Article August 6, 2001 Issue

I didn't want to do jury duty, but ...

By Eric Oyama

THIS PAST JANUARY I received a notice to serve on a jury for Middlesex County in Massachusetts. I had received three notices previously, and I was able to find a way out each time—either I was planning on moving out of my county and couldn't serve, or else I used my right to decline the first notice with the promise to serve within a year (then, since I was moving frequently, I was able to change my address before I got called again).

This time it was different. As the letter stated, this was my "civic responsibility." And I wanted to contribute to my community in a productive way.

One problem was that the courthouse I was assigned to was more than an hour's drive away, in the northern part of the county. I relied on the subway and buses to get around, and there was no public transportation that I could find.

Send a comment to the editors

NEXT IN THIS ISSUE

Article

There's a whale waiting