My Unforgettable Experience with Jury Duty

Exciting Day!!
I was summoned by the court system in Miami-Dade for jury duty today.
First, I had mixed emotions, and I was told that if the invitation did not come by certified mail then they cannot prove that I got it, so I may not need to go.  But, then, there is the adventurous side of me...the 'proud to be American' side of me, that sees this as a great experience to do something new, and to meet amazing people whom I may not otherwise meet, AND to have the privilege, of doing my civic duty...and so that is what happened!!

 First, after we checked in, we were told to go to a big room, where we sat for awhile.  Don't forget to bring your invitation!! I did, and that set me back just a bit.  But thankfully, I did not need to return home to get it as I feared.  You need the original copy! No duplicates!!  We needed to report in at 8am, so I didn't have much time for coffee or anything first, although they do have a small room where they sold coffee and treats.

Then we sat there, and got a tutorial of what to expect if/and when we are chosen for the trial jury.  6 people will be chose of 13, and if our business doesn't pay us while we are there, we will be paid something like $15 for the first 3 /days working 8-5 with an hour lunch, then $30/ day from there on til the end of the trial.

We were told to get in line in relation to the numbers we were given in the room.  This is also the same way we will sit in the courtroom...so we were told to always remember who is in FRONT of you, and BEHIND you.

This is the nice guy, Fred Daub, who was in front of me.  He said he had been called for something like 5 juries...like he got on some "list" or something!  They call him every year!! This is amazing to me, because this was the first time that I have ever been called, and I know MANY people who never have been!

Once inside the jury box, I was at seat #13.  It was pretty neat looking in there, very official, although I kept asking myself if I would want to come there for a few days of this😲!  I still had, though, the feeling of honor for being able to serve in such an honorable civic capacity.

Then the judge started talking to us. Judge Rodriguez, seemed like a fun funny guy...but he told us that he expected the trial to last 1 week and a half...until next Wednesday!!!  WHAAAATTTT???

I have a possible client's "grand opening" next week that I had been planning to go to (fly out), until just last night, when my sister just had sent me a text to say that she wanted to go instead of me...this really had not been confirmed.  So when they asked if anyone might have a problem attending these dates for the trial, I raised my hand.

But they still wanted to interview us to see if we might be good candidates for the jury.

Then I found out the case is about wrongful damage, mental distress, and bodily injury in an automobile accident.  It didn't immediately hit me why I would not be a good candidate for this trial until I heard other people answer the questions about why THEY would not be.  (the judge told us not to use the word: "probably"...he said either you ARE or your NOT.

Until it occurred to me, I was in a car accident where I lost the use of the right side of my body, and lost my memory for a period of about 2 years taking me to recover.  How many people do you think I sued because of this accident?  NONE.  I had been driving to a cheerleading camp where I worked, and my seatbelt had stopped working...I'm sure if I had wanted, or if I thought to gain from poor circumstances such as this, then I could have...but I did not.  So I told the judge and jury my story, and then when asked if I would rule in favor or not of the lawyer's client getting MENTAL distress damages. When it was my turn to talk, I said that I would tell the client to : "TOUGHEN UP"...it is my belief that no one should need to pay for anyone else difficulty in dealing with situations such as this.  

So, there were a few people who answered the lawyer for the one side of the court case, I guess the plaintiff, who also had very similar opinions with me, and then I was pretty sure that they were not going to choose me, because, I was realizing that I was a very poor choice for the plaintiff, but still we all were sent on lunch break for an hour, and told to come back afterward at 1:15pm.

So then, as we all were standing in front of the courthouse, I noticed some women congregating, and discussing their lunch options...I thought, would I rather go sit by myself and have lunch or take the opportunity to meet these, all very different, and interesting ladies!?  I wanted to get the most out of my court jury experience! 😃 

So, then, I asked the waitress if because we "wanted to live our jury duty experience to the fullest," so please...could you take our picture!?!  I told the ladies that I was "dancing with the devil," because I drank BOTH a bottle of water AND a lil coffee, before going back up to be locked in the court-room...they all  ( I usually like coffee at least once a day, though, and had not yet had my cup for the day!) agreed, as many didn't drink coffee for that very reason!  (coffee is a diuretic)

We had such a nice lunch, shared much about our very different lives, and places where we were in life that I really felt so blessed to encounter these wonderful ladies!!  One of the ladies said that I was "so fun, and could be the ring leader!"  😂

This time, we had to all meet at floor 5, and we waited for quite a while, with no cell phone wifi, so we had a chance to talk!!  First I met the guy on the left, Edgardo Bethancourt, (I know I've heard that last name in Panama before!), who overheard me say that I lived in Panama for 10 years, and then he turned around and said that he was from San Francisco, Panama, but has been in the US for years, and is Panamanian!!

Then I met the guy on the right who is a lawyer, Larry Vieito, and going to work for a new law firm that is very inexpensive to get, and sounded like it follows the price standard of uber, lyft, massage envy, the joint chiropractic etc. with discount rates!  Wow!! This sounded very interesting!!  GOOD TO KNOW!!

I met a few others, but believe it or not, I don't always feel really comfortable asking for a picture...or they don't want me to take one, but all of these gave me permission to use their pic on my blog, as always I get permission.  But I learned long ago, that when you encounter people in your life, it is important to get to know them, and who they are because there is always meaning in the Universe to every social connection.  Whether there is something that I can learn or help them with or that they can teach me...I always like to make every interaction as meaningful as possible.

Finally, we all went back into court, and were told that the jury was being dismissed.  That our service would cover us for 2018 Jury Duty.  (I guess every year, everyone is expected to serve.) Seems we were all just a little too opinionated, and they thought the jury had been tainted by our testimonies, because they didn't even have us listen to the other side's lawyer.  One of the jurors said she felt that this jury was "just too educated!!'

Ha! Well, so whatever the case, we all got our certificates, and kissed each other goodbye after our bonding experience, where we had the opportunity to meet such interesting people, and many of us connected on facebook!

In essence, I would say that I am grateful for the experience that I had to be a part of the judicial system.  They said that if we qualified for reimbursement, then we would need to stay and work the rest of the day until 5pm, however no one chose to do that in order to get paid.  

So this is how I looked, a little tattered, after my day in court and headed back to South Beach, Miami, where most of the new friends that I met live so far away...as one woman said: "we would never have met!"