We’re Doomed

I’m sitting here in jury duty waiting for selection and it’s quite demoralizing to hear what the average person here finds interesting. Gossip and complaining — not a single decent conversation yet. :(

Like 80% of everyone in the room has been divorced (many of them multiple times), and ironically the conversations many of them are having are centered on them suing someone over something. Divorce, lawsuits, why their bosses are bad because they’re trying to make them work, and Church. Those are the main topics.

Edit: I was asked by one of the attorneys whether or not I could follow a particular Florida law blindly — specifically one stating that a rental car company is responsible for anything a renter does in one of their cars. I told the court that that would depend on what the law stated. I told them that if it said the rental car company was guilty of manslaughter if one of their renters ran over someone then I wouldn’t support it, but in other cases I would. I said it depended on what the law actually said.

So the judge stops the attorney and addresses me directly. She says that she appreciates my thoughts but that my only job is to interpret the facts according to the law. She gave the example of Marijuana use, saying that even if I didn’t agree with the law I’d have to rule according to it.

So that’s when I chimed in with, “So what you’re telling me, your honor, is that it doesn’t matter what’s right or wrong, but only what the law says?” She laughed and said, “Exactly.”

So anyway, for some strange reason I wasn’t picked for that jury. :)