6 days as Juror #6

Jury duty is service as a juror in a legal proceeding. When a person is called for jury duty in the United States, that service is usually not optional: one must attend or face strict penalties. Employers are not allowed to fire an employee simply for being called to jury duty. When attended, potential jurors may be asked to serve as a juror in a trial, or they may be dismissed.

This is what I knew of jury duty.  Never again will it be so simple... or seemingly impersonal.

Unfortunately, I was not one of the lucky few who were dismissed...  I was chosen to sit on a criminal case... which turned out to be 6 of the most overwhelmingly depressing days of my life.

Without warning, I was selected from several hundred people, which was narrowed down to a random unlucky 70, to an unluckier 25 to the unluckiest  13 and ultimately the final 12. 

(Kory and I had jury duty starting on the exact same day.  As expected, he was dismissed before lunch on day 1!)

Believe it or not, I was actually excited to sit on the jury.  Knowing so little about our legal system and the trial process, I was looking forward to learning all about it through a first hand experience.  This enthusiasm was replaced by feelings of nausea as soon as the case started and the first witnesses were called and started revealing the tales of secret torture they endured... all because of one individual, the defendant. 

I'm a firm believer in keeping perspective and counting our blessings... and this experience made me so overcome with both overwhelming gratitude for the blessings I get to experience on a daily basis and all the years of my life and at the same time, the most bone chilling disgust that people can be so awful to one another!  It was an emotional rollercoaster. 

Not only were we forced to listen to days and days of testimony about the horrors so many innocent people had to endure but we were also faced with determining if what we were hearing was factual... and if the person on trial should be held responsible for these actions the witnesses spoke of... without DNA... without physical evidence of any type!

When I left the courtroom on the afternoon of day 6, I felt completely desensitized.  Nothing could surprise me at that point.  All of the naivety was gone... the hope and energy just drained out and left behind on the court house steps.   When I turned the corner to walk around the court house to meet Kory at our arranged meeting spot, I ran into the victim.  Shocking.  Mor shocking was when the victim's family greeted me with a warm smile and a welcoming hug.  Is this normal?  It was confusing and enlightening and even inspiring... and just plain weird.  At that point, I felt like I was a character in a Lifetime movie! 

All I can do is pray for the family of the victim and hope that one day I understand why I was chosen from hundreds to listen to the real life nightmares of so many... For now, I still get sick to my stomach when I think about the vivid details that I was privy to as a juror...

This is the beautiful Denver court house... where all the craziness happens! : / My days of flirting with the idea of going to law school are gone forever, thanks to this experience.