Jury Duty - Fulfilling my Obligation
The whole truth and nothing but the truth. I'm sure not all who swear this in court say the whole truth.
Anyway as a law abiding citizen of Fairbanks Alaska, I complied to a summons from Alaska Court System to show up in court for grand jury duty selection. I was very lucky, together with 17 lucky people, that got selected by a computer to serve as jurors in grand jury. We were scheduled for three times a week for 3 weeks. Sooo lucky, I am!
Actually, it was a unique experience. We get to ask questions to district attorneys and witnesses for clarifications and/or more evidence before we deliberate (18 of us) whether the evidence presented by prosecutor is enough for the case to be a true bill or not. I've learned quite a lot about the court system, about felony cases and about crazy people in my community.
Man, I don't envy those lawyers, law enforcers, medical examiners and to all that are involved in keeping the community safe and dealing/punishing the criminals. What they do for a living is so stressful. Just listening to cases, going through evidence, some are disturbing, and some are gruesome. Imagine doing this on a regular basis - oh No, thank you! I don't know how they do it, how it affects their personal life.
It was an honor to serve as juror for grand jury in Alaska Court System. Fulfilling my obligations and gaining/learning new experience at the same time was great. It was also nice to get out of my office and do something different and still get paid by my employer.
Knowingly and Recklessly - a word that was use a lot. To remain fair and impartial. I rest my case!
Anyway as a law abiding citizen of Fairbanks Alaska, I complied to a summons from Alaska Court System to show up in court for grand jury duty selection. I was very lucky, together with 17 lucky people, that got selected by a computer to serve as jurors in grand jury. We were scheduled for three times a week for 3 weeks. Sooo lucky, I am!
Actually, it was a unique experience. We get to ask questions to district attorneys and witnesses for clarifications and/or more evidence before we deliberate (18 of us) whether the evidence presented by prosecutor is enough for the case to be a true bill or not. I've learned quite a lot about the court system, about felony cases and about crazy people in my community.
Man, I don't envy those lawyers, law enforcers, medical examiners and to all that are involved in keeping the community safe and dealing/punishing the criminals. What they do for a living is so stressful. Just listening to cases, going through evidence, some are disturbing, and some are gruesome. Imagine doing this on a regular basis - oh No, thank you! I don't know how they do it, how it affects their personal life.
It was an honor to serve as juror for grand jury in Alaska Court System. Fulfilling my obligations and gaining/learning new experience at the same time was great. It was also nice to get out of my office and do something different and still get paid by my employer.
Knowingly and Recklessly - a word that was use a lot. To remain fair and impartial. I rest my case!
The Rabinowitz Courthouse |
Courthouse Main Entrance |
View from the courthouse looking west |
Juror parking pass must be visible from your vehicle or they will fine you. |
The Main Lobby |
Arctic Sonata |
We must keep the grand jury proceedings secret - to prevent and to protect |
View of the courthouse from Noble St. |
View from the grand jury room - looking east. |
The Rabinowitz Courthouse in Fairbanks |
My son |
Please continue to follow me in my journey to blogging from A to Z this month of April |