Like most of you, I've had many times since I began Writer's Alley where life has been too crazy to blog, share important information, or just be silly. Seeing how I didn't connect with you last week, I felt I should at least check in and let you know what's going on.
Two weeks ago, I was called to a jury pool for jury duty, which axed my week in half. And then last week I had to fulfill my obligation by serving on, not one, but two separate jury trials. Needless to say between family (which included a snow day) and other life obligations, and the Easter holiday, I didn't accomplish much writing. I thought I'd at least get some reading done, but that didn't happen either. Social media devices are frowned upon while serving jury duty. Makes sense. I get it.
Though I have served on a jury before, this past week was interesting. The folks I served with were all wonderful people. A few times the court officer didn't know if we were jurors or people attending a party conference. We really did get along. Everyone was polite and considerate of others' opinions. No one shied away from speaking up or sharing their thoughts for fear of condemnation or teasing. We definitely saw some evidence with different eyes, but we respected each other.
There is hope for this world.
I hope you have a great week. I'll be catching up on writing. Still working on book II of my middle grade series. Stay tuned next Monday when I'll share a new young adult story by Brynn Chapman, the author of BONESEEKER which I absolutely loved!
So interesting that you had jury duty for 2 trials. Glad you got along with the other jurors. No worries about not blogging last week. Some courts don't even let you take a cellphone in the building unless you work there or are an attorney for security reasons.
Yeah. Our jury pool was up for four trails and my number was chosen for three of them. #WTHeck? I ended up not being chosen for the first one. Thank goodness. That trial lasted a week. :( Our court officer was really cool. He at least let me text my husband to let him know our deliberations would go late into the night. Otherwise, my husband would have called the police thinking something happened to me. LOL I didn't get home from court until 9PM.
It's hard to keep up with reading all the blogs every single week, Sheri, so no need to apologize. Life definitely intervenes. That's such a hopeful story about you and your fellow jurors.
Funny you mention notes. Nope. That's one of the instructions. We were forbidden to take notes and we asked why. I guess the court feels jurors would be distracted from paying full attention if they were taking notes. They'd rather us sit there, try to ingest this mountain of info and testimony, and then - when we forget information - write a note to the judge asking for a read through of certain testimony. Yeah, that happened three times. We questioned something, so they marched us back into the courtroom to have that particular part of the case read back to us. It took forever each time, but I can understand that this part of the procedure safeguards the authenticity of said testimony. Like if a juror was taking notes, what if they wrote something down and misinterpreted what was said. That would cause even more confusion during deliberations.
Honestly, I think our system is brilliant. Not without flaws, but brilliant.
WOW! A lot's been going on in your life. I'm sure you can draw on your experiences for new writing :) Have a great and less hectic week. Thanks for the great post.
What a privilege and a pain to serve on a jury. Life interrupted. But part of the process that when not corrupted--works well! Good luck on book 2. I can't wait to see the cover for book 1. Unless I missed it?
You sound cheerful :) It's great that you were able to experience this in such a positive way! Don't worry about the writing, you're young and have all the time in the world.
So interesting that you had jury duty for 2 trials. Glad you got along with the other jurors. No worries about not blogging last week. Some courts don't even let you take a cellphone in the building unless you work there or are an attorney for security reasons.
ReplyDeleteYeah. Our jury pool was up for four trails and my number was chosen for three of them. #WTHeck? I ended up not being chosen for the first one. Thank goodness. That trial lasted a week. :( Our court officer was really cool. He at least let me text my husband to let him know our deliberations would go late into the night. Otherwise, my husband would have called the police thinking something happened to me. LOL I didn't get home from court until 9PM.
DeleteTwo trials? What are the odds? At least you and the others had a good time.
ReplyDeleteI know, right? I didn't even know they could do that. I thought once I was chosen for one jury they'd let me leave. No go.
DeleteIt's hard to keep up with reading all the blogs every single week, Sheri, so no need to apologize. Life definitely intervenes. That's such a hopeful story about you and your fellow jurors.
ReplyDeleteKnock on wood - I've not been called for jury duty since we lived in Albuquerque.
ReplyDeleteWell knock on wood really hard, because this was my THIRD time being called. I swear I must be on some 'pick her' list. #faceplantsdesk
DeleteI've been called but never served. You took notes, I presume?
ReplyDeleteFunny you mention notes. Nope. That's one of the instructions. We were forbidden to take notes and we asked why. I guess the court feels jurors would be distracted from paying full attention if they were taking notes. They'd rather us sit there, try to ingest this mountain of info and testimony, and then - when we forget information - write a note to the judge asking for a read through of certain testimony. Yeah, that happened three times. We questioned something, so they marched us back into the courtroom to have that particular part of the case read back to us. It took forever each time, but I can understand that this part of the procedure safeguards the authenticity of said testimony. Like if a juror was taking notes, what if they wrote something down and misinterpreted what was said. That would cause even more confusion during deliberations.
DeleteHonestly, I think our system is brilliant. Not without flaws, but brilliant.
WOW! A lot's been going on in your life. I'm sure you can draw on your experiences for new writing :) Have a great and less hectic week. Thanks for the great post.
ReplyDeleteWhat a privilege and a pain to serve on a jury. Life interrupted. But part of the process that when not corrupted--works well! Good luck on book 2. I can't wait to see the cover for book 1. Unless I missed it?
ReplyDeleteYou sound cheerful :) It's great that you were able to experience this in such a positive way! Don't worry about the writing, you're young and have all the time in the world.
ReplyDelete