Today was Day 1 of my attempt to take part in the judicial system...

8:30 am - Arrive at court via Gloria Jeans. Cannot do this without coffee. Courthouse foyer is packed. There are 100 other potential jurors. Everyone seems to be in a good mood.

8:50 am - Get called into the jury room. Have to be searched, checked with the metal detector and ticked off the list. I am not allowed to take my Gloria Jeans coffee with me. I joke that I'll drink it to prove it's not explosive. Get told if I keep making jokes like that I will be held in contempt of court, however they relent and let me take the coffee past the checkpoint into the Sherriff's office. Not allowed into the jury room until the coffee is finished.

9:15 am - Coffee finished. Now have 100 people squished into the jury room which has 12 chairs, a conference table, instant coffee and 2 packets of biscuits. Either they're expecting a "loaves and fishes" type miracle or someone's not really up on the concept of catering for a large crowd. It is sweltering and standing room only.

9:30 am - Taken into the courtroom. There is seating for about 50 people. Everyone else has to stand. I manage to score a seat using the old Indian trick of "pushing and shoving". Get shown a video explaining the judicial process. Can't see much of the video but I am now intimately acquainted with the belt loops on the trousers of the man standing in front of me.

9:45 am - All the old, infirm, blind, deaf and Secondborn - who also got called up and who can't sit still long enough to hear a case because of her back - are sent home.

10:00 am - All shuffled out of the courtroom and back into the jury room so they can hear an unrelated matter in the court. We get told to shut up for being too noisy. I manage another coffee, a seat and two biscuits. Pushing and shoving is proving a very effective tactic:)

10:20 am - And it's back to the courtroom. Charges and witness list are read out. All the people who want out have to line up, take an oath and convince the judge they shouldn't be there. Knowing someone in the accused's family is not sufficient excuse. Accused apparently comes from the largest family in Central Australia. Everybody knows someone in the family. Among the better excuses for a trial expected to last 2 days...  "I have a TV station to run", "I'm too busy" and "I have to go to Sydney next month".

11:00 - Have run out of excuses and they start drawing out the jury. I have found a seat but can't see a thing because there is a wall of people between me and the business end of the courtroom. Now it feels like we're playing bingo. They call out numbers and I keep expecting them to say "sixty six, lickety splits" or something equally absurd.

11:30 - My number didn't come up. Oh well. I'm off the hook until next Monday when they empanel the jury for the next trial.

It looks so much more exciting on television:)

I could have told you that ;)

We have a major trial starting next week, they expect the jury selection to go one for at least a week, if not two, for the one trial (expected to last several months). Apparently, it the biggest call up they've ever made or something along those lines.

I suggest watching 12 Angry Men to get your judicial fix.

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