Many are called, few are chosen

I was summoned to serve for jury duty this week.  I went in this morning and was already home by lunch.
This week is pretty busy for us as we try to get school finished and prepare for Justin's graduation next week.So I was worried that my time would be eaten up with serving jury duty for the whole week.  All I can say is: I'm glad to live in Lancaster County, SC.
The jury panel gathered in the courtroom (which is just a big meeting room) around 9 a.m.   It seemed to take a while to get started, but that gave people a chance to converse among themselves.  We were told there would be three trials this week, all traffic-related.  Then the process began for sifting out those who couldn't serve or had excuses.  After the initial weeding, the individual cases were announced and the process continued as the state and the defendants passed or excused jurors.  Each case needed 6 jurors, many of whom were selected to serve for more than one trial.  The process was very interesting to me and I'm glad I was a part of it.
Unfortunately, I was excused as a juror for the third trial.  I was presented as a juror by the state lawyers, but excused by the defendant.  This was because it was a drunk driving case and I had to say that a member of my family had been involved in a car accident with a drunk driver.  Even though it was years ago, and I said that I believed I could still be fair and impartial during the trial, I was excused. 

I just want to share some observations about this experience: 

• SC takes jury duty seriously; the judge reiterated what I read on the SC judicial website about how important it is in free society to exercise our liberties through a fair and impartial court system. Serving as a juror is a major contribution to the preservation of our freedoms.
• Some people do not want to serve as jurors.  Even the retired people were asked to please consider serving, but still 4 of them asked to be excused (you can be excused for being over 65).
• One of the important questions asked is if everyone is a registered voter.  Voting was listed by the judge as number 2 of the 3 ways you can serve your country (#1-defense/military, #3 jury duty).
• There were many people who didn't show up; their names were called during roll call but they were absent.  I don't understand why someone would put himself in contempt by not coming when called.
• The atmosphere at this government building is very different from the atmosphere at the DMV.  People were friendly and talked to each other while waiting.  It was almost like we were on the same team.  In fact, in my row, two women were encouraged to tell the judge why they should be excused by the people they sat beside who knew their situation.  In the courtroom, we were thanked several times for doing our duty as jurors. The judge wanted us to know that it's nothing personal if we are excused from a trial.  At the DMV, every one gets a number, and then it's every man for himself.  You hope you have every form they ask you for and know that you can be rejected at a moment's notice. 

 The small town atmosphere made the experience enjoyable rather than stressful. Some of the jury panel even knew the people involved in the cases and had to be excused.  The lawyers were friendly to each other and to the judge.  It was overall a positive experience to see our justice system at work on the local level.  I'm glad I was a part of the process and I'm glad it's over.