Sitting on a Jury

Lawyers don't often get a chance to sit on a jury and participate in the process of arriving at a verdict. Today, I got one of those rare chances.

Being called for jury duty is not something most people look forward to, especially lawyers. Many people do not realize that lawyers are not automatically excused from jury duty; in fact, we are required to appear for jury duty just like everyone else. What makes it especially worse for the lawyer is that he usually knows that he never will be selected to sit on a jury, hear a case and participate in arriving at a verdict. Therefore, it almost is a certainty that when I get called for jury duty, I am going to waste almost a whole day and will not have an opportunity to serve.

So when I got my summons to appear for jury duty this morning, I was not a happy camper. But I folded my newspaper, filled out my jury information form and headed for the courthouse. When my name was called, I was told that I would be assigned to the Justice of the Peace Court in Arlington. I was thrilled, not only because it gave me a chance to see my good friend Linda Davis, who is judge in that Court, but because I could get out of downtown and get a little time in at the office before I reported. I still did not think that I would be sitting on the jury, but I was pleased that Justice Court cases usually require only a brief voir dire, and I would be getting out of there very quickly.

Didn't happen. I got to sit on a jury and hear a trial that lasted approximately 90 minutes. The trial was like something from Jerry Springer. The dispute was between two former lovers and involved a claim that the woman had falsely accused the man of rape. There were no attorneys in the courtroom (except me), and the testimony and antics of the parties were, to say the least, quite interesting.

When I got back to the office, I found out that the last-minute changes have been made to my new website, www.arlingtontxbankruptcy.com.

I am very proud of the fine work that Britt Todd and his team at The Todd Company have performed in helping me to create this website. So visit www.arlingtontxbankruptcy.com and let me know what you think.