Called to jury duty, but ...

By David Skolnick (Contact)

I came close to checking off an entry on my bucket list.

For those who don’t know: a bucket list is a wish list of things you want to do before you die, as in "kick the bucket."

There are some big ones on my list, such as replacing (on a temporary basis, of course) the late Maurice Gibb in the Bee Gees, and doing a few concerts. Barry and Robin, you know how to get a hold of me.

There are some smaller ones on my list. I checked one off my list last year when the Skolnicks became a Nielsen Family. Nielsen is the company that measures television viewership by selecting certain households to log every show they watch. We were even paid $4 to help decide the popularity of TV shows for two weeks.

Also on the bucket list is serving on a jury.

Mr. Foreman

A lot of people hate the thought of being a juror. Not only do I want to be on a jury, I want to be foreman. And not to brag, but I’d be a great juror.

I received a jury summons once in my life, about 18 years ago, but it was for the wrong county. It’s a long and not interesting story.

So you could imagine my excitement when I received my summons from Mahoning County last month to report for potential jury duty.

Some colleagues at The Vindicator told me I had no chance of being seated on a jury. It had something to do with being a reporter and a bit of a loudmouth. I have no idea what they’re talking about regarding the latter.

I was among about 160 people summoned for jury duty Jan. 3. We were divided into six potential jury panels. The last two lists of people would go to courtrooms that afternoon to be questioned to sit on juries; the legal term is the voir dire process.

As Jury Commissioner Bob Jackson, a former longtime Vindicator reporter, read off the names, my heart was racing.

Some people cheered when their names were called to not serve that day.

Not me; I cheered when I was named to one of the panels for a trial. An hour later I was informed that the defendant in my case took a plea bargain, meaning my services weren’t needed for that day. I thought that was the end. How was Panel E going to be selected for a trial during the next two weeks?

To my surprise, the 26 members of Panel E reported this past Monday to hear a civil trial. It involved the widow of a former steelworker suing a defunct company to receive workers’ compensation.

Civic duty

It doesn’t sound terribly exciting to some, but I was interested in doing my civic duty. Some of my fellow potential jurors had obvious conflicts and a few admitted they couldn’t be objective. That lessened the number of those in the jury pool.

I knew I was in trouble when the plaintiff’s lead attorney started a question with: “Not to pick on you, Mr. Skolnick, but...” Not to pick on you typically means I’m going to pick on you.

Each side can eliminate potential jurors for no reason.

After what must have been about an hour of questions, the defendant’s attorney was happy with the jurors, including me, who were in the jury box. I thought I had made it. But the same guy who didn’t pick on me said I was excused.

I’ve lived in Mahoning County for close to 16 years. Hopefully it won’t be another 16 years before I’m summoned for jury duty.

I’m also hoping it isn’t that long before I hear from the Bee Gees.