Week 69: Civic Duty, Britney, and Basketball

Week 69: April 21st-27th, 2024

Everyone hates getting jury summons in the mail. If you're a resident of voting age, you probably get a jury summons from your county at least once a year. Most people will go to great lengths to avoid reporting for jury service. I used to get summons from Alameda County when I was still in college, but once I registered to vote in San Diego County, I started getting jury summons here. Up until this week, I managed to get excused from service and never had to actually show up at the courthouse. However, this time around, I did. Thankfully, my new employer (shoutout to ICANN!) will cover my wages for jury duty and I figured I should fulfill my civic duty. I was a little nervous I'd get selected this time around not because I don't think being a juror is important, but because I just started my new job. I don't want them to hate me for having to take time off for jury service within my first couple months on the job.

I say "fulfill my civic duty" with a mixture of sarcasm and genuine authenticity. On one hand, the justice system in our country is incredibly broken and damaging, and participating in it can be a mixed bag of feelings. On the other hand, if I say that and then never do my part and avoid jury duty forever, it feels as bad as not voting and complaining about the state of things. It is important to push for change and to be critical of the way things are, but if I'm a part of society, I need to participate in society. So I showed up for jury duty.

I figured it couldn't be that bad, and I was right. Apart from the very early commute to downtown and the few hours of waiting to hear my fate (Selected or Not Selected is very different than Guilty or Not Guilty, Your Honor.), jury duty in San Diego wasn't too bad. I took the 40-min trolley ride from my apartment to the courthouse station and arrived right on time. The TSA-style security lines were full but steadily moving, and I followed the signs up to the juror lounge.

I picked a seat in the middle of the room at the end of a pretty full row. People were dressed in varying levels of attire, from sweatpants and a bike helmet to business chic. I wore almost the exact same outfit as one of the ones I wore in LA during the ICANN GDS All-Hands last week. The court clerk was a cheery woman who cracked jokes as she walked all of us through the orientation. A few latecomers trickled in over the next ten minutes and I noticed people preferred the seats by the window, at the real tables, or by the door. It felt oddly like a middle school assembly, where you only want to sit next to your friends and the teacher is asked to repeat some key instructions because the kids in the back keep whispering. The court clerk was very clear about NO FREE PARKING or VALIDATION and released herself of any responsibility when it came to the vending machines in the back of the room ("We do not control those. The court does not have the key to the vending machines! Good luck!").

As the orientation presentation finished, we were told to wait until we heard our name over the intercom and that lunch would be at 11:45am. It was barely 8:15am, so I cracked open my book. I brought The Woman in Me, Britney Spears' book about her rise to fame, struggle with the media and the tumultuous conservatorship under her family. It was a quick read, and I was surprised when I looked up and realized I finished the whole thing by 10am. I suggest you read it, and learn Britney's story. It was an incredible and vulnerable thing to write and I cannot imagine putting such harrowing things about myself into a book. I could say a lot more, butI'll keep it short and sweet. My main takeaway from the book: women, especially those in the spotlight like Britney Spears, are subject to such inhumanity and cruelty that they are forced to be stronger than they have to be. I am very glad she is free of some of the family-shaped baggage that weighed her down and hope she continues this healing journey.

As I got up from my reading hypnosis to stretch, another group of names got called over the intercom. After the first one, I noticed they read the names alphabetically by last name, so once a "Merrill" or a "McNeill" was called, I knew I was in the clear. I took a brief walk around the juror lounge and checked out the vending machine selection.

At 11:20am, the voice over the speakers said the court's schedule had been filled and the remaining jurors were dismissed. I heard a couple people quietly cheer and saw many shared smiles of relief throughout the room. I'll admit I was a little disappointed I didn't get to answer any questions in the voir dire thing, but I was glad to head home.

Because I showed up for service and just got lucky and got dismissed, I won't be summoned for at least another 12 months. I hopped back onto the trolley and enjoyed the rest of my day.

Also here is a random fun development: Even though the Warriors are not in the playoffs this year, I'm surprisingly invested in the NBA still. I've been watching any game that is on TNT (Thank you, HBO Max Bleacher Report free add-on!) and have become a massive fan of the TNT guys, Shaq, Ernie, Kenny, and Chuck. Everyone else's halftime shows are not as special to me. I have even been trying to watch the games that aren't on TNT (thanks, Streameast.)

See you next week.