A few weeks ago, I received a summons to appear at the New York State Supreme Court in Mineola. I had never received a summons to appear in court before; once, I had to call in, but that was it.
My Thoughts About It
I didn’t want to serve. I know it’s my civic duty, but the thought of determining someone else’s fate scared me, and I didn’t want any part of it. But I had to go.
I arrived at the courthouse at 8:30 a.m. to arrive on time. I parked the car and started walking toward the courthouse. As I was walking, I noticed a woman around the same age as me. She said, “I don’t think it’s fair that senior citizens get called to do jury duty. This is for young people, not for people like us.”
I laughed to myself. Did she think I looked like a “senior citizen?”
Security
We both had to walk through security, one at a time. I told her to go first since I was wearing a knee brace.
The woman passed through, and I was next. I notified the guards that I was wearing a brace, and of course, the alarm went off. The security officer scanned me with a wand and sent me through.
I saw a big sign that said “Jury Duty” pointing to a large auditorium. There were hundreds of people when I got there but plenty of open seating. I sat next to a woman in the back.
Starting to Talk
I started talking with the woman next to me. She was from a town over from mine. A man behind me tapped me on the shoulder and said, “I debated wearing my ‘Make America Great Again’ cap, but then I thought, if I wear it, I will be selected for jury duty.” I laughed.
Soon thereafter, the auditorium started to really fill up. There were few seats left and standing room only. Two women asked if they could sit with us. We said, “Of course!”
They were very chatty and friendly. We talked with them for a bit.
The Movie
Then, the movie started. It told us what to expect from jury duty and emphasized not discriminating against anyone based on race, religion, sexual orientation, etc.
The woman next to me got so angry. She called for a supervisor. “This is a disgrace,” she said. “I need to report this!”
I didn’t really know what she was talking about because I hadn’t paid much attention to the movie.
Random Selection
A man stood in front of the microphone and told the audience that there were 20 cases, which was why there were so many of us. The cases would be selected randomly.
Too Much Talking
It started to get loud in the auditorium. Names were being called for specific cases. It was about 10 a.m., and maybe an eighth of the room cleared out.
Although the women next to me were nice, I wanted to read my book, so I went into the lounge. At first, I sat in an old telephone booth where the telephone was removed. Then, someone got up from a comfy chair, and I snagged it.
At 12:15 p.m.
I looked at my watch. It was 12:15 p.m. Lunch was from 12:30 p.m. to 2 p.m. An announcement came on, and a bunch more names were called. Then I heard my name. “What? It’s 12:15 p.m., and lunch is at 12:30 p.m. I’m first getting called for a case?”
I walked into Room 3. I saw the three women I was talking with earlier; they were called as well. A man walked into the room and started talking about baseball. The next thing I heard was, “Okay, you are able to go. I will call your name and hand you a certificate. You don’t have to come back for six years,” he said.
Winning the Lottery
I felt as though I won the lottery. I wasn’t alone. Everyone who walked out of the room with the paper was excited and felt the same way.
