judge asked if her disability would prevent her from making a decision on the case. I don’t remember the exact wording that the judge used, but that’s what I got out of it. The second woman said she had trouble standing. The judge asked the same question. By the time I figured out that the question was supposed to be two parts, and that I could explain my pregnancy and still say it wouldn’t affect my ability to make a decision, the judge was declaring that she saw no other responses.  Oops. 

I hoped that the judge would ask something about hardship if the trial went on for some time, but instead the judge summarized the case and began asking questions based on the case details. I watched as my fellow jurors all came up with some reason why they might be biased or objected to being on the case. I was terrified. Finally the judge said the trial was expected to take 2 days. I looked at the clock. It was already after noon, we hadn’t taken a lunch break yet, and the jury selection wasn’t completed. I had no idea whether 2 days meant finishing on Tuesday or Wednesday, or whether the case could get delayed. The judge asked if there was any reason we could not come to a conclusion within the time period of the trial. One woman stood up. The judge decided that this question would be answered at the bench. So as I watched the woman go up to the bench, I decided this might be my last chance to say something about being pregnant. I hated to waste the court’s time, but I decide if the trial was to go past Wednesday, I would be so worried about missing my doctor’s appointment that I wouldn’t be able to concentrate on the case, and it would be a lot of added stress that could be dangerous for me. I stood up and approached the bailiff. He looked at me like I had a third eye, but I certainly wasn’t the only person to delay standing up for a question. “I have something that I think I should share with the judge.” “Okay. Juror Number?” “42. No! Um, sorry, 35.” Yeah, I was so nervous that I told him the wrong number. 

Luckily when I got to the bench, the judge smiled. When she wasn’t smiling, that woman could turn you to stone. But her smile was very warm and encouraging. I explained that I was 34 weeks pregnant, high risk, and I was supposed to see my doctor twice a week for monitoring. I told her that I could reschedule my Tuesday appointment, but if the trial went longer… I’m not even sure how I ended that sentence. Heck, I don’t know what I said. I probably sounded like an idiot. The prosecuting lawyer asked for clarification, that if I was high risk did that mean I’m on bed rest. “No, not yet.” The judge thanked me and I went back to my seat.

Throughout all of the questioning, I was getting hungry, thirsty, and Samantha started kicking. Finally at 12:40, they seemed to start the selection. Certain numbers were called a few at a time, and those jurors would stand at the railing. As a juror was identified by number, the lawyers would either ask for the person to be seated or find an exception. I think the prosecuting lawyer seated everyone, but of course the defending lawyers found exceptions with several jurors. Those that were not seated were allowed to return to the jury assembly room immediately. I noticed that some of the jurors that had had issues like being morally offended by the case were not asked to the railing, and had to remain in their seats. Around juror number 20-something, the judge asked the lawyers if the jury they had just seated was acceptable. Although the defending lawyers had just agreed to seat all of them, they suddenly had exceptions. At least 5 jurors who had already been seated in the jury box were excused. I was in the next group called up to the railing. The prosecuting lawyer asked for me to be seated. The two defending lawyers looked at me, and then had some discussion between them. It was probably only a few seconds, but it seemed to last forever. And I’m pretty sure it was the longest that I had seen them discuss a juror before deciding. Of course they found an exception with me. After all, they were defending a man accused of raping a 14 year old girl. What lawyer would want a pregnant lady on the jury of that case?

I was so relieved, just because it was nearly 1:00 and I was hungry and dehydrated. When I got back to the assembly room, I was told that I could go home. Crap. That means I wasn’t going to eat lunch for another 45 minutes! As I walked to my car I drank some water and orange juice, and ate a cheese stick. Once settled in my car, I gobbled down my yogurt. That at least tied me over until I got home and could heat up the rest of my lunch. 

So I’ve decided that courtrooms are not good places for a pregnant woman to be. Besides not being able to eat and drink on a regular schedule, I can’t imagine what would have happened if I was put on the jury and had to go to the bathroom during the trial!