Jury Duty

Yesterday in the mail, Andy received a summons for jury duty in November.

 It reminded me of an experience I had at jury duty earlier this summer. I was summoned to appear for jury duty in September the same week that Andy would be in Japan. This was not going to work for me as I was advised by my doctor not to drive because I was experiencing minor dizzy spells due to the pregnancy, so  I decided that I would report a month early.

I was excited! I have never served on a jury before. I have been a witness many times, but never had I been a juror. I was probably one of the only people who went to the downtown courthouse that day thinking that sitting on a jury could be a neat and desirable experience.

 One of the ladies in my ward happened to have been summoned to jury duty during the same time frame so I was fortunate enough to be able to go with her. As a caseworker I went to court at least twice a week so I feel very comfortable in a courthouse environment. This courthouse is huge! It covers a city block and I have no idea how many floors there are but it is a high rise building.I made it as far as the twelfth floor.

The morning passed very uneventfully. My friend was called to report to one of the first groups and I was left to read a book on my Kindle. At lunchtime we were released and given and hour and half to eat and return to the jury room. I had a delicious Steak and Cheese Subway sandwich and we walked a few blocks to a Gelato shop.

I had a most delicious cup of chocolate gelato and we enjoyed the sunshine and the sounds of downtown as we walked back to the courthouse. It felt like old times for me and I was enjoying it.

 After lunch I went back to reading my Kindle and she returned to her courtroom. After about an hour my name was called as part of a screening procedure for a two week criminal trial. I reported to the room and answered their questions. I informed the woman that I was about 10 weeks pregnant as she asked if I had any sort of medical conditions and she stated that pregnancy did not qualify as a medical condition and certified me as a possible juror and I was sent back to the jury room.

My friend returned and informed me she was excused from service and as we were talking I was assigned to report to a courtroom. She decided she was going to leave for home and I made arrangements for Andy to come pick me up at the end of his workday.

I could not believe my luck, a two week criminal trial! How exciting! I reported to the courtroom with about 60 other people and we waited. They assigned us a number and told us they would be seating us soon. At this point I felt it would be a good idea to find a restroom so I asked the man assigning numbers if we could leave and directions to the nearest restroom. Some other ladies expressed the same interest and off we went.

The restroom was located down a really long hall and around a corner from the courtroom we had been assigned to. When I arrived back to the courtroom they were seating us so I hurried and took my place between two other potential jurors. I was one seat from a very large court bailiff who guarded the door.

I'm still not sure what happened next...

As the judge introduced  himself and shared the basics of the case I became very warm and I started having a very panicky feeling, the room started a slow spin, I need to get out of that room ASAP! It was too hot! I was going to vomit.

 As I assessed my options, I decided my best bet was to discretely vomit into my purse so I took out my phone and other valuables and tried to stay calm by concentrating on my breathing. It must have been pretty loud because the bailiff looked over at me and asked me if I was OK. I shook my head and motioned towards the door. I can only imagine what I looked like, but it was bad enough that he got the attention of the judge who brought the proceedings to a halt and let me leave the room.

Once in the hallway, I became frantic, I knew there was no way I was going to make it to the restroom! It was then I saw a trashcan and decided that it was my best bet and I vomited in front of the judge and anyone else who happened to be walking by.

I tried to regain my composure as quickly as I could knowing full well people were staring at me. I wanted to cry from the embarrassment but somehow I held it together and returned to my seat in the courtroom and tried to act normal.

The judge started asking people if they had valid reasons why they could not serve on the jury and as I listened to their answers the second wave of nausea hit me like a freight train. It was at this point I decided to give up on serving on this jury. My hand shot up, and after what felt like eternity the judge called on me,

"Juror number 32, what is the reason you cannot serve on this jury?

"I'm pregnant". "I have no control over my body anymore."
The judge turned to the lawyers sitting on both side of him and asked,

"Any objections to me releasing juror number 32 from jury service at this time?"  They replied, "None, your honor."

"Juror number 32, you are excused, thank you for your service, and congratulations."

"Thanks your honor."

The doors to the courtroom did not even have time to close behind me as I ran down the forever long hall to the ladies room. I just barely made it. The second wave was worse than the first. I was crying and hugging the toilet when a woman with red shoes asked me if I was alright.

"I'm pregnant and having the worst day of my life, other than that I'm alright."
"I've been there, I have two kids of my own." " You need some fresh air,it will help."

A few moments later I was back on my feet and the red shoe lady had flagged down a bailiff. She instructed him to take me to the elevators and help me get outside to the street level. I thanked her and followed him as I had no idea where I was and I was very dizzy and lightheaded. He was very nice and told me he had a wife and a one year old daughter. He made sure I made it to the ground floor and was seated in a chair and then he left.

I called Andy crying and he agreed to come pick me up right away instead of at the end of his work day as we had planned.

When he arrived he said, "you don't look so good, what happened?"

I told him it was a long story, but I had been excused from jury duty.

I hope his turn at jury duty will be less eventful than mine.