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?
