The informative video played for our benefit yesterday morning stated a fact I can hardly forget: 95 percent of the world's jury trials occur in the United States. Or, put another way, nearly every other nation on earth employs an alternative system. One nation that still has jury trial system is Australia, a nation founded as a penal colony. We're in good company.
I received my notice a few weeks back mandating my involuntary servitude to the court. They promised a summons and jail time for failing to appear; interestingly enough, had I been indicted for shirking my civic responsibility, or for that matter, indicted for any crime at all, I would have been excused. Good, I wouldn't want to punish criminals with jury duty either.
The court does make every effort to accommodate jurors, compensating us for our time with a whopping $5 per diem. Or put another way, about two minutes of my time had I been charging by the hour. This I suppose was much less offensive than the lawyers sitting next to me. One of those fellows was excused from a trial (but not from service) because he knew the judge and went to law school with one of the attorneys. He had every expectation of being excused from every trial he was called to serve owing to his connections with the court. My guess is that the $5 per diem charge would normally pay for between 15 and 30 seconds of his time. Luckily, our crafty legislators created a loophole for our nation's court systems when creating the Fair Labor Standards Act, or more commonly known as minimum wage laws.
To serve on a jury, prospective jurors must enter the court buildings where upon entry, they are screened for weapons, photography equipment, and other prohibited items. Or more to the point, they are subjected to mandatory, unwarranted searches. Such a search is far different than a search to enter say Yankee stadium or an airport terminal. When entering Yankee stadium or an airport terminal, a person voluntary consents to a search; that is to say a person is voluntarily entering Yankee stadium or an airport terminal and thus consenting to the search. However, as a juror, the search is mandatory; to serve your compulsory service as a juror, you must submit to a search.
Before reporting for service, jurors are instructed to call into the court system for last minute instructions, such as the time to report for duty. On the recorded message, jurors are reminded they should wear "clothing appropriate for a court appearance." Further instructions prohibit clothing with writing or other messages. In other words, the court is abridging jurors' free speech rights.
During the instructional video played at the beginning of service-- a very patriotic production with lots of American flags and symbols of freedom-- the speaker reminds jurors how fair our system of trial by jury really is. Indeed, any system that undervalues labor, strips away constitutionally protected rights, and benefits individuals with a criminal past surely must be the fairest possible system. At least I for one am excused for the next three years.
Labels: Society
