Photo by Merlina McGovern, Metal sculpture outside the Lowell Justice Center
Well, that was an experience. I probably slept about four hours last night because I was nervous about having to get to the Lowell courthouse by 8 a.m. I spent all evening catastrophizing, thinking that, surely, I was going to get pulled into some criminal case that was going to last weeks. What was I going to do as a freelancer? How would I get any of that time back?
It turns out that I needn’t have worried too much. The Lowell Justice Center (a sleek steel and glass building in the center of Lowell, MA), houses five courts: the superior Middlesex court, the Lowell district court, the juvenile court, the probate and family court, and the housing court. Only the district court had cases that we were going to be possible jurors for. Additionally, I believe there were only civil cases on the docket, so only seven jurors would need to be seated, rather than twelve.
There should have been fifty juror candidates summoned today, but twelve people did not show up, which put them at risk for a $2,000 fine—a steep fee for the two hours that we ended up staying in the center.
My first impression upon entering the building was that the building was clean and modern. I was imagining a dirty, rundown affair, filled with sadness and despair. While I’m sure that those two emotions were hiding somewhere in the building, they weren’t very much in evidence as I made it through the metal detectors before heading toward the juror room.
When I entered the room, a chipper court officer with a heavy Boston accent greeted me and asked for my filled-out juror form. I opened a manila folder and handed him my form—every T crossed and every i dotted. Not everyone entering had been as fastidious. Most had forgotten to fill out the forms (which help the courts determine possible conflicts of interest). Some had come in even though they weren’t scheduled to come in (you have to call at 3 p.m. the day before to see if you need to come in).
The admission process was a lot more efficient than I was expecting. The officer made sure to tell everyone that there were water bottles available (for free!) and clean bathrooms for our comfort. There was free Wi-Fi and electrical outlets for everyone.
As everyone filed in, I realized that I shouldn’t have prayed to have not been called in. If you get the message that you don’t need to come to the courthouse, your name gets dropped back into the jury pool, and you could be summoned again. One man said that he was summoned every three years (every three years and a few months, the officer corrected).
The informational video we had to watch informed us that if you are called in, you are removed from the jury pool for three years (even if you don’t actually serve in a case). The video also let us know that Black people served first on a US jury in Massachusetts before the Civil War. Women wouldn’t be given the right to serve on a Massachusetts jury until 1950!
As I watched the video, I felt less frazzled by the summons. It is actually an awesome responsibility to help our justice system work. I was also a bit afraid; the idea that I could be responsible for someone being found not guilty (or guilty) was overwhelming. Suddenly, this summons didn’t feel so inconvenient. Imagine the many lives moving through this courthouse, all waiting for justice.
The court officer promptly brought in the day’s judge and asked us all to rise (and remove our caps). I know that I’m getting old, because this judge looked like a teenager. I always pictured judges to be old (and therefore wise), so I was thrown for a bit of a loop.
After the judge introduced himself, he let us know that the various cases for the day were in the process of getting ready. We would need to wait in the juror room to be called. Many cases settle, aren’t ready, or don’t need juries, so there was a chance that we wouldn’t be called up.
As it turned out, we weren’t called up. After two short hours I was free from jury duty, for the next three years at least. The next time I get called up, though, I won’t be as irritated, given the large responsibility we are given as American citizens.
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