I got jury summons in the mail today. Unfortunately, it's from my old county of residence, not my new one, so I won't be able to serve. I'm probably the only person in America that is disappointed to be excused from jury duty. The last time I was summoned, I was still nursing Charlie full-time and he never took a bottle. I offered to bring the baby and my mom with me, but they excused me from service. I did get a chance to serve when I lived in Pennsylvania and I thought the whole process was fascinating. In NC, you only have to serve for one day and you only have to go in if they will definitely use you for a trial (you call in the night before for confirmation). In PA, you had to go in for a whole week and wait around until you got chosen for a trial, and some people never got chosen at all. I waited most of the week and then on Thurs morning, I was chosen for a trial that lasted less than a day and a half, including deliberations. (We found the defendant "not guilty.") I loved being in a real courtroom and witnessing a real trial (and now I'm a Law & Order junkie!) It was interesting to see how our justice system works. My father-in-law got to serve on a grand jury once and I was jealous, because that just sounds so important. Sometimes I think I should be a lawyer...
Speaking of civic duties, are you registered to vote? Many states close voter registration this week, so make sure your name is on the list. If you're not sure, you can probably check online. In NC, you can look up your registration here. If you're a NC resident and not already registered in NC (or need to update an address change), you can register and vote at any of the "one-stop" voting sites up to three days before the election.
No comments:
Post a Comment