Jury Freaking Duty

My first day on call for Jury Duty was great. That is, I didn't have to go in. The drill goes like this:

STEP ONE
6:30 PM I call in to find out if I have to be in at 9:00 AM the next day. If I don't I go to step 2:
STEP TWO
12:15 PM I call in to find out if I have to be in at 1:30 the same day.

So I didn't have to go in today and I don't have to go in tomorrow morning. But they did call the two groups before me to come in so I have a feeling I'll be in the basement of the Hennepin County Courthouse before the week is out.

This is the second time I've been called for jury duty. So many people I know have never been called in for jury duty. Why? It's not fair. You'd think they could run through everybody once and then start back at the beginning if they run out. But could the government really be that together? This amusing tidbit I read today answered the question for me.

TWO YEAR OLD CALLED IN FOR JURY DUTY

NEW BEDFORD, Mass. - Kaylee Reynolds had a problem when she recently received a summons to serve on a jury. She wasn't old enough to read it.

The 2-year-old has quite a few years to go before she reaches the minimum age of 18 to serve on a state jury. Lucky for Kaylee, Massachusetts Jury Commissioner Patricia Reynolds seemed willing to let it slide for a while.

"We'll give her a 16-year grace period," Wood told The Standard-Times of New Bedford.

Wood guessed the mix-up could be traced to a local census form. If the form has a blank or mistaken birth date, July 4, 1776 is filled in.

"With that date we'll know it is wrong," Wood said.

Besides her questionable understanding of the concepts of guilt or innocence, there are other reasons why it's best to wait for Kaylee to serve. Her mother, Patricia, says Kaylee gets really cranky if she doesn't get her noontime nap.