Lessons learned from 11 days of jury duty

I was fortunate enough to get to participate in our justice system for eleven days over the last few weeks. It was a federal trial held in New Haven -- about 40 miles from my home. The case involved two police officers that were accused of violating an arrestee's civil rights for repeatedly spraying him with pepper spray while he was contained in a cell. You can learn about more about it here.

I learned some things that may help prepare you for jury service, should you be so lucky:

1. If there is an earthquake on your first day, prepare for future disasters. In addition to the earthquake, we had a tornado, the hottest day on record, a juror quit in the middle of deliberations, and a hung jury. All first-time experiences for our very distinguished judge.
2. Think long and hard before volunteering to be the foreperson. It gets more heated than you can possible imagine in that jury room! We were honestly concerned that some people might hit each other for a few minutes there! :) OK, so we worked through the emotional moments and had very interesting debates about the case. But, all my people and mothering skills were put to the test. A timer was the best solution to move things along! Also -- any note you write is preserved for all time as a court document, so I will be immortalized by my first request "May we please have a mouse." Brilliant!
3. A jury consists of all kinds of people. We had some interesting characters on the jury. You just never know what you're going to get, so be nice to everyone, but be prepared for unexpected emotional reactions in return. (Can you tell I'm trying to say something without actually saying it???)
4. Order all you want for lunch. The government encourages you to make sure you'll have enough to eat or drink while you deliberate -- 8-9 hours a day in a locked room. Order extra water -- every day. You won't be sad.
5. Be nice to your caretakers -- the Marshalls and the jury clerk. Our sweet caretakers made sure we had everything we needed. And when we were ready to explode, they'd take us out for a walk to let the tension pass. Thanks guys -- you were wonderful!
6. You won't sleep well during the trial. Every night I would toss and turn, thinking about evidence. I can only describe it like the heffalumps and woozles in Winnie the Pooh -- it just swirls around until it becomes a nightmare. I still hear the words "upon pains and penalties of perjury" in my dreams. Even though we finished two days ago, I'm still dreaming about it, worrying and dwelling on every little detail.
7. It's really hard not to talk about the case. Every night I wanted to talk about what had happened in court that day, but was bound by my oath not to do so. Now that it's over, I don't want to think about it any more -- I'm trying to purge it all from my mind. It's not working. I can still remember all the important time stamps on the video we watched. I'll always remember the steps of force a police officer can use, and on and on.
8. Sometimes, the evidence being presented gets boring. Invent mental exercises to keep yourself alert. I tried figuring out how much the trial had cost. I memorized different police techniques. I kept track of every person's shirt color from day to day to see if they wore the same ones. I tried figuring out who was related to whom in the gallery. And other such nonsense.
9. Be kind to your mother-in-law. She'll save your bacon! My sweet mother-in-law came for six days to take care of the kids. She cooked, cleaned, did laundry and took care of all of us! I never would have made it without her help. Thanks Sarah!
10. Be kind to your friends -- they too are wonderful! My kids have been passed around and around again. Good friends took the kids for 5-6 hours a day so that Jared could go to work while I was at jury duty. We wouldn't have made it without them either! Thanks ladies!