![]() | DASH7: @thereisnonesuch ...nice change for a monday morning, especially since it doesnt involve jury duty! we should get a drink soon or somethin' about 27 minutes ago |
![]() | bkjamdown1: Guess everyone is either in class, working, or still sleeping while a brotha is @ jury duty, great lol about 2 hours ago |
![]() | hcperkins: I wonder why I stressed about whether I should wear jeans to jury duty or not. There are some people barely wearing pants here. about 2 hours ago |
![]() | luvsick: If I'm the only young, Black girl here at jury duty, does that make me more or less likely to be picked? about 3 hours ago |
![]() | jennifer6973: @FLOSSYTHEBOSS well for that is to call and make sure I have to either report to jury duty, or not about 14 hours ago |
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Haven't seen one of these yet... |
| By Bobby Tanzilo Managing Editor E-mail author | Author bio More articles by Bobby Tanzilo |
| Published June 22, 2009 at 7:54 p.m. |
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I'm currently serving my third jury duty and so far, like the last two times, I've done nothing more than read a book, shuffle my feet, pace around and try not to die of intense state-sponsored boredom. Isn't there a better way?
I understand the value of peer juries and all that, of course, and I understand why a pool of on-the-spot potential jurors is key, but as I looked around at the dozens and dozens of Milwaukee County residents doing basically nothing -- some actually appeared to simply gaze at their feet for hours on end -- I thought about the wasted manpower.
During the course of the entire day, I believe three -- maybe four -- groups of about 20-30 people were called to courtrooms. But by the time everyone was sent home at the end of the day there were still many, many people who had been sitting idle all day.
Maybe we could pedal while we're sitting there and create some renewable energy. Or assemble some product and get paid a factory wage for the day. That would save the County $19 per person.
Tomorrow I go back for day two. I'm not sure whether I prefer another day like today -- frustrating because I spend much of the time thinking about things that need doing and that I can't do because I'm watching people do crosswords -- or if I hope to get on a jury.
The latter worries me slightly because, as you know, Summerfest starts this week and at OnMilwaukee.com, that's akin to the Christmas rush at the malls. It's one week that's especially difficult to be away from work.
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2 comments about this article. Post a comment / write a review. |
Posted by speakthetruth on June 25, 2009 at 5:12 p.m. (report)
Jury duty should be replaced by machine logic. Most of the people who end up in court are guilty. It isn't rocket science. If you get called for jury duty, they should have to pay you your average day wage based upon the previous year's W2.
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Posted by devidia on June 23, 2009 at 11:59 a.m. (report)
I served jury duty last February and met two cool women while I waited (turns out they were both married though. Damn.) But state sponsored boredom is the best kind...
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