I am 52 and was, for the very first time, called in for jury duty. I have been sent jury notices before, but was always excused the night before (or during COVID, not chosen for a virtual jury).
I've always been curious. As a licensed CPA, I know and passed the legal portion of the CPA exam. I have wondered from time to time what it's like to work in law.
Wednesday morning, I reported to the Utah Justice court. They got 24 other people and me to report, showed us a video answering general jury duty questions and then had us come in to the courtroom. We were each handed a laminated page with questions, and in front of both legal teams, the court reporter, the baliff, and the judge, we each stood one by one and answered.
What I remember of the questions:
- Name
- Employer
- Job title
- Job duties
- Spouse's name
6-8. Questions 2-4 for spouse.
- Can you read and understand English?
- Do you live in Salt Lake County?
- Name and ages of children.
- Hobbies/interests
- Where do you get your news?
- What's your favorite TV/movie?
Some interesting things. There were a few retirees who had to do math to calculate their kids' ages. One gal had 8 boys and the judge was like, "Just give us the age range."
There were a few LGBTQ people, which was nice to see, and their spouse/children details were rattled off the same as everyone else. The judge was black, but there weren't any black jurors. Just white and Hispanic.
One thing that made me cringe. I was the only one who subscribes to the Salt Lake Tribune, Utah News Dispatch or any other local news. Some mentioned NY Times subscriptions. Some actively avoided news to protect their mental health. Most didn't seek out news, but got it on social media. Two said Facebook.
We were asked if we couldn't trust police as some would be testifying. I figured I could set aside my auto ACAB as I was raised to accept and seek help from police, but when we were shown the potential witnesses, I noticed some tattoos on the officer that made me suspicious. I looked them up later, and couldn't find any white supremacy meanings, but I did have to think about it in the moment.
One other thing that surprised me was only 4 jurors and one alternate were chosen for the one day trial. I wonder if that hinders people from getting a fair trial.
We were asked about experiences with domestic violence as that was a few of the charges. I was doubtful because I was #16 and I work for a DV prevention nonprofit that I'd be chosen and I wasn't, but they did chose one retired gal who led a group in Daughters of Utah Pioneers whose son was killed by his son, so I am curious how that went.
I really needed to go to work, so I couldn't excuse myself to take the day and watch the trial, but if it was a different month, I might've stayed to see the details of the case and how the jury ruled.
One thing I did learn? I'm glad I don't work in law. The judge did a lot of emotional work, making every juror feel welcome and comfortable and handling our understanding and expectations for how the day would go. I won't even learn to make coffee let alone do the other "female-coded" work that can be expected in an office. I would hate having to handle other people's emotions all day. And that's before I even saw her doing any work with the case itself.
#Utah #Jury #JusticeCourt #SaltLakeCounty
