Nobody could like jury duty
Absurdity of the judicial system needs to be exposed

Every now and then we, as citizens, have the duty, nay, the privilege to be herded like cattle into rooms smaller than slaughterhouse cages for the chance to perform a perfunctory, judicial service for the state: jury duty.

Putting the idea of justice in this country aside, the act of becoming a prospective juror is in itself interesting.

Upon arrival at jury duty, the first thing one notices is the curious host of people found within the municipal courthouse. Juries are known to be completely impartial to race, gender or social standing. That is why, given a jury of 12, you will always see at least one black woman, a Hispanic male, an occasional disabled person and a male of Jewish and/or Middle Eastern descent among the usual crowd of eight white, middle class citizens. The gender factor is usually fairly divided here.

But the cross section of humanity seen at the narrowing of prospective jurors is always much more

roportionate to the “ideal jury” than the final jury usually indicates. It is as if America itself has been run up to the hilt by an average-sized scimitar, and the numerous bloody entrails and organs laying in the dirt give a more than adequate image of the range of prospective jurors.

The relative importance of people’s personal lives permeates this process and seemingly tends to detract from the supposed seriousness of the issue at hand.

One is likely to see the suburban housewife, almost elated to escape the realities of daily housecleaning monotony to read the latest Danielle Steel novel in a new location, or the aging pseudo-corporate peon relieved to escape the humiliation of the office to reiterate his (nonexistent) power and prestige to himself by holding up the quarter mile line, feigning that he has not seen it move, being so caught up on his ‘98 model Ericsson cell phone with “clients” about the latest surge or wane in the Dow Jones.

Also among the mix stands the proud, working-class black woman, head always held high as if she were appearing as a key witness in the Rosa Parks trial, and the disillusioned punk with at least one tattoo and a general scowl of disgust present on his pierced face. He’s dressed in mocking attire for court appearance, either with a button-up shirt too small for a 12-year-old or shorts extending past the knee to show off calf tattoos.

The “happy sheep” (in this case gender can be substituted accordingly) are simply jovial and smiling to be a “part of something,” especially since it is somehow related to serving one’s country.

Surrounding and directing the mob are aging and rebellious cops who have been taken off the beat for being too brittle to serve the interests of a well-oiled population control mechanism or for being what is known in the jargon as a “loose cannon.”

In short, jury duty is no fun. Those of us who have attended it can attest to that. But, it is my intention to expose, through a series of articles, the absurdity of the way in which this “foundation of justice” is handled and that, in general, I don’t like it and neither should you.

Jonathan Pool is a sophomore astronomy and physics major from Arlington.
He can be reached at (midangel817@hotmail.com).

As with every election year, there is a big push to encourage Americans to get out and do their civic duty and vote. While I fully support such measures, I believe a civic duty just as important as voting is being ignored by people in our country — jury duty.

Jury duty is something that nearly every one of my friends dreads to participate in. Mailed notifications for this task are usually received with groans and complaints. Some would rather just throw the letter away or pretend to misplace it than to take responsibility.

Although it is absolutely impractical to believe that someone is going to jump up and down and cheer for joy when they receive a jury duty notification, a person should at least accept this assignment and realize that it is the least one can do for their city or even their fellow man.

Any triviality perceived with my point is quickly dissolved when one examines the case of an individual who is on trial. Say, for instance, that individual is you. Would you really want a jury filled with jurors who would rather be back at home sleeping than listening to your petty case? This situation is similar to the daily ritual of going to class.

You typically pay attention to the classes that you really enjoy, while you find yourself daydreaming in the courses that you care nothing about. Therefore, unless it is some high-profile trial, your attention span and interest in the case may not be at its peak. I can’t speak for everyone, but I certainly would want someone paying attention to my case like it was the Super Bowl.

This all weighs into the fact that the outcome of a case can determine if you have to spend heaps of money (even more so than the cost of your legal counsel), face jail time or even receive the death penalty. While you understand the ins and outs of your case, making 12 others see the same light of the situation, especially when they don’t want to be there in the first place, is a rather daunting task.

In all honestly, it is actually amazing that a jury ever gets seated in the first place. People seem to have all sorts of excuses as to why they can’t be a juror. My father was recently a potential juror for a case in Dallas. During the screening process, my father heard some pitiful explanations from other would-be jurors as to why they couldn’t hear someone’s case.

A few people claimed that they just simply could not sit in judgment of someone, while others claimed that they could never give probation for a crime or allow for the maximum punishment that the law allowed. Still others were even bold enough to say that they basically did not wish to miss some vacation time that they had coming up. At least the last group of people were being somewhat honest and not hiding behind trumped up excuses. They just told it like it was. They had much better things to do with their time than to care about the legal troubles of someone else.

Regardless of their excuses, these people where doing everything in their power to escape an essential civic duty. These people, and anyone else who attempts to squirm out of jury duty, should stop their sniveling and act like real Americans.

The concept of a trial by jury was created for people to be heard and judged fairly by the people of their community. What is a society to do when the members of the community don’t care to engage in this judgment to ensure that justice is served? If we can’t find the dignity to stand up to the challenge of hearing a trial, then we are allowing what pride we have in our country to rot away.

The next time that you receive a jury duty notice, take it seriously.

Take some time out of your busy life and give someone in trouble a chance to have a fair and impartial trial. Now, if you do that, just pray and hope someone might do the same for you.

Robert Davis is a senior computer science major from Garland.
He can be reached at (r.d.davis @student.tcu.edu).

Yes, this weekend’s football game is a big deal.

And not only because it’s Homecoming week.

The Horned Frogs, the nation’s 11th-ranked team, will face off against the Rice Owls at 2:05 p.m. Saturday at Amon Carter Stadium.

The Frogs haven’t defeated the Owls since 1995, and this season our home team’s dreams extend beyond a winning season and possible berth in a bowl game.

An undefeated season and a possible guaranteed spot in the Bowl Championship Series, reserved for only the country’s top six teams, hang in the balance this week and every week thereafter. Three of the team’s final games are to be played right here on campus.

So, where are the fans? Or more accurately, where were you?

The TCU athletic media relations department generously lists the average home game attendance at 31,620. The stadium can hold as many as 48,000.

So show up and support the gridiron stars. But don’t stop there.

The Volley Frogs will play host to two traditionally strong volleyball programs this weekend. Friday’s match against the No. 2-ranked Hawaii Rainbow Wahine will be held at 7 p.m in Daniel-Meyer Coliseum. TCU is pitted against Nevada at 7 p.m. Saturday in the Rickel Building.

The men’s and women’s swimming teams will host the annual Alumni-Varsity meet at 10 a.m. in the Rickel Building.

Also, the men’s tennis team, which returns all of the players from last year’s top-10 squad, will perform in the Region VI Tournament at the Bayard H. Friedman Tennis Center throughout the weekend.

We really shouldn’t need a reason to support our athletic teams, but Homecoming is as good a reason as any.

At any rate, support somebody. Or at least show up somewhere, because football’s not the only game in town anymore.