How was I so lucky??? A few weeks ago, I got a dreaded envelope in the mail. At first glance it looked like a typical piece of junk mail, but with a second look, I realized it was MUCH more important.

A return address of "United States District Court" is never a good sign!

I knew I wasn't in trouble so it could only be one thing:

JURY DUTY!


While I'm not supposed to go into the specifics, lets just say that it's a RICO case that is expected to last 4 to 6 months!!! Yes, I said 4 to 6 months!

Most people get fairly "insignificant" cases that last for a few days or maybe a week. Somehow I was "lucky" enough to get summoned for a federal case. If circumstances were different it could be very interesting, but this is just ridiculous.

I'm not really sure how they expect everyday citizens to participate in this type of jury. Yeah, your employer can't fire you, but how are you supposed to live on $40 per day? Your employer has to let you take that time off, but they don't have to pay you for the time off!

Additionally, how is a person supposed to continue with their job when being forced to take a 4 to 6 month leave? (The jury duty, if selected, is Tuesday through Friday 9am to 4pm.)

With my job, school, travel plans, and other future plans, I'm not really sure how everything is going to progress.

Everyone is saying that I have valid reasons to be dismissed from the jury duty... I just hope so!  ¶ 10:06 AM