Update:

I did not have to report to jury duty. I got a letter a couple of days before needing to go downtown and was told that the case had been settled.

Whew.

The Summons

(cue dramatic music)

Just got this letter in the mail today:


minutes later (I complained about it pretty quickly) I got a suggestion from a friend of mine:

I'm considering it.

Right now I'm just being called in to fill out a questionnaire. Just today I was talking to a classmate about how much stuff we have to get done in the next couple of weeks. I don't have time to be on a jury. But not going on Monday means I could be fined $1000 or put in jail for 30 days. And I really don't have time for that.

The Mind Reels*

Do you see what that says?

'Administrative Office of the Courts'

I just got a notice for jury duty today. Currently I'm a 'Prospective Juror.' Unfortunately (fortunately?) there's nothing that makes me automatically exempt. The only things I can think of that make you exempt are: being a mother with young children at home (I think that's why my sister-in-law was exempt once. or maybe it's because she was a nursing mother...?) and... death.

This has brought to mind a few different movies.

First of all, 'The Rainmaker.' I love the jury selection part where after the good guys have faked a call that makes it look like they've tampered with the jury selection, Jon Voight pushes Randy Travis to admit that he talked with the lawyers (which he didn't), then Randy Travis leaps out of the jury box onto Jon Voight. (I tried finding a clip because that would be so much better than my description, but I failed. If you manage to find one, let me know.)

Second of all, the '3rd Rock from the Sun' episode where John Lithgow's character gets selected for a jury. I've never actually seen the episode, but I saw the part where he's in the jury box freaking out and then says, 'You want the truth?! Well I can't handle the truth!' Pretty funny.

And lastly, 'Runaway Jury.' (This is where the mind-reeling comes in.) My mind is just reeling with what could happen. After seeing John Cusack in action, the possibilities are limitless... (:

In other news:

Today Max got in trouble. He didn't listen to me at all when I was calling him in from the yard to get him to stop barking at a passing dog and their owner. When he finally did come (after they were gone) I beat him a bit (nothing abusive, promise), got him inside and made him sit and then lie down next to me while I ignored him and worked on my computer.

This is what he did for the next 10 (or more) minutes:

just stared at me batting his freakishly long eyelashes at me

After a while (and after I forgave him), Dingo came over and joined in:

*i think you get about a trillion points if you

name that movie because it's such an

obscure line.

here's a hint.

here's the answer.