I don't know where to start. OK, I went to jury duty Monday morning. I sat through the orientation, which consisted of various instructions and explanations, and a video. I sat and read the book I brought (Blood Work) in the jury assembly room until about 10:30. At that time I was called into a courtroom with my panel and 2 and a half other panels. I was told the assignment of jurors to panels is done randomly by a computer. At this time, the D.A. and then the defense attorney asked blanket questions of the group, a panel at a time. The questions included "Have you or a family member been the victim of assault?", "Have you even been on a jury?", "Have you or a family member ever been to trial?" If anyone raised their hand, they were asked to explain and asked additional questions. I had to explain about Jeff's conviction for simple battery not long after we were married. It's a long story I don't want to get into right now. I also told of a time we were pulled over for a broken tail light and the cop walked around the car looking for anything he could give us a ticket for. They had asked if we had ever had a negative run in with a member of law enforcement.

After both attorneys were finished, we were asked to stand individually and give our name, closest major intersection to residence, employer and occupation. Some people were asked additional questions, some were not, and some were practically grilled. Some of those questions were "What is your educational background?", "Are you a religious person?", "Where did you go to high school?", "When did you graduate?", "Do you want to be on this jury?" I was specifically asked (by the D.A.) about my high school, when I finished, where my husband went to school, and his occupation. When I mentioned 3 schools for Jeff, some people chuckled. I also said that he did not graduate, and that he is a mechanic. (After viewing the videotaped interview with the defendant after his arrest, I wondered if the information about Jeff was the reason I was chosen. The defendant had worked in a machine shop, had been in trouble with the law previously, and did not graduate. Maybe they figured I would not be biased against such a person.) They did not ask me whether I wanted to be on a jury or not. One of the jurors was asked, and answered a definite "No." So much for that.

The defense attorney had no questions for me. After everyone had stood up and been questioned (or not), we were sent to lunch. (This all lasted until Tuesday.) We were allowed to go anywhere as long as we wore the blue juror badges (there were red ones once the jury and 2 alternates was selected), did not discuss anything that happened in the courtroom, and were back at the time specified.

After lunch, the jury was selected. The clerk would call out names individually, and the state would say "accept" or "excused." Then the defense would do the same. Of course if both accepted, that person was a juror. I later found out that each attorney had so many they could "strike," and they could use strikes in order to get to a certain juror they definitely wanted before the maximum were taken. The whole time, I was thinking I would not be chosen because they did not question me at length. Apparently that meant that they had already decided either way. I was the last juror selected, and the two after me were alternates. (We did not find out who the alternates were until being sent to deliberate. At that time, the alternates were sent to another room.)

We were then taken to the jury room. We were given notepads and pencils, our red juror badges, and our cell phones were taken. We were then taken to court to be sworn, the charges were read, and opening arguments began. The charges were malice murder, felony murder, aggravated assault, and armed robbery. I don't think I'll go into all of the testimony in detail. We heard from the arriving officers, the lead investigator, the medical examiner, the mother, best friend, and coworkers of the victim, people from the GBI DNA lab, the 911 operator, and probably others I can't remember right now. The evidence included a tape of the 911 call, the video and audio of the arriving officers, video and photos of the crime scene and defendant's room, video of the defendant's interview after arrest, tools, clothing, and shoes taken from the defendant's room, autopsy photos and report... whoa. Too much detail. To clarify some of that, I'll tell you that the victim was the night clerk at a motel, and the defendant the maintenance man of the motel who also lived there.

We were taken from the courtroom to the jury room numerous times whenever one of the attorneys had an objection to us seeing some evidence, or certain testimony. Whenever one of them asked to approach the bench, I prepared to gather my things and leave. Though we didn't have to leave every time that happened. I didn't get annoyed until Thursday, which we had been warned would be a long day. I got home around 7:30 pm that night. What annoyed me was not being allowed a break for about 2 hours. My knees are still stiff from all that sitting. I tried to not move around too much and draw attention to myself. I also tried not to look to my right at all, which was where the audience was. I knew some of the people were the victim's family and friends. I didn't know if anyone was there for the defendant. I didn't want to risk anything improper or any confrontations. I looked at the witness, the attorney(s) or the judge.