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Jury duty redux

July 7, 2014 by Dave Knadler

district court jury box

I’ll sit this one out.

Once again, I was summoned for jury duty. Once again, I was dismissed after spending half a day at court, shivering in the hyperactive AC. I’m beginning to think lawyers mistake my naturally shifty look for a vengeful nature.

Maybe it’s just as well. You only get paid $40 a day. And after the judge explained the facts of the civil case in question, I was already thinking it sounded way too complicated:

A young woman and her pre-teen daughter were going down I-75 in a minivan when some jerk in a pickup forced her off to the shoulder; she over-corrected and the van crossed traffic to collide with the guardrail. The two were unhurt and the pickup driver never bothered to stop. But then a semi came up and rear-ended the van, injuring both the woman and the little girl. She was seeking around $200k for medical bills and whatnot.

The only thing I could think of was the asshole in the pickup — surely the proximate cause of the accident. He was caught and charged. But I don’t suppose this was a guy who could cover the registration on his truck, much less come up with 200 large. So the woman’s attorneys were suing the trucking company instead. I counted all the attorneys in the room, did some division, and figured that in the best-case scenario, the woman and her daughter might walk out of there with the cost of a used minivan.

The judge said the trial might last six days, during which I’d undoubtedly learn much more about the case than I would ever want to know. I was glad when I was among the dozen or so dismissed. But then, walking back to the parking garage, I was a little disappointed too.

All the injustice in the world, and you almost never get a say in sorting it out. I think I could have judged the facts fairly. And driving home, I was surprised to realize that I wanted to. I had stopped thinking about my personal inconvenience, and started thinking about the story.

Lesson learned. I’m still on call for the next three weeks, so maybe another case — another story — will come my way. I still kind of hope it doesn’t, since I’m not really a morning person. But now I also kind of hope it does.

More along these lines:

  • christmas cheeseMom: The woman who has everything
  • An incident in the breakfast area
  • At the sound of the tone …
  • The Liar, the Confessor, and usThe Liar, the Confessor, and us
  • Her majesty’s a pretty nice girl

Filed Under: american life, Me, Other Stuff

About Dave Knadler

Obscure writer. Lazy photographer. Bashful guitarist. Perhaps too fond of wine. Tireless nemesis of New York Times crosswords, Wordle, Semantle and all other puzzles du jour.

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