Jury service turned out to be a bit of a nothing burger, but still an educational experience.
I arrived at the county courthouse Monday with seventy or so other citizens. After checking in, I joined the crowd in the Commissioners’ meeting room. The Clerk of the Superior Court greeted us, introduced his deputies, and roll call began. One deputy read names; the other tore off slips and dropped them into a box. Just like a raffle, I thought.
A surprising number of people didn’t show. Maybe they qualified for exemptions. Since one of those is being 72 or older and I’m 71½, this may be my only shot. I hope I’m selected.
The clerk explained that this was a civil case, not criminal, and that the standard was “. . . preponderance of the evidence; the plaintiff does not have to prove their case beyond a reasonable doubt.”
We watched two videos: one on the North Carolina court system, the other on how to get paid with the debit card we’d been handed. “The payment is s $12 for the first day and $20 for days two through five, but the card is won’t be loaded until the trial is over,” the clerk warned.
I raised my eyebrows. No danger of anyone doing this for the money.
He reviewed expectations for the week, including penalties for non‑compliance, and reminded us not to talk to anyone involved in the case. Then came the swearing‑in. Deputies passed out armloads of “1987 Court Edition” King James Bibles. We stood, held them in our left hands, and repeated the oath.
During the break, I asked a deputy clerk how many people had been summoned.
“One hundred seventy,” she said. “We usually get about 25% participation.”
My jaw dropped. It’s definitely a numbers game.
We filed into the courtroom and sat behind the attorneys. The judge explained the case: an eminent domain dispute over compensation. The deputy clerk drew twelve names, and those people took seats in the jury box. For hours, the attorneys questioned each prospective juror — jobs, family, real estate experience, opinions of the Department of Transportation, anything that might affect impartiality. After whispered conferences with clients, each attorney dismissed a few people. New names were drawn. The process repeated.
The pool was more diverse than I expected for our county—a range of ages, occupations, and backgrounds. One man admitted he was currently under investigation for a felony. Another was unemployed. Most of us held our breath each time a new name was drawn, followed by a collective sigh of relief when it wasn’t ours. Ten jurors were seated by day’s end.
On Tuesday, the last two were chosen quickly. The judge dismissed us for the day but reminded us we weren’t released from service yet; another trial might need a jury. We were told to call the jury line after 5:30.
That evening, the recording said we were dismissed. Payment would be available next week.
It really is a numbers game. And I suppose I’ll always wonder what it would have been like to serve on a jury.
#juryduty #civics #nc
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