The jury pool in Midland County, Texas, Monday morning consisted of about 200 people who dutifully honored their summoned to show up at the courthouse by 8:30 am. And they all sat patiently until Judge Dean Rucker came in to listen to reasons why they should be excused. A few got off, but most had to stick it out.
The building was originally constructed as an office building some years back. It changed hands a few times finally ending up as county property and getting a courthouse makeover. The airport like security at the entry to the old courthouse was usually very annoying, but entry into this new one was amazingly smooth. The extra metal detector made a big difference, and the guards used a wand for those who set off the alarm instead of making them go back and forth through the poles, stripping a little bit each time.
In the jury room those hard plastic seats gave the impression of government cost consciousness if one didn't think too hard about the total sum absorbed by that monument to justice and land records.
On day one, Monday, three panels were made up with a total of about 120 potential jurors, and the rest were sent away mid morning and ordered back Tuesday. So I there I was on day two, my bottom nestled into the plastic, when they called me up for a panel of 44 to go up to Judge Hyde's eighth floor courtroom to face a voir dire for a trial for cocaine-possession-with-intent-to-deliver.
Next, the trial.
Post Script: If you are a terrorists, then leave now. For the merely curious, there's a way to smuggle metal past the guards. As I entered the courthouse after lunch I walked in behind a friendly lady wearing a ton of jewelry and a County name tag. She set off the metal detector, but they just smiled amiably and sent her through. So if a person wanting to smuggle something in they could either bribe or blackmail a county employee or utilize a look-a-like with a fake ID. But this is all theoretical. No one would really do that.
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