CINDY TRANE CHRISTESON -- The moral of the story

“Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom must undergo the

fatigue of supporting it.”

-- Thomas Paine

I lost a week last week. My schedule was already filled with

appointments, deadlines and projects when I was selected to serve on a

jury.

I wrote about some of my experiences in last week’s column, and I

received an e-mail from a retired attorney who thanked me for writing

about jury duty. He said he is always amazed at the people he hears

complain about outrageous jury awards.

“I then ask when it was that they last served on a jury,” he wrote.

“‘I don’t have time for that’ is a common reply.

“Jury service is the most direct way that we citizens can affect our

culture, yet most people try to avoid it. Go figure,” the man added.

In my recent experience, I saw some people try to get out of serving

during the jury selection process. Understandably there are many times

and situations when it would be a hardship, financial or timewise, to

serve.

I also know there are cases which some people could not possibly be

impartial about, and they should be excused from duty.

Yes, I saw some people try to get out of it. Fortunately, I also saw

those who were willing, and even some who were eager, to do their duty.

We started with 45 potential jurors and after four hours, we finally

had the necessary 12 jurors and two alternates. Only one woman remained

in the jury pool because everybody else had been excused for one reason

or the other.

I was impressed with our judge and pleased with the final selection. I

admired the seriousness which each individual gave to his or her public

duty.

I was proud of the student who gave up her week of vacation, and I was

proud of the young man who spent his 21st birthday with us, a group of

total strangers. I also was proud of the teacher who had to write lesson

plans in the early morning and the reporter who conducted phone

interviews during breaks.

We all had to catch up on our lost days in the few hours we had at

home at night.

As the days wore on, we ended up sitting together during breaks and

meals. I was proud to serve with such a fine group of people whom I never

would have met otherwise.

A friend of mine had a similar experience, and she said, “It restored

my faith in people.”

When the witnesses raised their hands and swore to tell the truth, the

whole truth and nothing but, so help them God, I prayed they would do

just that and that God would help them.

I prayed God would help all of us jurors as well.

We listened to all the evidence. We heard the witnesses, lawyers and

judge. We did our duty; we deliberated and reached a verdict.

The process and the system worked. Though we were all ready to get

back to our lives, there was also some sadness that we were going our

separate ways.

I may have lost a week last week in terms of projects, but I found

something much more valuable in terms of people. And you can quote me on

that.