Jury, what is your verdict?

For the second time in three months, I was summoned for jury selection at the county courthouse. The previous trial was called off.

I was among about 40 potential jurors who gathered Monday for jury selection. After more than six hours, about 30 people had been questioned and the jury was selected. There's a catch, though. An alternate juror was needed to be ready to step in if one of the other jurors could not fill the role.

It looked like I would get out of serving but the first two alternate jurors were excused, one because she volunteers with a police department for special events. Police officers are not allowed to serve in a criminal case. My turn finally came.

Most people are not too excited to be called for jury duty but after seeing the preliminaries, I was excited about possibly serving on a jury. Well, I guess I answered the questions right because I was selected.

The State of Indiana was presenting a case against a guy for dealing drugs. Since they have the burden of proof in such a case, they called most of the witnesses. The defense's only witness was the defendant himself which turned out to be a bad idea because he changed his story.

As the alternate, I was able to participate in all discussions and hear all the evidence until it was time for deliberations. It was still neat to see the whole process even though I could not help decide the verdict.

The defendant was found guilty. The foreperson gave the verdict to the bailiff who gave it to the judge to read. Finally at 4 pm on Tuesday, after the verdict was read, we were allowed to leave. The verdict was a bit anticlimactic but it was a learning experience. I might want to do it again.

Fortunately, the jury does not have to decide the sentence. With all the evidence we have to hear and filter through, I think it would unduly affect the final decision.

If you have the opportunity to serve on a jury, take advantage of it. You will learn much and come away and more-informed individual.