This has been my least exciting adventure to date…

At a few inconvenient times in my life, I received a notice in the mail requesting me to participate in jury service. On these occasions I was able to defer doing my jury service.

This year however, I received the notice once again and had no fantastic excuse. So it was time to do my duty.

Knowing that jury service was for three weeks and could continue longer if I was selected as a juror for a big case, I prepared three works worth of lessons for my classes (planned down to a T…knowing that I would have non-computing teachers teaching computing).

On March 8th I turned up to the Supreme Court, where they explained the procedure. We would turn up when told to, then a jury would be randomly selected. Once a jury was chosen the remaining people were expected to go back to work and continue on with daily life.

So every night I had to call the ‘Jury Hotline’ to find out if I was due back in the next morning, then send SMS’s to the teachers waiting to know whether they would be taking my classes.

After four appearances at the court house and being dismissed, on my fifth appearance my name was called…

Dutifully I headed to the court room and took my place in the jury box. The Judge then asked the two lawyers (prosecutor and defence?) if they wanted to dismiss anyone…and I was dismissed, sent to the back of the courtroom.

One by one, more potential jurors were called in, and either accepted or dismissed, until they had their final twelve.

Everyone who had been dismissed from that jury was sent home (to work) to play the waiting game again.

So after 3 weeks; hours of planning, hours of making appearances at the courtroom and lots of $$ on calls and SMSs – my jury service was a complete and utter waste of time!