All My Trials

I am now able to tell all of you what I couldn't mention before.  I had federal jury duty.  That's not what I couldn't mention before.  What I couldn't mention before was the case I came close to being assigned to - the Robert Menendez trial.

Robert Menendez, of course, is the senior senator of my home state of New Jersey, and he was charged with bribery in a case involving an ophthalmologist friend of his, gifts, and Medicare fixes.  When I reported to the federal courthouse in Newark for jury duty in June of this year after getting a summons a month or so earlier, I and other prospective jurors were then told what the case would be, but I'd already figured that out before I reported, based on the who the judge was (William Walls).  Anyway, we were given questionnaires to fill out for review over the summer, and it took us forever to fill them out, because they were so darn long - asking us about our backgrounds, our previous jury experience, and all that bit.  In August, I was called back based on my answers and I had to go through two grueling days of jury selection - twelve regulars and four alternates - and I came close to being called for consideration.  First I had to wait in a jury waiting room.  Then I had to sit in the courtroom while the judge called prospective jurors and interviewed them, while lawyers for the prosecution and the defense approved or disapproved them for the jury.  When I didn't get called up, after sixteen jurors were selected,  I breathed a sigh of relief - until I was told to wait and see until September 5 if the judge still needed me and few others to come back.      

I indeed had to go back the next day, the start date of the trial.  One alternate had to replace a regular and two more alternates dropped out.  So the trial needed three more jurors.  I had to sit again through a long, grueling process before being called into the courtroom and having to go through waiting to be called by the judge for possible inclusion.  But the three vacant alternate-juror seats were filled before I was called, and I was finally dismissed.

Had I been called to serve on the jury, I would not have been sequestered and put in a hotel next to Newark Airport. But it still would have been grossly inconvenient.  Anyway, I commented on the Menendez case back in April 2015.  The trial kept getting delayed for over two years - and I had to let the judge and lawyers know about my media activity, and that I'd mentioned this case on my blog, so I doubt I would have been impartial.     

I'm glad that's out of the way.  Hurricane Irma isn't, though most of the computer models show New Jersey being spared, and while there are are outlier projections saying otherwise, it looks lke my blog will continue as usual.  I will likely go ahead and feature a new Music Video Of the Week tomorrow.  Stay tuned.