In May, I finally received a long-awaited summons: Jury Duty!
Go ahead and laugh, but most law students I've talked to agree they would love to see the inner workings of a jury. And I've gotten the impression that most lawyers will dismiss other lawyers from the jury pool for being too familiar with the law. So I figure my best shot is before I graduate.
The original date was in late May after I would be moving to DC, so I postponed it to mid-September, and then bumped it again for a friend's wedding. I finally went on October 21st. Conveniently I don't have Friday classes and I was ready to wait all day in hopes of getting on a trial.
I was at the Edward W. Brooke Courthouse in Gov't Center, which houses civil, criminal, landlord-tenant, and juvenile courts. I was hoping for a crim or juvenile trial.
The court officer was fantastic. Once I checked in at 8am, he gave us instructions, had us watch a short video, and gave us a coffee break from 9-10am. He said the most likely scenario was no trial and we'd be done by 1:30pm, but there was a chance we'd get on a trial and be there til the end of the day and possibly for a few additional days, and there was also a chance of being sent home earlier, or having to sit around all day. He got occasional calls from housing, civil, juvenile, and finally crim all saying they would not have a trial today. We were released at 12:15 pm. I was bummed to miss out on the opportunity to serve, but I appreciated getting out so early. Even though I didn't get to a trial, I cannot be called for Mass. jury duty for another three years.
Fortunately, NUSL has Civil and Criminal Trial practice classes and they need volunteer jurors. The trial stretched from 7:30-10:15 pm on a Thursday night the week before finals, which is less than ideal, but I wanted to help out one of my teammates from intramural soccer who was in the class. The trial was pretty interesting - two defendants were accused of murdering a cop, and each side was permitted three witnesses in an abbreviated trial. It all went down in the NUSL moot court room, which was built in 2008 and is pretty nice. The instructor of the class served as judge and he was tough, denying objections and keeping the trial moving. I was really impressed by my peers as they presented opening arguments, examined witnesses, and addressed the jury.
I will definitely consider taking a trial practice class on a future academic quarter. For now, I just need to get through two exams and two papers and I will be home free to Maryland for a week.
Go ahead and laugh, but most law students I've talked to agree they would love to see the inner workings of a jury. And I've gotten the impression that most lawyers will dismiss other lawyers from the jury pool for being too familiar with the law. So I figure my best shot is before I graduate.
The original date was in late May after I would be moving to DC, so I postponed it to mid-September, and then bumped it again for a friend's wedding. I finally went on October 21st. Conveniently I don't have Friday classes and I was ready to wait all day in hopes of getting on a trial.
I was at the Edward W. Brooke Courthouse in Gov't Center, which houses civil, criminal, landlord-tenant, and juvenile courts. I was hoping for a crim or juvenile trial.
The court officer was fantastic. Once I checked in at 8am, he gave us instructions, had us watch a short video, and gave us a coffee break from 9-10am. He said the most likely scenario was no trial and we'd be done by 1:30pm, but there was a chance we'd get on a trial and be there til the end of the day and possibly for a few additional days, and there was also a chance of being sent home earlier, or having to sit around all day. He got occasional calls from housing, civil, juvenile, and finally crim all saying they would not have a trial today. We were released at 12:15 pm. I was bummed to miss out on the opportunity to serve, but I appreciated getting out so early. Even though I didn't get to a trial, I cannot be called for Mass. jury duty for another three years.
Fortunately, NUSL has Civil and Criminal Trial practice classes and they need volunteer jurors. The trial stretched from 7:30-10:15 pm on a Thursday night the week before finals, which is less than ideal, but I wanted to help out one of my teammates from intramural soccer who was in the class. The trial was pretty interesting - two defendants were accused of murdering a cop, and each side was permitted three witnesses in an abbreviated trial. It all went down in the NUSL moot court room, which was built in 2008 and is pretty nice. The instructor of the class served as judge and he was tough, denying objections and keeping the trial moving. I was really impressed by my peers as they presented opening arguments, examined witnesses, and addressed the jury.
I will definitely consider taking a trial practice class on a future academic quarter. For now, I just need to get through two exams and two papers and I will be home free to Maryland for a week.
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