The following is an editorial. All views, thoughts and opinions belong solely to the author and do not necessarily represent those of the Drury Mirror. 

A call for jury duty is usually not greeted with cheers and delight; usually, the reaction is quite the opposite. Most people seem to consider jury duty a pain or annoyance. Sometimes, that’s true.

Sometimes it conflicts with your plans and takes up time you don’t have to spare. I’m not here to yell at you to do your civic duty or that being selected is the best thing that could ever happen to you. Instead, I want to give a suggestion: do not let jury duty be something you actively avoid.

What is jury duty?

What does it mean to be called for jury duty? Well, it is not that you’ll be in court for days. In fact, you’re not even that likely to get picked. The term “jury duty” simply refers to being summoned for the weeding-out process.

Essentially, you and a large group of strangers meet up in a courthouse and the judge and attorneys for the case ask all of you a bunch of questions to decide how biased you are.

Now, at this point, you have the option of being a terrible person.

It’s quite easy to lie your way out of jury duty. You can claim a personal hardship that would prevent you from serving, or you could fake a bias. You could also claim to be a member of the certain groups that are excluded from jury service, but you’d likely be caught for fraud.

But that’s not the point I’m trying to make here. It’s easy to get out of jury duty, but it’s hard to get selected for a jury. That questionnaire called a voir dire (pronounced “vowaar
edeer”) works for and against you. The attorneys running this show do want you to have a bias – a bias that favors the needs of their client. This is their show and you’re just a player unless
they like what you have to say.

What you bring to the jury box

Let’s say that you did make it past the screening. Now what? You’re a juror? What does that even mean?

To keep things brief, it means that you are now partially responsible for another human being’s future. You are one of twelve, fallible, average, everyday people who are deciding the fate of another. The justice and prison system is an unbalanced, uncoordinated disaster and the little rarely ever wins. It’s not your job to make sure he does, but it is to make sure he deserves it.

There’s really no one more qualified to do it than you. You and I, your friends and your classmates, we’re learning how to think critically. This institution, these programs and classes, are designed to make you think, judge and evaluate ideas, concepts and people fairly.

When you’re called for jury duty, the only things you are allowed to have with you are the clothes on your back and your mind. Now, I know I said earlier that I wasn’t going to tell you that this was your civic duty. And I say that because that’s not entirely true – jury duty is really a legal and moral responsibly.

You are legally required to show up and morally obligated to judge them as fairly as you can. I hope that you’ve been taught how to do that well. There are a lot of things in this world that need to
change, and this is one that you’re legally required to attend.

It’s a two-birds, one-stone sort of thing.

For more information, check out: https://www.uscourts.gov/services-forms/jury-service

Article by Afton Jagels.