I was recently summoned for jury duty in criminal court out in Riverhead. When I first started calling I assumed they wouldn't get to my number like Charlie and Jason, but then I actually looked at my number and realized how low the numbers really were and what a good chance I had in being called!
And I was !!
Low and behold I was chosen to sit on the jury, the indictment was DWI and aggravated opperation of a motor vehicle without a license, basically, he knew he was driving with a revoke license because he handed the police officer a NYS non-driver I.D. after two weeks of testimony we convicted, when the trial was over we learned from the Assistant District Attorney that this was his fifth offense and only the second one where he did NOT cause an injury.
Boy were we relieved we took that menace off the streets and personally, I slept very well that night.
Jury duty is an honor and a privilege. It's an opportunity to have your voice heard. It's not a nuisance, it's a terrific responsibility to your fellow Americans and providing to them their Constitutional right, a jury of their peers.
If you get a questionaire fill it out and return it, if you're luck enough to be summoned...CALL, if they call your number, GO, there are many opportunities to be excused if the case is not a comfortabe one for you. You never know, you may be pleasently surprised, you may actually want to see how the wheels of justice turn from the inside!
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