Home Machinist's Journal

Goody goody - jury duty today. Something new and different, I guess.

On the other hand, it will be a big change from my usual day so maybe I should embrace it and enjoy the experience.

I used to a jury summons about twice a year. Only got picked for jury one time.
Opted out when I turned 70.

It used to be 70 here that you could opt out of.  They bumped it to 75 now. Just when I thought I could get out of it. Make me wait another five years.

70 is the opt out age here, but I'm only 66, so I did not have that option.

The case lasted two days and was rather interesting. A fellow ran a red light, prompting the officer to get behind him and do a traffic stop. Heavy smell of weed, so the officer did the standard field sobriety tests. Defendant passed one of the five, failed the other four mostly from not being able to follow instructions. 

We found him guilty on both counts.

The straw that broke the camel's back was that he kept talking and talking, trying to get out of it. He finally tried being honest with the cop, telling the officer that he "smokes and drives all the time."   "I'm high" and "I'm wasted."

The funniest part was as he was being cuffed and he kept telling the officer, "But it's legal, it's legal."

The officer responded, "It's legal to possess it and to smoke it, but it's not legal to drive while under the influence."

Body cameras are wonderful!

After the case was finished and I got back home I Googled the defendant's name. Holy cow the guy has a list of past offenses as long as your arm. Things like fleeing an officer in a motor vehicle, domestic assault, damage to private property, etc., etc.   The guy is a real piece of work. 

Lol!!!! It's amazing what people will do to get out of being arrested for a crime they committed.