In mulling over my acceptance reaction to jury duty, I am struck by several discordant notes in the "summons". It is riddled with threats. Phrases like, "contempt of court", "show cause", "mandatory" along with the final stinger, "appropriate dress is required". What is "appropriate dress" in Crawford County where protective service is the number one employer? Wm T. used to say, "You can't hang a man for his judgement", but I believe it happens everyday. The system doesn't even know me, yet they are treating me like a would be criminal. It seems they should meet me first before making that judgement. Our country has only four percent of the world's population, yet we have twenty-four percent of that population in jail. Perhaps something in our core culture needs to be examined and modified in our pursuit of "Justice."
3 comments:
Well, TQ, it seems that 'assume good will" would be a great jumping off point. Our justice system is not designed for justice, rather punishment.
I responded to my threat (invitation) to jury duty by informing them that I had a history of poor judgement and hated authority, and in fact I can be very contrary. i've not been called back.
Am I the only one that loves census takers and jury duty? 200 people showed up for the jury line up, and I was picked for 3 drug trials! They paid for lunch, mileage, and I didn't have to get up at 5:30 to go to work - what's not to love about that?
Besides, the only way to help the system is to show up and stop the others from jumping on the punishment bandwagon (I agree with PQ about the justice system not being designed for justice, rather punishment). I like to think I helped a diabetic beat a meth rap...
P.S. I LOVE seeing 'Ricia comments out here in cyberspace - a wise old soul!
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