This week is definitely promising to be a busy and hectic one for me. First and foremost is the fact that my oldest son is making his First Communion next weekend so I am swamped with all of the preparations that go along with that. As if that wasn’t enough with work and taking care of the house, I have been summoned to report for jury duty at the county courthouse this week. Although I am looking forward to having a little respite away from the pressures of my job, I am somewhat apprehensive about the whole process.
It has been six years since I last reported for this civic duty and I was lucky enough not to be picked for a trial the last time I was there. I’m sure that most people are excited at the prospect of being picked to serve on a jury and being part of the whole judicial process. I, on the other hand, am not sure that I feel that enthusiastic about the whole thing and that probably has to do with my lack of confidence in justice to begin with. After all, how efficiently are the wheels of justice turning anyway with all of the problems that we have in society with crime?
The other problem is that I am not really feeling all that sympathetic these days towards people who commit crimes and choose to live their lives on the opposite side of the law. It almost seems as if criminals have more rights these days than us law abiding citizens and it is really frustrating. I resent the fact that my tax dollars go towards supporting penal institutions that house inmates and provide them with the food and necessities that they denied to the people whom they perpetrated crimes against. This might be a little harsh but, as I said, my sympathy level is at an all time low in this department.
Believe me, I understand that everyone is innocent until proven guilty and I also know that mistakes are made and that innocent people are sometimes accused of crimes that they did not commit. However, this does not account for the thousands of others who willingly and knowingly continue to break the law day after day. I’m sure everyone who is in jail or on trial for committing a crime will tell you that they are innocent but, realistically, it is not possible that all of these defendants are without blame. I’m not sure that I have the ability to feel sorry for them.
I’m probably a little jaded because I have lost loved ones to violent crimes and I know many people who have been the victims of crime or acts of violence at the hands of strangers. This is something that comes with the territory when one lives in a large city like New York. These experiences definitely have had a profound impact on my opinions and feelings around this topic. This is probably true for many of you depending on how many times you have been exposed to crime either personally or through your friends and loved ones.
The difficult part is separating what your heart feels from what your mind thinks and knows. Although my heart feels zero tolerance for these criminal offenders, my mind tells me that I have to be objective and that I have to maintain an open mind until I hear all of the facts. I also know that our justice system is designed to give everyone a chance should a mistake have been made and the wrong person have been accused of a crime. Unfortunately, things don’t always pan out legally the way that they were intended to by this country’s forefathers when they wrote out the law and designed the judicial system. Every great idea has room for error and its flaws. In this case, I think human nature is the biggest enemy of these ideals.
As I embark next week to fulfill my duty as a member of society and an American citizen, I will keep in mind all of these thoughts and try to separate my personal beliefs from the facts at hand. This will not be easy and it will probably keep me from being chosen for a jury. After all, I have been known to say exactly how I feel when asked and those lawyers are definitely not ready to interview me! In any case, (no pun intended), I will let you guys know how everything goes and I will report whether I ended up being “guilty” or “innocent” of letting my personal feelings about justice and my experiences with crime get in the way.
© 2011, Tough Cookie Mommy. All rights reserved.
Congrats on your son’s first communion!
You ARE a tough cookie mama. I doubt if you’ll get picked for too many juries but I do understand your frustrations based on your circumstances. Be honest and do your best. It will all work out. Following on Twitter and Facebook.
All my best,
Clayton
twitter: @claylauren2001:disqus
Facebook: claytonpaulthomas
Hopefully I won’t get picked for ANY juries! Lol Thanks for the insight, it is a pleasure to connect with you. I can see you from your Twitter profile that we have being teachers in common. Looks like we will have a lot of things to talk about…
Wow – I just went through the Confirmation thing with my daughter a couple of weeks ago, and also had a hell-week at work. I feel your pain! Love the title “tough cookie.” I am one also! lol
Following you from Blog entourage hop!Come on over to:lightenupweber.blogspot.com
Hi, Dawn. It is great to meet another “tough cookie.” Looking forward to connecting with you.
I touched on this topic in a conversation with my husband just today. I would much rather my tax dollars go to bettering our education system (and youngsters) than filling criminal’s bellies. In the state of South Carolina, more tax dollars are allotted to inmates than to our innocent children. Hence our very low nationwide public education ranking. What message is that sending? Are we to condone bad actions? Is it acceptable to promptly feed wrong-doers while our little ones go without proper school supplies, etc?
I’m disheartened by our system in general! On a more positive note, good luck with your civic duty! And, so you know, I’m newly following via the I Heart Maternity Hop.
Baby Talk without the Babble
Gillian, being a teacher, I couldn’t agree with you more! It is completely inconceivable to me how much money is spent on everything else besides educating our children. The government definitely has its priorities screwed up. Thanks for following.
Gillian, being a teacher, I couldn’t agree with you more! It is completely inconceivable to me how much money is spent on everything else besides educating our children. The government definitely has its priorities screwed up. Thanks for following.
Hello, new fan from social hop. Your article – I could go on and on right now about our judicial system in NH. All the tax dollars spent towards not only the institutions, where these criminals get free housing, free food (ours even get special ice cream on Labor day), free medical and here I am fighting to keep my developmentally disabled son’s and other’s like him, from having their programming cut (day program, case workers, respite funding, necessity allocation etc). And then, you add the family division in our judicial system, that is an absolute complete joke. They have proved, time and time again, to allow contempt charges be a joke…to allow false restraining orders be placed, to allow orders set forth by the court themselves…be like they never exist. It’s almost like a money making scheme between the courts and the lawyers.They have victimized the innocent and let the guilty go without holding them accountable for their actions. …Must stop here…or I will work myself up into a tizzy and won’t be able to sleep tonight! Anyway, looking forward to the outcome…won’t tell you to have a great week…just get through it and then have a memorable time at your son’s First Communion 🙂
Susan, it is really sad that you have to struggle to get funding for the programs that your son needs while so much money is wasted on “reforming” inmates. I will definitely report back on my jury duty experiences. Nice to meet you!
Susan, it is really sad that you have to struggle to get funding for the programs that your son needs while so much money is wasted on “reforming” inmates. I will definitely report back on my jury duty experiences. Nice to meet you!
I think I have now followed in every way possible (outside of wire taps- ha ha)
Have a great day!
Clayton
Good Luck. Did you ever see those shows on that warden out west somewhere that made the inmates sleep in tents and really, really work! I loved that. All jails/prisons should be that way!~ Thanks for linking with us at the S&R weekend hop! Have a great weekend. Blessings for your son as he makes his first communion.
Hi, Michelle. I think you might have the right idea! Thank you for the blessings and positive thoughts.
Hi, Michelle. I think you might have the right idea! Thank you for the blessings and positive thoughts.
Jury duty – Yuck! I’m sure that if you’re chosen as a juror, you will do the right thing.
Sometimes it’s a bummer to be an american citizen with such freedom! Hang in there you can do it!!
I have an award for ya! http://corisbigmouth.com/2011/05/lovely-blogger-award/
Thank you for thinking of me, Cori! You are such a sweetheart!
Thank you for thinking of me, Cori! You are such a sweetheart!
Hi! I’m following you from YLM
blog hop!I hope you visit me and
return the follow:0)
I’ve never been called to jury duty. I understand that due to past incidences your personal opinion and feelings of what ever the trial is about may be “preconceived” I think that’s normal and I’m sure you will do fine, but if you feel it will alter you ability to just listen to the facts you can say so and they should dismiss you. Just keep a cool head. Good luck.
Thanks for participating in the Sundae hop, I’m following you from there. If you haven’t already checked out my blog I sure would appreciate it.
-E
ttcandcookin.blogspot.com
I’ve never been called to jury duty. I understand that due to past incidences your personal opinion and feelings of what ever the trial is about may be “preconceived” I think that’s normal and I’m sure you will do fine, but if you feel it will alter you ability to just listen to the facts you can say so and they should dismiss you. Just keep a cool head. Good luck.
Thanks for participating in the Sundae hop, I’m following you from there. If you haven’t already checked out my blog I sure would appreciate it.
-E
ttcandcookin.blogspot.com
Jury duty… I am always intrigued and never picked. Thanks for participating in the Sundae Blog Hop 🙂 Would love it if you could come visit my blog 🙂
Congrats on your son’s first communion! Congrats on this beautiful blog design!! Sorry I’ve been away, finally finished my first draft (80k+words, wow!)
At least you’re honest about your feelings on the legal system. Justice may be blind, but people aren’t. I think everyone has some biasness towards the justice system, we just have to try opening our hearts when dealing with human life. You’ve taken the first step and that’s what matters.
Eleana, it is always so nice to hear from you. Thank you for your kind words and well wishes. I was chosen to be on a jury panel for a civil case today. It does not guarantee that I will be chosen as one of the final seven jurors, however, it will give me a more intimate insight into the whole justice process. I will let you know how it all goes…
How did jury duty go? I hope you rocked it. Love the new look of the blog, too.
Jury duty wasn’t too bad. They picked me for a civil case about a woman who was suing for soft tissue injuries due to a car accident. The whole thing pointed towards an obvious insurance scam so we didn’t award her anything. She was definitely not a happy camper. I’m so glad you like the new look! I was on a waiting list for over six months to receive a free blog makeover and I am really happy with the results. How have you been doing?