This was originally published on the old Compassionate Curmudgeon blog on June 3, 2008 at 4:02pm.

Unlike most folks, I enjoy jury duty. At least, I enjoy the trial part, if I get chosen, and so far I’ve been impaneled three times; twice in criminal cases and once in a civil suit.

In fact, I have a pretty good track record; each time that I’ve made it to the voir dire and been questioned, I’ve been selected.

And my track record remains unbroken, as I’ve just been selected for another trial, starting tomorrow!

Can’t write about it until it’s over, of course.

One thing I can say, however. It’s made me rethink my strategy of owning an iPhone to reduce the number of gadgets that I have to carry. The Criminal Justice Center requires one to check all cell phones at the door; which meant that the long hours of waiting to be called were all that much longer without having my podcasts to ease the tedium…

It was interesting listening to the questioning of the prospective jurors, as each side tries to decide who will make a good juror for them. They ask questions to see if a person has any biases that might keep her from making a fair decision, and I suppose that’s reasonable.

But what they really should be doing, in my opinion, is trying to find the folks who have good critical thinking skills.

Yeah, I know. That’s easy for me to say.

I will say, though, that it’s been my experience that jurors really do try to come to a fair decision, though obviously my experience is limited…