1 Corinthians 5:9-13 I wrote you in my letter not to associate with immoral people; I did not at all mean with the immoral people of this world, or with the covetous and swindlers, or with idolaters, for then you would have to go out of the world. But actually, I wrote to you not to associate with any so-called brother if he is an immoral person, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or a swindler–not even to eat with such a one.
Probably eight or ten-months into the nose bump journey I got called up for jury duty. The first official letter I received was basically confirming my address and contact information with a little threat that it needed to be returned within 5-days or risk a big fine or going to jail, or both. Well, the only part I really read was about going to jail.
My first thought was jail might be easier. Then I thought I probably would be like Aunt Bee from the classic “Andy Griffith Show.” She was a juror in one episode and she took notes throughout the case. In the end, it was a hung jury as Aunt Bee was convinced he was not guilty because of the evidence. Someone in the audience yelled at her saying the guy was guilty of stealing all these things, ‘a TV, a record player, a toaster, a radio, a camera, …’ Aunt Bee referring to her notes said, ‘no, he didn’t steal a radio.’ She caught the real criminal without really realizing it at the moment.
I didn’t think I would be a very good juror. In my multi-tasking world, I don’t always pay attention to details. Well, it depends on the details, if it’s making sure my plaids match when I’m sewing, I pay attention. If I’m watching the Red Sox take down the evil empire, we get a couple home runs and you ask me the next day, ‘who hit the home runs yesterday?’ I don’t know. My memory bank can’t handle it.
Although orange is the color to promote skin cancer awareness, I didn’t think I would look good in orange stripes day in and day out, so I sent the threatening letter back with the pre-questions answered.
Luke 6:37 “Do not judge, and you will not be judged; and do not condemn, and you will not be condemned; pardon, and you will be pardoned.
Probably like everyone else getting called up, I had a few million excellent reasons why I couldn’t serve on jury duty.
- I needed to sew,
- Mow my lawn; doc said I could mow as long as I didn’t fall and hit my nose,
- To dust,
- I had to pick potatoes and work potato harvest,
- And do my canning,
- Make salsa and mustard pickles,
- Make apple jelly,
- Put up string beans,
- Sew,
- I had to alphabetize my spices,
- Smoke a ham and a slab of bacon,
- Make some yogurt and goat cheese,
- I had to update my resume, press an interview outfit and practice answering ‘tell me about yourself’ questions,
- Put on storm windows,
- Fluff up my Pom-poms for the kids soccer games,
- Sew,
- Bank the house,
- Rake the leaves,
- Dry my sunflower seeds,
- Make pickled beets,
- Make Pumpkin Whoopie Pies,
- Sew,
- Take my ‘where in the world am I’ pictures,
- I have this nose bump situation going on … … … ,
- I have ‘peeps,’
- There’s a Nose Bump Blog to write and publish,
- Sew,
- I needed to write Doc a note, tell him I missed him and update him on the nose bump,
- Clean out the car,
- And finish reading Gone with the Wind – – – I’m on page 17,
- It was hunting season, I had to get a moose … at least a partridge,
- Sew,
- Process the moose, I prefer Spaghetti & Mooseballs,
- I needed to knit a muffler before the snow starts flying,
- And make my bread & butter pickles, and of course, make dill pickles,
- I needed to meet the new doc,
- I had recycling stuff to recycle, and
- Did I mention I’m addicted to sewing,
- I needed to sew.
A couple months passed and another official letter from the court arrived. It was the call for jury selection and and a list of dates in case I was selected for jury duty. The letter had a lot of information, like not to whine and cry about it and try to get an exception. Where to park. And my favorite, what to wear and what not to wear. Nowadays I expect they have a lot of people arriving in slinky outfits, pajamas or offensive tee shirts. I bet Aunt Bee didn’t get a list of what she could and couldn’t wear.
Proverbs 17:15 He who justifies the wicked and he who condemns the righteous, both of them alike are an abomination to the Lord.
Given my past year of the nose bump journey, I decided to treat jury selection and jury duty as an educational adventure. Whenever I went shopping, to events or meeting new people, I would always say something like, ‘had a little basal cell carcinoma surgery.’ The conversation would include details, surgery and even sun safety. I reported for jury selection and noticed the Judge had what looked like the beginning of a nose bump. Naturally I asked him if he had it checked for basal cell carcinoma.
He nearly threw me in jail!! Apparently I’m not supposed to ask questions. I’m just here to save lives. It will probably be a long jury duty.
1 Samuel 16:7 But the Lord said to Samuel, “Don’t judge by his appearance or height, for I have rejected him. The Lord doesn’t make decisions the way you do! People judge by outward appearance, but the Lord looks at a person’s thoughts and intentions.”
Generally speaking I like everyone and get along with everyone I’ve ever worked with or met. I don’t think much about judging them, I just accept them as they are. We do judge though, whether we realize it or not. We think things like, ‘I can’t believe she’s wearing that to work,’ or ‘he should cover up all those tattoos.’ Sometimes we even judge others out loud. Saying something offhand to a co-worker about another, gossiping about a neighbor or stretching the truth to what you think makes a better story to tell, persuading others to think like you do.
My thoughts went back to the doc. He could have judged me and not taken my case because of the nose bump. He may have wondered what is wrong with this woman, she’s too old or she doesn’t have insurance and I’ll never get paid, but he never said anything judgmental to me. He reminded me of me, not judging others; maybe it was being a teacher for all those years, or maybe it was just our professions of serving others, but I was hoping if I was selected, I would be extra sensitive to judging others during the trials. I would try to put myself in the defendants shoes.
Amendment 6 – Right to Speedy Trial, Confrontation of Witnesses
In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defense.
Colossians 4:6 Let your speech always be with grace, as though seasoned with salt, so that you will know how you should respond to each person.
The selection process was all new to me. It was the first time I’d been called for jury selection and I didn’t even know anyone else that had served in my circle of friends and family. I didn’t have anyone to talk to get a little insight as to what to expect.
After fussing over what to wear that would be acceptable, I arrived early to make sure I could park fairly close and not have to walk a mile to the courthouse. We couldn’t bring cell phones, electronic devices or newspapers; I grabbed my soccer snack bag, packed a book and a notebook … just like Aunt Bee, a water and a ‘green’ tea; and followed a steady stream of potential jurors to the courthouse. Already the line was out the door and down the steps.
As I got closer to the door I realized some court people were there, I figured signing us in. A few more steps in and the reason for the long line revealed we had to go through a metal detector. Good thing I left my gun in the car. The guy ahead of me didn’t get through on the first try. I got through but had to go into the other area to pick up my soccer snack bag then upstairs to the courtroom.
Another line. I had to stop on the stairs as the line curved around the landing as we were checked in. There had been a small number ‘52’ next to my name on the paperwork they sent and I decided this would probably be my juror number. It was. We would be referred to by our number for the day.
After signing in; I supposed so if you didn’t show up they would send Barney after you in the squad car and throw you in jail; you went into the courtroom … and tried to find a seat. It looked pretty full and people were already sitting in the jury box. There were extra folding chairs set up so I took one. It was kind of like church at Christmas, the ushers running around to get extra chairs and squeezing more people into the space. A few minutes later one of the bailiffs asked me if I wanted another chair. Not wanting to cause a scene, I said this was fine. He said, ‘come with me, you’ll thank me this afternoon.’
He directed me to the end of the bleacher section, opened a door that was somewhat blocking the space, and revealed a nice cushioned chair. Along with the nice cushy chair, it was right beside the radiator. I preferred the warmth to having the cold drafts from the windows.
Nine o’clock came and went. Court was late starting. I was surprised. I thought the Judge would be on-time. Or that he would come out and tell us he was running late. Forty-minutes later one of the bailiffs informed us it would be a long day and that the Judge and lawyers were working on our cases. I supposed someone accepted a plea bargain, changing the whole schedule.
Looking around the courtroom I saw a lot of people yawning, rubbing eyes and heads down napping. I was exhausted and it wasn’t even 10:00. I wouldn’t be this tired if I’d been working in the potato fields all morning.
During the waiting, I looked around at everyone and was surprised to see one man had his hat on in the building. Today it seems people don’t have as much etiquette as they did years ago. Not five-minutes later one of the bailiffs went over to him and asked him to remove his hat. Without incident, he removed it. Perhaps all we need to get back to basic etiquette in the world, is a bailiff.
It was unusually quiet for a roomful of 150 or more potential jurors. A few people sitting nearby were whispering and a couple near me spoke niceties, ‘hi, how are you?’ etc. Maybe others were having real conversations, but in my section, most were staying to themselves. Even though I brought a book, I didn’t even try to read it, I was too distracted by the newness of it all.
Finally the Judge came in. He welcomed us and thanked us for doing our civic duty. He sounded genuine even though he probably had the spiel memorized from saying it a million times at every jury selection. He told us we would see a film and he would be back.
Proverbs 2:6 “For the Lord gives wisdom! From His mouth come knowledge and understanding.
The film explained the process, how we were selected and what was still to happen. The Judge came back and said he was going to give us a little history lesson. Suddenly I was back in high school in Chubb’s United States History class and learning about the U. S. Constitution. It was a good review, the Judge explained in 15-minutes what took Chubb the whole second quarter to teach us and the Judge didn’t even give us a test!!!
The selection process wasn’t at all like I thought it would be. The next thing we had to do was fill out two forms; one green and the other red; and answer a few questions related to the cases, date and sign with our number. At least one of our cases would be about domestic violence so the questions on the second sheet were related to that topic. They gathered those, like Chubb would have collected a quiz, and the Judge and lawyers went into chambers.
The Judge returned and then the clerk gave directions that she would start calling numbers and we were to stand until the next number was called. It was like the moose lottery, our numbers randomly picked out of a box. After forty-five numbers were called, the Judge asked the forty-five selected several questions, you were to stand if your answer was yes, then he called for ‘counsel’ and the lawyers huddled to the left of his bench. They went down the list and would call up jurors by number that had conflicts from the ‘quiz’ they collected and ask them questions. From the forty-five called, they would pick fourteen.
They seemed to be finalizing the selection; however, it would not be for at least an hour because they were breaking for lunch.
Romans 3:31 Do we then overthrow the law by this faith? By no means! On the contrary, we uphold the law.
The Nose Bump 