Jury service
 

I've been picked to be part of my county's grand jury for the next six months. That means starting yesterday, for one day a week until the end of June I'm going to be at the courthouse for most of the business day helping to decide if there is enough evidence to send felony cases to trial. It was interesting seeing how the process works. Mostly drug cases and burglaries. At least on our first day almost all of them met the standard to push them to the next step. But I did feel good about how we were able to end the legal nightmare for someone who was clearly falsely accused.

wow, that's a huge time commitment. I could never do that with my job, I don't think. My employer would not allow that.

By law they're supposed to allow it. But when I was summoned the judge did give people the opportunity to explain their situation in cases where serving would create too much of a problem. For example, one guy was the owner and basically the only full time employee of his business. The judge excused him because it would have really hurt his business to be away from it one day every week. Another example would be someone who travels for work, etc. In my case I knew my job is flexible enough to figure out a way to deal with it, and we have. This jury includes a guy who owns a real estate business, a doctor, as well as a pretty diverse group of white and blue collar professions, and a couple of older retired people.

well it sounds like it will be interesting, and I'm glad good people of sound judgment such as yourself are stepping up.

It would be interesting, but the time required means only those with flexible schedules or who don't need to work can afford to serve.

It's been an interesting experience. Every week there are 3-4 cases on average that don't rise to the level of probable cause that we end up throwing out. I like the way Texas does this. Most states don't use a grand jury or only use it pretty sparingly. Seeing firsthand how it works makes me feel like it does what it's supposed to.