Back to Court Tomorrow

This time I am going to court to serve on the jury...maybe. I realize that this is our duty as citizens to serve as a jury of peers for those being tried in court. However, jury duty never comes at a convenient time. I hope that the court case gets dismissed or they make a deal outside of court. I do not want to be on one of those 3 days or longer cases.

The last time I served on a jury was around 1988. That case was one concerning eminent domain. The defendant did not show up to court, so the judge instructed us that we must find for the government. He did explain that we did have the right to determine any amount of judgment for payment to the defendant for his property, up to the fair market value for the property. Of course I am sure that the fair market value is nowhere near what that property was worth to the owner. Since 1988 eminent domain lawsuits have given even more power to the government to seize lands whenever they want.

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