Monday
Jan262009
Jury duty in Toronto - Day 1
Monday, January 26, 2009 at 3:09PM 
Yes, I'm still alive.
Things have been busy. I quit Blathering for a while because I was getting stressed out trying to get everything done and suddenly thought,"Wait a sec. No one's paying me to do Blatherings. Or Inkygirl. Or Will Write For Chocolate. I'm doing them because I ENJOY doing them...so why am I killing myself trying to keep them updated if I'm not looking forward to working on them??"
So I opted out of blogging for a while. And you know what? Nothing exploded. No lynch mobs came after me. A good lesson for me.
Meanwhile, however, I was called to jury duty this week. I'm typing this from a carrel in the courthouse on University Avenue in downtown Toronto. Many thanks to my brother-in-law Kaarel for advising me to come early -- there are only a few carrels with power outlets; most people have to sit in the rows of closely packed chairs.
We're in this room every day this week from about 9:30 am through until 4:30 pm (we've been told that some days it might end earlier, some days later). We get an hour for lunch around 1 pm, but have to leave our juror summons form with the clerks anytime we leave, and get our attendance taken again when we return.
Other than lunch break, we're not supposed to leave the room with the exception of the occasional 5-10 minutes. There are about 150-200 people in the room, and we've been assigned to one of four groups. It's nearly 3 pm, and only one group has called to court so far. Once your group has been called, there's another wait while the lawyers go through the jury selection process.
Whether or not we're chosen, we have to come back each day this week -- possibly longer if we're chosen for a trial that lasts past Friday. I've been told that because I've booked a plane flight this Friday, I can get excused from that day, but I can't petition until the day before.
It's nearly 3 pm, and only the first group has been called; I'm in the fourth. Because I have a carrel with a power outlet, plus Internet access (which I have to pay for), it's not as bad as I feared. My main challenge is the utter lack of physical activity. I'm used to being able to walk around when I want to, but not only is there not enough room to do so (there are people waiting on chairs from wall to wall), I'm also worried about leaving my computer too long or (if I take my stuff) losing my carrel/power outlet.
I'm also finding it hard to focus on serious work because of all the people on cellphones and in conversation around me. I know, I know -- I've been so spoiled by my home office life! Anyway, I don't want to wear headphones in case I miss my group or name being called, or another announcement.
I'd be curious to hear from any of you who have been on jury duty, and how you found the experience; feel free to point me to a blog post URL.
Today's Blatherphotos, by the way, were taken when my friends Dave Clement, Sue & Tom, and Walter K. came over to visit. Dave is in town working on a new Dandelion Wine recording with Tom; it was so great seeing him again!
Picture above: Going to Hugh's Room for the Gordon Lightfoot Tribute concert with Dave, Tom, Sue, Allison, Jane, Phil, and Dave's friend Rick.
I'm WAY behind in posting pics, so I'll be catching up this week!
tagged Toronto
Toronto
Reader Comments (6)
Have fun! I've been on the list twice and cancelled twice. Dave was called and ended up on a crazy aggravated assault case involving a sword. He found the wait in advance of being asssigned a case WILDLY boring, but the trial itself fairly interesting. They were threatened with seclusion over Easter weekend and managed to pull out a verdict in time.
He says to get out your problem with flights at the first opportunity. At his experience some woman decided she had issues AFTER the jury was sworn-in. This resulted in a mis-trial. She'd had several opportunities to opt out, so the judge gave her a lengthy dressing down. In public. Since he was allowing people off generously for trips, exams, child-care, he was seriously upset.
Happy New Year!
My only experience with Jury Duty so far was over 10 years ago in Australia. I simply had to call a phone number each evening and listen to a recording. The recording would say whether or not I needed to come into the court the next day. If they didn't need me I could go to work. Thankfully, I never had to physically attend and after a week of nightly phone calls my duty had been done! Very civilised!
In New Zealand Jill was called up and was picked for an assault case. The jury couldn't make a decision and she was eventually sequestered overnight. They still couldn't get a unanimous decision and it was eventually called a hung jury.
That's an outrageously ponderous system. Usually I admire The Canadian Way -- but that, yikes.
When I was on jury duty in Alaska, you phoned in each day to see if you needed to report. I never had to report. This lasted for only a week or so.
When I was on jury duty in NM, just recently, you had to report on a particular day for jury selection for a given month's worth of trials. Mine were all re-scheduled or settled out of court, so I had only that selection day and one earlier orientation day to be there. If they hadn't been all rescheduled or pled out, I would have known at the beginning of the month which days I had to show up for sure -- with the possibility of an individual trial extending until completed. (And, as for atmosphere, "there" was also crowded, uncomfortable, frustrating. However I met someone very active in SCA and was very interested in all she had to say, so I enjoyed the day very much.
"I’m also worried about leaving my computer too long"... You don't have a cable lock for your laptop, and it isn't password-protected?
John: No, I don't have a cable lock for my laptop. I -should- get one. Yes, it's password protected, but someone could still walk off with it.
Leslie & Shane: Phoning in each day to see if you needed to report sounds like a much more civilized system. I envy you.
Judith: The sword case sounds interesting! I've been told that I can't officially tell them about not being able to attend on Friday because of my flight until Thursday (tomorrow), or if I've been picked to be questioned re: a particular case.
I'm surprised, actually, because t/o is such a progressive city. First time I was on jury duty, that was the way it was. Now, you call in each evening to see if your number is called, and at the end of the week you've met your obligation for however long it is. But, you're doing your civic duty, and that's a good thing.