Secret Double Life...

So, for the last 3 weeks I have been living what felt like a secret double life as a Juror in a criminal case.

It was so strange to be going to the courthouse all day and having all this like deep stuff thrown at you and I had to go home and couldn't talk about what I was doing, who I was with, or what the case was about....for the trial part I couldn't even talk to my fellow Jurors (at least not about the case)...it was maddening at time. So much information, and information that affected me on a personal level, yet I had to keep it bottled up inside....it really did feel like I was living a secret double life.

The lawyers on each side really picked an excellent jury. We took our time, and really hashed things out and paid attention to detail and really looked at the case from all levels, and came to a verdict that I will never question in my mind if we made the right verdict...I am so pleased with my fellow jurors...we were all very respectful and things never got too heated, and we no one ever got offended or irritated when they played devils advocate or didn't agree with everyone...it was like the perfect example of what the democratic process is supposed to look like. I have so much more faith in justice system now.

My fellow jurors and I really all "bonded" over the past three weeks, we had alot of "hurry up and wait" time to get to know each other and since we couldn't talk about the trial, we learned about each other...and the difficult deliberation process brought us closer together...if that makes sense. And it was so strange when it was all over to just say our final goodbyes and head back to our cars and back to our normals lives, most likely to never see each other again. We all came from SUCH different backgrounds and I only know why a few of them were chosen (the lawyer mentioned why during a post-verdict q&A) and they also mentioned that they chose all well educated people due to some difficult legal concepts we had to deliberate over...so I am pretty flattered I am in the "well educated" category...

Anyways, as odd as it may sound, I am honored and so glad to have been a juror and have served my country. Its a great experience I will never forget! It was difficult at times...it was an ugly icky case, but everyone is entitled to a jury of peers...part of being an American...I hope everyone, at least once, is able to serve on a jury at least once in their life because it really really was a great experience.