What jury duty has taught me......so far

From the first letter I received, I knew that this jury duty stint would be different. Normally (for regular jury duty) you receive a letter with a date and a number you have to call. If you are lucky your group is excused and you don't even have to go down to the courthouse.

This all started with the "warning" letter I received back in December. It said I was selected as a prospective juror and that I would receive additional information if I was selected to report. Six months after I sent in the requested contact information, I received my summons. I was given a date and time to report at the courthouse. I even received a reminder call a couple of days before. Talk about different than the norm.

The last time I had jury duty I made it into the court room but I was only one of the prospective jurors sitting in the audience, I was never was called to sit in the jury box.

You know things are not going well when your name is one of the first called to enter the court room for jury duty selection. I was juror #17 and was immediately given a seat in the box. I knew there was no way that I would get out of that box. I tried, but I got nervous and I am sure I did not sound as convincing as I could.

Orientation started right after jury selection. Yes, I said orientation. I have been in orientation for the last 2 weeks. We were given a 2 week course on AZ law. If you ever have trouble sleeping, may I recommend reading the AZ statutes.

So what has jury duty taught me so far? It has taught me that lawyers don't like to share, well at least when it comes to restrooms. We have been meeting in a board room on the first floor. Every floor has a restroom except for the first floor. Closest restroom that us lowly jurors are allowed to use...16 floors up.

The view from the 16th floor