NOTES FROM JURY DUTY
Heh, I said "duty."
Being a properly civic-minded citizen is almost always a good thing, except when you get called to serve jury duty.
While most people might be all “Hey, being on a jury is actually cool!”—and I don’t doubt it would be interesting—I’m the last person anyone wants on a jury.
Aside from my Jersey Girl Mouth most likely helping me get out of jury duty because everyone in Portland is passive-aggressive and I’m just aggressive, I’m also considered a “member of the media,” which makes me an undesirable presence for prosecutors.
But still, I had to come here to the Multnomah County Courthouse today and sit here for hours to not get called, while other people already have been called. But hey, I got to watch the cool orientation video and another video about unconscious bias possibly hindering a person’s ability to be a fair and impartial juror.
Also, every time I hear or see the word “juror,” I think of Jenna.
Anyway, I was at least smart enough to bring my laptop and have already knocked out my daily quota for HillReporter.com, which everyone forgets about. But I’m writing there seven days a week, kids, so maybe add it to your Bookmarks so you can check out my stuff on the daily.
This jury room is nicer than your average waiting room. There’s a large TV monitor silently showing HGTV reruns, which is fine by me. There’s a coffee bar and books available from the Multnomah County Library. We get a whole 90 minutes for lunch, most of which I’m sure will be spent trying to find decent food near the courthouse and then rushing back to sit around and not be called some more.
*RECORD NEEDLE SCRATCH*
Thanks to the magic of the interwebs (and a light trial schedule), I am already home from jury duty because I was sprung just a little past 11 am and I DO NOT HAVE TO GO BACK TOMORROW YAY! And I won’t be called again for at least another two years!
Easiest civic duty EVAR.
And I was going to stick a copy of The Sound of Settling on one of those carts tomorrow, too. Oh well. I GUESS PEOPLE WILL JUST HAVE TO KEEP BUYING IT, please and thank you and omg can I please finally get that book deal?
Also, I now have the time to tell you that I got to very briefly meet Heather Cox Richardson after her talk last night in Portland at the Schnitz. Thanks to my friend Jay, who works at the Oregon Historical Society, we had great seats on the Dress Circle level and invites to the reception afterward at OHS. The line to meet Heather was just about as long as the line to get drinks, so we chose the line to meet Heather.
”Let’s chat,” she said to me after this photo was taken, because we’re Twitter pals and because she’s awesome and also apparently never sleeps.
Finally, the news has crazy been going nuts, but today we learned that Kamala Harris is officially more popular than both Joe Biden (who’s still your President and still kicking ass, Jack) AND Donald Trump (whose brain is a big bowl of cold mashed potatoes these days).
We’re going to win, because we are.
When we lived in Harris County, TX I was summoned for jury duty and served on a jury in a murder trial. As the prosecution was not going to ask for the death penalty, I was not absolved of duty. Two days on and into deliberations (after attending a church service commemorating 9/11 a few years earlier) and there was one woman who just was not convinced so I voted with her so she wouldn't feel pressured and when she voted to convict, I did too.
Now I live in Pennsyltucky and received a summons for jury duty but then was told I was excused because I'm an old fart.
I have to confess that I throw away my jury summons. I know that that is horrible to say. Bless the beasts and the patriots who take the time to do so.
On a less serious note: You look FABULOUS in the pictures especially that first one. Gorgeous dahlink.