Jury Duty Strange When Pregnant

Well Cook County took their sweet time calling me in for jury duty and waited for the most inconvenient time, when I am preggers and my mom is out of the country when she usually watches Tyle on Mondays. Plus I've got a book closing this week. I've always wanted to be on a jury, but not this time. I had no trouble getting there and reported at 9:30 with hordes of others. Found a table spot in the juror room and started in on the work I brought with me. The card they sent me said no food (tho I had contraband in my purse) so for lunch break I went to my car where I had packed a lunch in a cooler. Called Ben, checked on Tyle, etc.

If they don't call your number by 4:30 you can go home. At nearly 3 they called my group. Everything is very regulated and ordered. They had us in lines two by two, in and out of elevators over to the court side of the old building. They put us in a courtroom to wait for another courtroom that wasn't ready yet. Seats are like church pews. Very uncomfortable. So bored I got my work out again.

By 4 we were in our courtroom and they called half of us up to ask questions while the rest of us waited. It took forever. Finally I called Ben to say I would not be home in time to take Tyler and he found emergency babysitting in the form of our friend Alice. I asked, and the person who led us in said there is no time limit. I had thought 4:30 would be it. She said "I can't let you go."

They exused a bunch of jurors and picked some from the first group by 6:30, and I thought for sure they'd let us go on a dinner break. By this time I was brazenly eating my contraband food IN THE COURTROOM and drinking my water. Seeing I was preggers no one turned me in. Apple, a Luna bar, bag of pretzels. Such would be my dinner. No dinner break for us. I got called up with the next group and answered all the questions. They put me in the front row, so there I sat w/ my big belly so certainly there was no mistake about my condition! I answered all the questions (where do you live, do you own your own home, what do you do for a living, same re spouse, ever been victim of a crime, know any policemen, lawyers or judges, etc.) but thankfully they didn't pick me.

It was a murder 1 charge in criminal court. The accused was right there with his defense lawyers. Barely a teenager. Apparently a gang related crime, too. He and a friend are accused of shooting this other guy six times, but unclear who had the gun, etc etc. It was serious. Lots of questions popped into my head but that's for the actual jury to find out.

They let us out at 8:30 p.m. By this time I was woozy and my headache was approaching a migraine. A nice diabetic man gave me a handful of ritz crackers during the break (when they decide to pick you or not) and I'm sure those crackers saved me! Ritz never tasted so good! He says to name the baby after him, ha ha. And don't think I'm just complaining when I say that I was sick all the next day; weak and headachy, making stupid mistakes, and strangely thirsty. And boy is my butt sore, like I rode my bike all day leaning back on my tail bone. Looking back on it I wish I had made my needs clear to the court. I don't know why I didn't make a big stink about it. Everything was so rule-bound, so strict, and I had eaten my contraband food, hadn't I. But still.

You know, I believe in the rule of law. I appreciate rules and I do not wish to live in an anarchy nor in a Libertarian vision of society either, which is very close to anarchy, where the government is minimal to the extreme. Unlike a surprising number of potential jurors who felt that their religion meant they shouldn't judge another person, that it is between a man and his god, I feel that humanity has a role in protecting it's populace and enforcing rules, fairness, and rights. (You should have seen the judge get frustrated with these people. We got a great lecture on civic duty.) I did not try to weasel my way out of jury duty with excuses.

But I also believe in basic human rights, and personhood. To me, this means that I do not value the kind of work ethic that assumes workers skip dinner to get something important done. This kind of work ethic works actively against the concerns of mothers and fathers, families, kids, breastfeeding moms, those with disabilities or disease such as diabetes, those of us fainting away in the courtroom. If it's important enough to keep everyone late, it's important enough to stay that extra half hour to give them a dinner break.

People so often lose sight of what's important when on an exciting deadline or when work goals seem paramount. Example: What happens to Steve Martin's character in the movie Parenthood when he leaves his law firm on time to go coach Little League? He doesn't get the partnership, because they more highly value the guy who works all night and has no life of his own, even tho Steve's lifetime of work has been a steady backbone to the company. This is the kind of attitude that is hurting our "family values." NOT gay marriage or women's rights or any of those things that ultra-right-wing, religious right, or neo-cons like to blame.

Start promoting REAL family values in your corporations and see what happens: Provide a private room for pumping breast milk. Allow parents flexible work hours to promote picking kids up from daycare on time. If a big enuf company, provide a daycare option on-site. Encourage dads to take the full paternity leave (3 months under the law) consecutive to their wives's leave after a child is born or adopted. Allow personal calls at work to check on the nanny, for chrissakes.

And make reasonable work hours. Think about it: If you work till 6 p.m., counting commute and kid pick-up, when are you cooking dinner for your family? --You're missing dinner, that's what. If both parents work, as is most common these days, this doubles the problem. (And who among my generation can afford a family and housing on just one salary?) School gets out at 3:30; where are all of us adults at 3:30? Kids need to play outside, they need to eat healthy meals, they need to get to piano class, they need supervision for homework, they need baths and a steady bedtime. Think about it.

I would even require (government supplemented if necessary, or offer tax breaks to companies) healthcare to temp, part-time, and minimum wage-job workers and their children --the "working poor." And, while we're at it, offer such employees vouchers for daycare, much like my company helps reduce the cost of public transportation to get out to our offices with a type of voucher. Healthcare and daycare are not for the rich and salaried only.

These are my values. This is my "work ethic." I'm willing to bet if we applied these to every company and jobsite in our country we would have a great revolution in "family values." I'd even be willing to bet there'd be a drop in job tardiness, school tardiness, and child abuse. If given a chance, I would love to work to make this happen.

Okay, off my soapbox now!