A day in court

👋 Naheed here. I was called into court last week. Not for a crime, but for jury duty.

State of play: I have covered many trials in my journalism career, carefully observing jurors and their reactions to testimony to guess the outcome.

• So, I wasn't dreading my day in court. I wanted to be chosen as a juror.

Context: Serving in large cities like Dallas and Fort Worth means you have to pay for parking and sometimes walk a few blocks to get to the courthouse.

• But Denton, a much smaller city, has free parking all around its courthouse and wifi for prospective jurors.

Pro tips: I took tips from TikTok university and decided to take snacks, water, a laptop in case there was time to work and a book in case electronics weren't allowed.

• I also brought my jury summons card, which was helpful for signing in at the courthouse.

The intrigue: The courthouse staff, including the judge who administered our oath, were surprisingly funny. They joked about the odds of being picked as a juror and acknowledged that not everyone wanted to be there.

• They also told us about the importance of the U.S. jury system.

Yes, but: The pack of hundreds of people was narrowed down to a few dozen jury candidates for each case.

• After a long voir dire session for a burglary case, our group of 60 was reduced to 12 jurors.
• I wasn't chosen and, after so many hours of waiting around, began to understand why people dislike jury duty.

The bottom line: It wasn't anything like the show "Jury Duty."