Today is the day...
"You've been summoned," a.k.a. "be there, or else." Official Court Business. No need to reply.
I appeared in court only one time as a witness to a crime. Leaving a Sam's Club, I witnessed what seemed to be a careless driver backing out of a parking space with a shopping cart wedged between her vehicle and the car next to her. She was in the process of ramming the cart into the adjacent car when we began calling out to her to stop, which she did. She got out of the vehicle, and after observing the damage, she acknowledged that she needed to find the owner. "I'll go back inside. "
Very good.
She started walking back towards the Sam's Club entrance. I turned and headed for my vehicle, but before I hopped in, I saw her speeding off. What?! I've never witnessed a hit-and-run in action. I noted the name of the company on the side of her van and the license tag number. We, rather than she, went back inside and reported the incident.
Weeks later, I was called to testify in court. For a first-timer, it felt ominous. It didn't help that the defendant boldly and repeatedly denied the testimony of multiple witnesses. The judge was not amused. In fact, he found it blatantly offensive.
I had mixed feelings: shock at watching the original crime; dismay at the ease in which the perp lied to me and others at the scene; nervousness about testifying for the first time in court; and disbelief in the persistence of her denial before a judge.
The judge ordered her to be locked up--over the Thanksgiving holiday. It's hard to explain, but I also felt sad.
Last month, I received a summons for jury duty. Serving on a jury might be more difficult for some than for others. Difficult or not, I understand the burden of proof: preponderance of evidence, reasonable doubt, and beyond a reasonable doubt. What I don't understand are the behaviors that drive defendants to self-destruct.
Twice I was in a jury pool and was not selected. Convenient or not; chosen or not, I'll "be there or else," even if I would rather report to the beach.
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