Petit Jury
County Courthouse
Ink and Watercolor pens
A petit jury is not what it sounds like; it is not a jury that resolves petty disagreements, and there are no small furry animals involved. I would have preferred the small, furry animals.
The jury I sat with had to decide a case against a young man involved in a shooting at a local McDonald’s. I was chosen as an alternate juror, and thankfully, was not tasked with deciding the outcome. I still have no idea what the verdict was, but it was a stressful experience for all of us.
The courthouse was built in 1996, and is a beautiful building. The walls are a creamy yellow, and not that gaudy one I tried to do some shading with. The thick posts surround an opening where light from the skylight penetrates to the ground floor. The electrical lighting was soft, and a great deal of it was indirect. It was very easy on the eyes.
There were built-in benches all over the place, and I made use of them over the lunch hour. There’s a lovely cafeteria on the ground floor, but I kept my pennies in my pocket and brought my own food. The pictures on the wall are photos of judges that are currently employed by the county. There are twelve altogether, with six on each of the facing walls.
There’s no parking at the courthouse without a special permit, so I rode the shuttle bus from a nearby parking lot that had lots of room. It was about a five minute trip, and the buses run from the courthouse to the parking lot all day long.
Kudos to the county for making jury duty as painless as possible. There was free coffee and hot chocolate available to those of us in the jury pool, and a $5000.00 fine plus 30 days in jail for those who chose not to show up.
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I have jury duty coming up at the end of December. I look at it as a sketching opportunity. Actually getting on a jury is another story. Don’t like it at all.
Merry Christmas, Lisa.
I didn’t like it either. A necessary evil, I suppose, but it never really dawned on me that a judge doesn’t decide innocence or guilt. They only moderate the proceedings. It’s up to the people sitting in the jury box, and it’s an incredible amount of responsibility. I hope I never have to do it again.
Merry Christmas to you too, Bill!