6th Amendment

In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the state and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the assistance of counsel for his defense.

That burden, and yes I say burden for several reasons, fell on me!

I would be happy to serve on a jury as is my right and provilege as a US citizen, but they make it most difficult to do so. Criminal Court building is where I was assigned as an alternate, that is located at 26th and California, about an hour away. There is another criminal court building about 20 minutes from where I live. Wouldn't those being tried there be much more likely to be afforded my being part of "an impartial jury of the state and district wherein the crime shall have been committed" if I served in a court near where I lived?

I especially like the 5 guidelines to make the service all that much more enjoyable!
- Be prepared to stay until at least 4:30 PM (even though we know much sooner that we will not need you)
- Bring something to read (for those of you who can read or just read some of the tabloids left from the day before);
- Bring change for vending machines (that is the most nuticious food, right?);
- Please read "Important Information for jurors" (why? just because, it is just some jibber jabber);
- Please dress appropriately, shorts are not acceptable (powdered wigs optional!).

I once heard someone say that in a trial you are not judged by a jury of your peers as much as a jury of people who were not smart enough to get out of jury duty.

Fortunately for me, I called and got the message "If you received a summons as an alternate juror for criminal court and your last name begins with B as in BRAVO through P as in PAPA, you are required to show up for service, all others will be summoned at a later date."

I got that to look forward to!