Saturday afternoon found me jumping for joy! I was thrilled when I got my mail.

Why? I was finally called for Jury Duty. I’ve been dying to be called for jury duty for the thirteen years I’ve been registered to vote. Why you ask? Because, in the years that I represented the poor and underprivilaged, and the not so poor and privileged, I’ve never seen anyone in a jury pool that looks like me. Black women, college educated, with revolutionary politics.

When I went to court, I didn’t see a jury of their peers — very poor or very privilaged.

I’ve branded the system biased — the deceased previous owner of my home has been solicited for jury duty a dozen times, me alive and well, never — until Saturday. I’ve been registered to vote in three states — and no jury summons — until Saturday.

Other than transferring my location — I’m not driving seventeen miles to Compton — I’m ready to serve. Criminal or civil trial, it doesn’t matter. It will be nice to be a courtroom and not have so much at stake for me or my clients. I’m dying to see how persuasive attorneys can be. Will the judge be fair? I’m awash in anticipation.

A few years ago, I read Actual Innocence – from Barry Scheck and the folks at the Innocence Project. I belive (egomaniac that I am) that if I were on a jury folks like that would not be wrongly convicted.

Rightly, or wrongly, there’s a strong belief that African-American women are the most fair jurors. I hope this stereotype gets me on the jury and we’ll see what happens from there.

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