Jury Duty #304 by Hank Silverberg I am on jury duty standby for the entire month of October. Serving on a jury is an important thing. Trial by jury is a basic right of all Americans, and getting a fair trial with judgement by your peers is one of the basic foundations of our Republic. It's in the U.S. Constitution. If you are registered to vote, then they have you on a list. They call a huge pool when they need a jury to make sure they get enough people. If you are called you have to check in every Friday for a month to see if there is a trial the next week, and whether they need jurors. The last time it happened for me was more than ten years ago when I was still a full-time working reporter. I had to go to the courthouse, sit for several hours while they picked a jury of six people for a civil case, and then got dismissed. I do beleive it's my civil duty to serve. But--reporters d