Flashes of Panic

The other week, I was notified that I had to turn up for jury duty in Northampton sometime in September.

This would be a problem considering that I will be living in Medford by then. I checked, and discovered that I’m ineligible: shortly before I started this weblog, I spent a few hours suffering in a jury waiting room in Hadley. That’s enough for the state until 2007. I filled out the card, and today got the notice that I was not required to report.

There was a pretty good series on jury reform on NPR last month. They cited some good things to change: requiring jurors to show up even when they won’t be empaneled, for example. But thinking about that Hadley waiting room, I think they missed something. The waiting would be about 30 times more pleasant if the TV was turned off (or if there was a place where it could be escaped.) I also think the jury would be two or three times more likely to come to an intelligent, reasoned verdict if they hadn’t been exposed to network television for a number of hours before the trial.

Now Playing: Lay It Down Clown from Tim by The Replacements