They seem to arrive every 8 months or so.
The black Dallas County Official Business logo in the return address corner is what I first notice, then my eyes do a quick to check to see who is in luck this time -- The envelope please! This time the envelope once again had Sues name on it. A morning date at the Dallas County Crowley Court Building for jury duty -- but wait!, that's not all! It comes with an all- Public-Transit-expenses-paid to for a day pass on any bus or light rail of your choosing! Truth be told, I usually find the proceedings somewhat interesting, but then again if I had my drothers, I could be more productive arranging my own schedule.
Sue was selected with about 40 other citizens to wait inside Criminal Court Room and listen to the lawyers lay out the qualifications for service to the pool of prospective jurors. It was a child sex abuse case. Sue knew one of the other prospective jurors, a teacher at the church pre-school. This elderly pre-school teacher confided that she just did not think she could be impartial in such a circumstance. Sue, while not relishing the opportunity to serve on such a jury did believe she could do what the justice system required. If anything, Sue is equitable to a fault, always ready to hear the other side. However, this day she was assigned a seat near the back of court, which experience tells me that the 12 member jury is usually selected from the first 2 or 3 rows. The jury was selected and she and she was free to use her DART Rail pass to ride back home by mid-afternoon, assigning her $6 check for time and service rendered to Dallas County over to a charity fund for children.
Of course my unintentional escape from Jury Duty last year was using the ploy of showing up on Monday, a day ahead of when I was summoned. Out of a thousands souls waiting in the Common Jury Room that day, the County Courts Lady called my very name over the PA to report to Clerks Office. I was told to take my $6 and leave, since I was supposed to be a juror tomorrow! I hear them thinking, "Beat it dufus!" Cha-Ching, baby $6 bucks easy money!
A former boss once told me that he was waiting as a prospective juror when the prosecuting attorney asked a woman next to him if she could convict a man if the evidence warranted? She assured him she could, because, while he was talking to the pool of prospective jurors, she had asked God for a sign as to whether the accused was truly guilty, and God had answered immediately. She noticed right then that the court room fluorescent lights flickered, indicating divine judgment had been revealed. In fact, she stated she would be glad to take a seat on the jury and do God's faithful bidding. But Devil take all, go figure; she was not chosen as a juror.
****************************************************************
The next week, on my way to work in the morning I drove past a house about a block away from mine and noticed a police car and an unmarked car on the curb with two plain clothes detectives and a uniformed officer going through the contents of a red car.
On Thursday evening coming home NBC Channel 5 had a news truck at the same spot, while Fox Channel 4 had their lead reporter and camera man interviewing a neighbor. I pulled slowly by, drove home then walked out the front door to go see what the story was. I saw my neighbor, Max out front smoking his cigar and told him two TV news crews were filming down the street. He invited himself along to go see.
Channel 5 had just left, but Fox was still there, so we inquired as to the nature of local story; identify ourselves as long-time neighborhood dwellers. At first the news team was tight lipped, but Max and I began to speculate that it might be related to an ICE (Immigration & Customs Enforcement) round up we had heard about earlier. Max then threw in a tidbit about an arrest of a Garland Youth Volunteer Soccer Coach on charges of sexual molestation of a young boy. The on-air reporter then confirmed, "You are looking at it - right here."
Max then got interviewed on camera and we both answered questions about the neighborhood and our thoughts. My Calvinist roots lamented, Total Depravity as a basic human condition. Max and I were filmed talking and walking back to our respective homes.
News at 9 - but no film. Max and I ended up on the cutting room floor. Ironically, the interview they ended up airing was with a young man, Justin, who expressed disgust and shock. But Justin, is known to us as a habitual neighborhood criminal and in trouble with the law since about the age of 12. The evening news had the police spokesman making a statment and he was flanked by LULAC folks who were there to spin the story that this sexual predator had nothing to do with immigration policy - just in case you out there in the TV viewing audience might be thinking just such a thought. The Garland Soccer Association released a comment that they had done a background check on this coach using his driver's license and found nothing.
It seems to me we already have more than enough American perverts that we don't need to be importing them. But hey, America is the land of opportunity and liberty, everyone who wants to come on up here (for whatever reason); just get a fake document or two, get an official driver's license (what could be the harm?). And then you'll have the opportunity to take liberties, and who cares? After all all foreigners should have the right to disregard American laws and to come to America to disregard our laws. Who cares?
Who cares? That is a good question to ask the young victim, who when the detectives ask if he knew why the police were talking to him? Answered, "Because my coach rapes me".
A Calvinist woud lament, total depravity - a human condition.
The black Dallas County Official Business logo in the return address corner is what I first notice, then my eyes do a quick to check to see who is in luck this time -- The envelope please! This time the envelope once again had Sues name on it. A morning date at the Dallas County Crowley Court Building for jury duty -- but wait!, that's not all! It comes with an all- Public-Transit-expenses-paid to for a day pass on any bus or light rail of your choosing! Truth be told, I usually find the proceedings somewhat interesting, but then again if I had my drothers, I could be more productive arranging my own schedule.
Sue was selected with about 40 other citizens to wait inside Criminal Court Room and listen to the lawyers lay out the qualifications for service to the pool of prospective jurors. It was a child sex abuse case. Sue knew one of the other prospective jurors, a teacher at the church pre-school. This elderly pre-school teacher confided that she just did not think she could be impartial in such a circumstance. Sue, while not relishing the opportunity to serve on such a jury did believe she could do what the justice system required. If anything, Sue is equitable to a fault, always ready to hear the other side. However, this day she was assigned a seat near the back of court, which experience tells me that the 12 member jury is usually selected from the first 2 or 3 rows. The jury was selected and she and she was free to use her DART Rail pass to ride back home by mid-afternoon, assigning her $6 check for time and service rendered to Dallas County over to a charity fund for children.
Of course my unintentional escape from Jury Duty last year was using the ploy of showing up on Monday, a day ahead of when I was summoned. Out of a thousands souls waiting in the Common Jury Room that day, the County Courts Lady called my very name over the PA to report to Clerks Office. I was told to take my $6 and leave, since I was supposed to be a juror tomorrow! I hear them thinking, "Beat it dufus!" Cha-Ching, baby $6 bucks easy money!
A former boss once told me that he was waiting as a prospective juror when the prosecuting attorney asked a woman next to him if she could convict a man if the evidence warranted? She assured him she could, because, while he was talking to the pool of prospective jurors, she had asked God for a sign as to whether the accused was truly guilty, and God had answered immediately. She noticed right then that the court room fluorescent lights flickered, indicating divine judgment had been revealed. In fact, she stated she would be glad to take a seat on the jury and do God's faithful bidding. But Devil take all, go figure; she was not chosen as a juror.
****************************************************************
The next week, on my way to work in the morning I drove past a house about a block away from mine and noticed a police car and an unmarked car on the curb with two plain clothes detectives and a uniformed officer going through the contents of a red car.
On Thursday evening coming home NBC Channel 5 had a news truck at the same spot, while Fox Channel 4 had their lead reporter and camera man interviewing a neighbor. I pulled slowly by, drove home then walked out the front door to go see what the story was. I saw my neighbor, Max out front smoking his cigar and told him two TV news crews were filming down the street. He invited himself along to go see.
Channel 5 had just left, but Fox was still there, so we inquired as to the nature of local story; identify ourselves as long-time neighborhood dwellers. At first the news team was tight lipped, but Max and I began to speculate that it might be related to an ICE (Immigration & Customs Enforcement) round up we had heard about earlier. Max then threw in a tidbit about an arrest of a Garland Youth Volunteer Soccer Coach on charges of sexual molestation of a young boy. The on-air reporter then confirmed, "You are looking at it - right here."
Max then got interviewed on camera and we both answered questions about the neighborhood and our thoughts. My Calvinist roots lamented, Total Depravity as a basic human condition. Max and I were filmed talking and walking back to our respective homes.
News at 9 - but no film. Max and I ended up on the cutting room floor. Ironically, the interview they ended up airing was with a young man, Justin, who expressed disgust and shock. But Justin, is known to us as a habitual neighborhood criminal and in trouble with the law since about the age of 12. The evening news had the police spokesman making a statment and he was flanked by LULAC folks who were there to spin the story that this sexual predator had nothing to do with immigration policy - just in case you out there in the TV viewing audience might be thinking just such a thought. The Garland Soccer Association released a comment that they had done a background check on this coach using his driver's license and found nothing.
It seems to me we already have more than enough American perverts that we don't need to be importing them. But hey, America is the land of opportunity and liberty, everyone who wants to come on up here (for whatever reason); just get a fake document or two, get an official driver's license (what could be the harm?). And then you'll have the opportunity to take liberties, and who cares? After all all foreigners should have the right to disregard American laws and to come to America to disregard our laws. Who cares?
Who cares? That is a good question to ask the young victim, who when the detectives ask if he knew why the police were talking to him? Answered, "Because my coach rapes me".
A Calvinist woud lament, total depravity - a human condition.
