Civic Conscious

A week ago today I was fretting over serving my civic duty.  It was an interruption. I was worried because I didn't have the time personally or professionally to deal with the ramifications of jury duty.  Not to mention they wanted me to report at 8am. I can't remember the last time I was showered, dressed, and functional at 8 am.  Maybe one of the three, maybe even two, but definitely can't remember all three occurring in the past three months at the least.

When I arrived at the Gwinnett County Justice Administration, I was like 99% of the 900 folks reporting that morning: praying I didn't get picked for a jury.  I see that I'm listed as number one in the second group of 50 for jury selection.  Though random, that didn't bode well to me.  Luckily, Jeff was a laid back fellow that I met five minutes ago so that made things a bit easier.

Needless to say if you follow me on facebook, I was selected.  The charges were for a 21 year old girl on an accident in 2006.  She had been charged with Homicide by Vehicle, Serious Injury by Vehicle, Driving Under the Influence, and Driving on a Suspended/Revoked license.  The irony of it all was that the accident occurred after a night drinking at a franchise of my former drinking hole.  IN fact, I could have very well been at the bar they left or the bar they were heading to on Aug 12/13, 2006. 

Without getting into a whole lot of details, we found her guilty of all charges except the Homicide by Vehicle.  Though the deceased could not speak for themselves,we felt there was a level of personal responsibility that played just as much a role in his death as did the accused female. 

I entered jury duty nonchalantly.  Get it over with kind of attitude.  After being picked, listening to two days worth of testimony, and approximately 8 hours of deliberation, I realize that this has been, as Bailiff Warren said it would, an experience that I'm likely to remember forever.  I coudn't help but question our decision when both when I heard the deceased family speak in the courtroom, then again when I saw the defendant break down upon hearing her sentence.   I gather that some part of me will always wonder if we did the right thing.