7:50am: Milling about at the front entrance, because it's EMPLOYEES ONLY until 8am. I didn't actually have to show up until 8:30am, but I decided to walk from my place, and I wanted to leave plenty of leeway. In fact it only took about 20 minutes, and that included a wrong turn and so an extra couple blocks' worth of walking.

8:00am: Walk through a metal detector. Put my laptop bag through an x-ray scanner. I also put my keys, wallet, and hiptop in the bag so as to avoid the hassle of emptying my pockets into a little bin and having some security dude poke at them.

8:02am: Check out the lovely bathrooms.

8:05am: Wander downstairs to the jury waiting area. Stand in a short line to hand the nice lady my papers. Got my laptop out and found out that -- as I had in fact been told -- the building has free 802.11. It is, unfortunately though, not exactly the zippiest connection on earth. I've been trying to use my remote screen(1) session, but it'll be responsive and interactive for only about a minute at a time, and then there will be a delay of between a few seconds to a minute or so. So I've been doing a lot of blind typeahead (perhaps to the annoyance of my irc buddies).

8:55am: It looks like the line of people has dwindled down. Nice Check-in Lady is making an announcement over the loudspeaker: "Thank you for fulfilling your civic duty. The bathrooms are ... Payphones are located ... You will get a break as the schedule permits. ... Right now pre-trial proceedings are happening upstairs. You may get called ... Keep your summons with you. The best way to know your juror badge number is by keeping your summons, as it is printed on it. ... If you are assigned to a courtroom ... You are not reimbursed for parking ... By state law, jurors are not paid for the first day of service. ... If you are a government employee, state law says that ... If you need to leave the assembly room, please check in with us before you leave ... It is very important that everyone has checked in. ... Shortly we will be playing a video ... Safety is our primary concern. Should you be in need of any ... Should an emergency arise ... Thank you for your attention. Now at this time if you are a government employee, please raise your hand and ... "

9:03am: Several helpers are handing out special questionnaires to the government employees.

9:08am: Some other person appears to be manning the mike now. "Testing, testing, 1 2 3." It appears to be just about time for the video telling us how the justice system works (or something like that). "Can I see Becky last-name at the counter please?"

9:10am: TVs are turned on. Someone pressed play on the DVD player: "California. The greatest state in the union. Our state is a source of great natural beauty. ... But ... We have disputes. ... Upholding what is right and correcting what is wrong ... But who should make these decisions? Who could make them fairly? ... Who could be impartial? ... Many times, we don't trust any one official, or ... Whether it's a civil trial, or a criminal trial ... Instead, we trust in the community to make the right decision. This is our democratic ideal. ... 'Our system is better than other countries...' ... So important is our right to trial by jury ... Never again shall we be judged by ... 'I would love to have the jury that I served on...' ... 'We're all different. We're all coming together.' ... If chosen to be a juror ... Democracy is made real every day, by ... You may be asked to serve on a civil case ... or it may be a criminal case. ... What does it take? Common sense, fairness, and ... There are three stages for jurors ... 'Remain seated and come to order...' In the courtroom, the judge will ... The secretary ... The bailiff ... The court reporter ... 'Raise your right hands...' Jury selection starts with your ... The judge tells you about the claims or charges ... If you have any questions about your privacy or confidentiality, you may ... The attorneys want the best juries possible ... 'I am a salesman for a pharmaceutical company...' 'There is the issue of bias, and there's the issue of an open mind...' ... 'As a peremptory challenge, we would like to thank and excuse juror number six...' ... For a criminal case, there are ... You need no special training to be a juror, but you will follow some rules ... Keep your mind open ... You can't investigate the case independently ... 'Ladies and gentlemen of the jury...' 'Your Honor, I would like to submit these e-mails into evidence...' 'Objection, Your Honor!...' 'Objection sustained...' You may hear the testimony of a number of witnesses. ... After all the evidence is presented ... These statements are not evidence, they are points of view. ... Only a jury can decide. ... The judge will instruct you on how to ... 'Trying to come to some sort of agreement with twelve strangers...' ... Often, a guidebook is available to help organize ... You may organize yourselves as seems best. ... It will be your duty to give your opinion, and also to listen to the opinions of others. ... 'Let's all take another vote...' ... In a civil trial ... In a criminal trial ... 'We the jury...' ... Justice has been served. ... After the judge discharges you, you are not required ... It is often a deep and moving experience ... 'I came out feeling positive...' 'I felt good about myself...' Justice. Of the people. By the people. And for the people. You make these ideals real by serving on a jury." [Queue up stoic and patriotic march music.]

9:41am: The first set of names is being read over the loudpeaker (by yet another person). The names are being read in alphabetical order, and it's not just everyone in order, since my name was skipped over. Meanwhile, I've started working on some Very Important sudoku.

9:46am: A short list of people was called, and they were relieved of their duty. The rest of us are apparently in one judge's group, and that judge will be coming into the room to speak to us in a moment. Perhaps this will be my last entry for a while. (And no more sudoku, alas.)

9:50am: The judge came in and talked a bit about the logistics. The judge is a fairly avuncular guy, probably mid-sixties, and his demeanor makes me believe he has a decent sense of humor. Anyway, for my group, jury selection today will be for a case of his that will begin in early January. The trial is expected to last 10 (business) days, at which point jury deliberation will begin. He expects there to be no more than about three days of deliberation. He told people who thought that the schedule would be a hardship to come get a "green form," fill it out, and then get in line, and he would talk to each person individually. Everyone else will fill out some other questionnaire, hand it in, and our service will be over for the day. We will have to show up tomorrow at 9am for further jury selection, and possibly one or two more days after that. I don't think I can legitimately claim hardship, so I guess I'll be showing up tomorrow.

10:55am: I finished filling in the seven or eight pages of questionnaire and headed out, to return tomorrow at 9am for the next phase of selection. The questions ranged from personal history (the careers of myself, my parents, anyone I live with, where and when I was born, etc.), to how I felt about civil litigation (too many lawsuits? too few? just enough? how about monetary awards?), to whether I or close relatives/friends had experience in very specific areas, including law enforcement and insurance, but more interestingly some other stuff which, although I don't think anything said the questionnaire was confidential, I'm guessing I probably shouldn't mention until I am no longer a juror or juror-candidate.