Federal Jury Duty

The summons declared I was on call for a week – July 2^nd through July 16^th. We were to call or check the website on July 1^st to get our reporting instructions.

On June 30^th, I received a call reminding me to check my reporting instructions the next day. The Feds don't play.

I checked for my reporting instructions on July 1^st. Not called; please check back after 5pm on July 2^nd.

I checked for my reporting instructions on July 2^nd. Not called; please check back after 5pm on July 5^th.

I checked for my reporting instructions on July 5^th. Not called; please check back after 5pm on July 9^th.

I checked for my reporting instructions on July 9^th. Not called; please check back after 5pm on July 11^th.

I checked for my reporting instructions on July 11^th. Surprise! Be at the courthouse at 8am on July 12^th!

Missed it by that much.

Challenge #1 – what to wear. San Francisco is approximately 20 degrees cooler than the Tri-Valley, where I live and work. And there would be air conditioning. What could wear so I wouldn't freeze in one place and melt in the other?

Ah, the beauty and bane of the Bay Area. Serious microclimates.

The nice thing about the West Dublin/Pleasanton BART station is that if you want to catch a 6:30am train, there's plenty of parking.

The bad thing is that the add fare/parking payment machine doesn’t take credit cards. I know. It's madness.

If you don't have cash for parking, you need to add a dollar to the ticket you buy. Then put the ticket in the parking payment machine. It'll take off the $1, and voila! You'll be squared away.

I did not realize the Asian Art museum was so close to the Civic Center Bart Station. Another field trip to plan…

Naturally, entering the federal court building is like going through security at the airport. Only you don't have to take off your shoes. And the people seem nicer.

WiFi in the courthouse. That's how you do it.

The jury administrator was fast talking, informative, and entertaining. Do you know why being summoned for federal court is better than being summoned for state court? Even if you're not picked, you still get paid for your trouble. Thank you, US Government.

There were something like 73 of us who made it into the courtroom. I could guess which jurors the attorneys would excuse. When the time came, it was like what we learned of game theory in business school – each side weighing the stated choice against the anticipated one.

I never made it to the jury box. I was a little disappointed – I've never been on a jury before – but also quite relieved. As the day wore on, it became clear how big a responsibility it is to be fair and impartial, and to listen only to the evidence presented. I could do it…but I'd worry about being imperfect.