Reporter’s Notebook -- Christine Carrillo

I was able to postpone my jury duty services until June because I was

a full-time student (which, by the way, happens to be a legitimate reason

for jury duty postponement). Nevertheless, the moment June came around,

so did my summons and down to the courthouse I went.

I checked in and got my badge, watched a new instructional jury

service video (they retired the Fess Parker version) and then sat and

waited for my name to be called.

It finally was and off I went, well, up I went, seven floors to be

exact. Seven floors on the old elevators at the Central Justice Center in

Santa Ana that mimic a rough boat ride and a really bad roller coaster,

twisting your stomach and crushing your head with each and every stop.

That should be reason enough to be excused from jury duty.

“Your Honor, I am unable to fulfill my civic obligation due to the

extreme discomfort I experience when riding the elevator.”

His or her probable response, “You’re able-bodied. Take the stairs.”

A blunt but valid point.

Judges, I’ve come to witness, aren’t so lenient these days. Just

accepting something like the aforementioned excuse won’t fly. They’ve

been forced to weed out the lies from the truths and weigh each bias as

it’s presented to them. If not, there would be no jury.

Apparently, not many people like it.

While I can understand the frustration of those citizens who feel as

if they’ve been enlisted into the year-to-year plan, I cannot comprehend

the emphatic need others have in trying to avoid the entire process even

once.

Thrusting an array of excuses at the judge in an effort to avoid what

has been determined to be a U.S. citizen’s civic duty, an astonishing

number of individuals have one thing on their minds -- how to avoid

getting picked.

What about justice?

Evidently, people like the concept of having a right to a public trial

by their peers but don’t like the obligation of putting that concept into

action. With that being said, I must ask: Where does that leave our

justice system?

If citizens don’t want to aid the judicial process, how is the

judicial process, as we have come to know it, going to continue? Are we

now leaning toward a process that enlists a professional jury rather than

a mixed group of individuals each taking their unique views, backgrounds

and experiences into the courtroom?

I must admit, I have a problem with that.

A professional jury is definitely not the answer. With the repetition

of crime after crime, lawsuit after lawsuit, those individuals would

become numb to factors within a case that would, under normal

circumstances, lead them to make a very different decision.

Certain professions -- peace officers, attorneys, coroners, etc. --

must learn how to push aside their compassion in order to carry out their

duties. This by no means suggests that they have no compassion; it simply

means that they have had to develop an ability that contradicts their

innate human reaction.

Those reactions, in my opinion, serve as the core reason for a

successful justice system reliant upon jury trials.

And I, for one, don’t have a problem serving my country in that

manner.

To think of jury duty as “serving my country” may not seem an accurate

perception; after all, I’m not fighting in the armed services. However,

on a much smaller scale, it is a service.

While my recent jury duty experience didn’t lead to placement on an

actual trial, I’d like to think my presence, along with the nearly 70

other potential jurors, helped force a criminal case to settle.

And that’s precisely the propaganda (as some would see it) that they

told us just before we were sworn in. I buy it.

Call it an idealistic view if you’d like, but I came back from that

experience feeling like I had done something useful to support democracy.

Even though the day was drawn out and rather boring, I’d much rather

focus on the bright side. I not only fulfilled my civic duty, but I got

to read a large portion of a book I’ve been trying to finish for weeks

now. For me, it was a day well spent.

While it may have taken a day (and in some cases a week or two) away

from my professional life, it was my chance to serve my country and aid

the democratic process I often take for granted.

* Christine Carrillo is the news assistant. She may be reached at

(949) 574-4298 or by e-mail ato7 christine.carrillo@latimes.comf7 .