GREENSBORO, N.C. — A couple of months ago I got a letter in the mail I was not expecting.
No, it wasn't a bill or a check… It was a summons for jury duty.
I reported for jury duty in late April. I was not prepared for what was to come.
In Guilford County, jury service operates on the one-day/one-trial system. This means a new group of jurors are summoned each day of the week and, if selected to serve on a jury, a juror will serve for that day or for the length of a trial.
When I arrived at 8:15 am, I was placed in a holding room with dozens of people.
For nearly six hours I sat in the holding room, not sure if my name would be called to go to the courtroom for questioning.
In Guilford County, you are allowed to bring your phone, a laptop, and reading materials into the holding room, but even that wasn't enough to keep me entertained.
As I got into hour seven, I along with 19 other potential jurors were taken from the holding room to the courtroom.
That's when we were picked at random to be questioned to see if we were fit to make the jury for the trial.
The questioning was very thorough, averaging about 30 minutes per person. Where are you from? What do you do for a living?
Since my group wasn't finished being questioned, we had to come back for a second day; However, a jury was selected before I was ever brought up for questioning.
It was a long two days, but I'm thankful for the experience.
Jury service is one of the most important civic duties you can perform.
So don't be alarmed if you get a summons in the mail, I just highly recommend you pack some snacks and a good book. It may be a long day of waiting.
That's my 2 cents.