The first mail delivery of 2025 brought me a jury summons. A month later, I presented myself at the local courthouse to perform my civic duty.
Courtroom dramas abound in popular culture. From the golden age of mystery to Perry Mason to legal thrillers to the multiple iterations of the Law and Order franchise, audiences have a seemingly endless appetite for trials, juries, and judgments.
My jury duty experience did not
involve tearful confessions, surprise witnesses, or soaring legal oratory. In
fact, it did not involve a courtroom at all. I spent the day in the large jury
waiting room with several hundred other potential jurors, none of whom were
ever called up for an actual trial.
That doesn’t mean nothing
interesting happened. I entertained myself observing my fellow citizens and coming
up with story ideas.
The first order of court business
was allowing people who wanted to get out of jury duty to line up for a chance
to speak with a judge. Most of them were sent straight back to their seats. One
woman with an infant was allowed to leave, as was another woman in a
wheelchair. I don’t know if their particular circumstances were factors in
their successful appeals, but I could envision a story where the mother steps
out of the building and hands the baby back to his real parent, or where the non-ambulatory
woman rolls around the corner and then skips off, leaving her chair and her
obligations behind.
After the judges left, the waiting began. Several people passed the time by indulging in long, one-sided cell phone conversations. Annoying, yes, but one such discussion, about why grandpa gets to spend more time with the grandkids than grandma does, got me thinking about family dynamics and how they might fuel my next crime fiction tale.
Not every social interaction was a monologue; people chatted with their neighbors as well. I don't write romance, but the situation seemed ripe for a rom-com-style meet-cute. Or the hatching of a business deal. Or perhaps someone confiding in a stranger something they would never tell those closest to them. The plot possibilities are endless.
At 3:30, I was dismissed. It felt good to do my part in supporting the constitutional right to a trial by jury. And since I can’t be summoned again for another three years, I have plenty of time to write those stories.
What’s your favorite fictional
courtroom drama? And have you had one of your own?
Perry Mason. I always attribute the trajectory of my career to being a devoted fan of Raymond Burr’s Perry Mason.
ReplyDeleteIn Atlanta, I was a member of a group summoned for voir dire. When the defense attorney saw the assembled group of forty, mostly women, he negotiated a plea deal. Afterwards, the judge assembled us in the courtroom, explained what had happened, and thanked us for our service. The judge added that it would have been a brutal trial for the jury.
ReplyDeleteBefore I started my crime writing career, I was the first juror selected for a criminal trial involving the statutory rape of a 16-year old by her mother's boyfriend. I was sure since I had a 16-year old daughter that I trusted, that I would not be selected. The defense attorney asked if I, or someone I knew, was ever falsely accused of wrong-doing. I told the story of how a civil arbitrator wrongly ruled against my husband with regard to his a suit alleging he violated his employment contract. I relayed how upset I was with the judgment because the arbitrator himself had "violated the letter of the law" in his making his case against my husband." Both sides immediately ruled me acceptable.
ReplyDeleteI received my second jury summons in the mail this week and report March 20. I would tell the same story again, but I have to wonder if being a crime writer will discourage my selection or further encourage my selection.
I've been dismissed as soon as they found out I have worked in a prison. My poor mother, well into her 60's, got summoned for a jury looking into a smuggling case brought by the New York Port Authority. She felt it was her duty as a citizen to serve. She lived out on Long Island--had to get to the train station & catch a train in--so she stayed during the week with my brother & his wife in a tiny Manhattan apartment. After several weeks of testimony it went to the jury. They deliberated for several days. Before they brought a verdict, they were informed that a plea deal had been struck. It's one of the few times I've seen my mother truly furious.
ReplyDeleteI was surprised to learn that NY has no upper age exclusion for jury service.
DeleteI participated as a juror in a murder trial in New Jersey in the 1970s. We were sequestered, which was an interesting experience that I would prefer not to repeat. We found the defendant, Joseph Kallinger, guilty and competent to stand trial. Kallinger's story became the basis for at least one book.
ReplyDeleteBecause I spent so much time as a paralegal and worked with police on some matters, I have been often called but rarely chosen. The first time I actually made it out of the waiting room and to voir dire, I stepped into the courtroom, looked around, and discovered that I not only knew the cops, I had worked on the Judge's election campaign. Her law office was next to the one I worked in. When the judge arrived and was seated, she banged her gavel and said, does anyone in this room recognize anyone associated with this case? Kait, you're excused.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great post! For some strange reason, I almost always get called to teenage cases, then dismissed when they find out I was a high school teacher for many years.
ReplyDeleteI've been called a few times but never got selected for a jury. One of my friends was on a jury for the trial of a man charged with raping and killing his own mother. Sure glad I wasn't selected for that jury. On the day he was executed, she breathed a sigh of relief.
ReplyDeleteIf you say that you can't hear very well, they will dismiss you immediately.