If You Think America’s Criminal Justice System is Broken, Stop Avoiding Jury Duty

Lessons learned from serving on a murder case

Photo by Joecalih on Unsplash

Before she even stood up, I knew that potential juror number thirty-two was going to say something chaotic. Earlier, as all hundred or so of us potential jurors stood in a nervous throng outside of the courtroom, Thirty-two had approached me randomly to explain that she was “beyond hungover.” In fact, she purposely hadn’t showered in thirty-six hours and sported faded athleisure and a wonky ponytail specifically to increase her chances of being dismissed.

An hour later, we were in the throws of jury selection when Thirty-Two stood up to answer the court’s screening questions: Have you ever been the victim of a crime? Do you have a relationship or connection with any police officers, judges, prosecutors, or other members of the court? Is there any reason you believe you cannot serve impartially on this jury? Thirty-Two captured the attention of the entire courtroom as she let loose a tirade that included spilling the tea on the details of her domestic violence charge, justifying her belief that the police had set her up, and establishing her opinion that the defendant was guilty—despite not having heard a single fact in the case.

By lunch, Thirty-Two was dismissed. Out of the hundred possible jurors present, lawyers spent a day and a half whittling it down to our final twelve.

Up until this point, I’d always considered jury duty something to avoid at all costs. Bosses, coworkers, friends, and strangers bemoaned receiving their summons in the mail and traded advice on how to get out of it. While a lifetime obsession with the Law & Order franchise instilled within me a basic understanding of the importance of impartial and diverse juries, I didn’t have the means to truly participate: I spent years working food service jobs where tips were my key source of income. Missing work would result in financial ruin. So the few times I’d received that official letter in the mail, I’d never questioned the people telling me how to get out of it.

Then I secured a salaried job at a Black-owned company. Our employee handbook acknowledged the importance of serving when possible and explicitly stated the jury duty policy: Full pay…