Since you are going to be taking a notebook with you, you can study your fellow jury duty friends and write stories about them...their lives. My husband and I have made up elaborate stories about our neighbors to entertain ourselves and it's a lot of fun...especially when we see them doing something that lends believabilty (I didn't come close to spelling that right, did I?) to what we've made up...

 

I thought that if you don't get picked for a jury they send you home? Are you saying that you have to sit in the jury pool for more than one day?!? That sucks.

 

You can always count the number of bald heads, men wearing ties, people not dressed appopriatey, etc.

 

You can try to figure out who is looking at other people, thinking about introducing themselves. Possible dating duos.

And Jack, I'm not sure about Brooklyn, but in NYC, you have to stay for 2 days. I did it in May.

 

The trouble with getting random people to do jury duty is (and I'm not including you in this Finy, cos I know you're a smart one) that a good portion of the world is made up of complete idiots. I realise that you have to be democratic and have mixed representation on the jury, but if you were on trial for something, would you really want the kind of morons you come across on a daily basis deciding your fate? There should be a minimum IQ required to be on a jury. Be quite good if we could have a minimum IQ test for people to vote also - might prevent the republicans from getting elected again.

 

Always amusing? Looking at people's facial expressions and trying to figure out what they're thinking. Not very easy to keep from cracking up in the courtroom though. I mean, when you imagine a fat guy thinking, "I wonder what I should have for my second breakfast today. Hmm... does the cafeteria serve funnel cake?", it's not always easy to maintain composure.

Less interesting is screening the jurors yourself. Who would you pick to get a guilty verdict?

 

How do you know you'll be there for more than a day? I thought you didn't find that out until you got there.

My jury duty experience was ridiculous - drove for an hour the day after a blizzard to sit in a small room for about 2 hours or so, then be told I wasn't needed, thanks for my 'service' and out the door I went.

If you already know you'll be suffering through more than a day - you have my sympathies - and you have your notebook, I say, turn the experience into a story.

I bet it'll be an interesting one!