Whether you view it as your civic duty or an inconvenient pain in the neck, jury duty is both educational and entertaining as well.

When I got my official Yakima County jury summons a few weeks ago, my first thought was "Oh man."

While I understand that jury duty is one of the most important things a citizen can do in civilian service to your community, it's still a hassle.

On the one hand, the process is fascinating. The basic things you see in TV courtroom dramas are all there, but things seem to be more laid back than the procedures you see on your flatscreen. The judge seems more personable, the attorneys aren't as slick as their TV counterparts, and the bailiff wears a suit rather than a uniform.

On the other hand,  being a Yakima County jury candidate means dealing with lousy parking, waiting in line a long time to deal with courthouse security, and navigating the unfamiliar hallways in a slightly remodeled building.

Then, there's the jury selection process itself. I was one of 77 people in the pool for this particular trial. I was assigned No. 64. I won't go into details as the trial gets underway Wednesday, but it will be a felony trial. The bailiff explained that if you had a higher selection number, you probably would not be picked. He said the prosecuting attorney and defense attorney would probably not pick anyone that was seated beyond the first three rows in the courtroom.

The judge then gave us some instructions, and then asked us if it would be a hardship for anyone to serve. About 20 people said yes, the judge asked their reasons and excused most of them from their jury duty term. We were then asked a little bit about ourselves so the attorneys could start to determine who would be acceptable  jurors. After asking us questions about our attitudes about certain aspects and possible scenarios that may have been pertinent to the trial, the attorneys agreed to 14 people (12 jurors and two alternates) to serve. The bailiff's previous remarks had been prophetic. All of the people chosen had been seated in the first three rows.

Remember what I said about the reality pool sitting in a real jury pool as opposed to one on television? I did see some things that reminded me of a courtroom drama.

The prosecutor was tall, dark and appeared to be brooding while listening to the defense attorney question the perspective jurors. He almost had a villain-like quality about him. The defense attorney had a boyish, baby-faced appearance. Their method of questioning  the jurors was the exact opposite as compared to their outward appearances. Where the prosecutor was very personable, the defense attorney was somewhat harsh and almost hostile in his approach.

As I said before, jury duty is both educational and entertaining. But since I still have eight days to go, it's still a pain in the neck.

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