Thursday, January 18, 2018

Oh No, Jury Duty!!!

In the past, I viewed jury duty as a necessary evil and hoped with all my being not to get selected. Too busy, too much going on. Never mind that my employer provided me with time off at full pay, it just ment I would get further and further behind at work. Since retirement, my thinking has changed (slightly). It might actually be interesting to serve on a jury. And yes, it is, after all, my civic duty. Plus I'm overdue... I've reported for jury duty a number of times over the years, but never selected. So when the dreaded jury duty card came in the mail, I thought no big deal. That is, until I read the fine print. The North Orange County Superior Court is in my city, just a few miles away. That's where I've always had to report in the past. So why are they telling me I must report to the Superior Court in Santa Ana?? It's a very challenging commute which can easily take a full hour during peak traffic times. My casual acceptance toward jury duty quickly changed to a negative view. I even contacted the court to request a change of location (denied!!).

Long story short, I reported (along with about 300 plus other people) to Santa Ana. Left my house by about 6:45 AM, giving myself an hour of driving time, 10 minutes to find where to park (which can be tricky) and another 10 minutes to walk from the parking structure to the courthouse (about 3 blocks). After sitting most of the day trying to figure out how to connect to the public wifi (without success), I was dismissed at 4 PM without being selected (yippee!!).

The day wasn't a total loss. We were given a long lunch (1.5 hours) which I used to walk around Santa Ana and took photos with my iPhone.
The shot above is the front view of the Superior Court in Santa Ana. It was an overcast morning with a little light drizzle. It looks like a government building, don't you think?

Another shot of the courthouse, high contrast b&w, and reflecting more of my "moody" mood related to having to drive down to Santa Ana (a commute I would be making daily for a while if I get selected).

By the afternoon, the sky was a pretty blue with some fluffy white clouds. This is a shot of the courtyard area behind the courthouse (and surrounded by other government buildings). This looks like a festive shot, with the flags flying in the breeze, until you look a little closer. See the tents? This is a large homeless encampment. It's absolutely amazing to me that that all these homeless folk live here literally in the shadow of the courthouse. You have high-priced attorneys going in and out of the courthouse, wearing expensive suits and driving luxury cars and walking by all these people who have nothing. It's a real study in contrasts... the two extremes of society working/living side by side but having little to do with each other.

We were warned first thing in the morning not to use the south entrance to the courthouse (because it takes you next to the homeless encampment where these photos were taken) and not to walk through the encampment. According to the local paper, there have been multiple documented cases of violence against workers passing through the area. Local workers complain, demand more protection and request that their shifts end before dark. And no one is at greater risk than the homeless themselves. A sad situation.

Santa Ana Public Library.

The "401 Building" and Office of the District Attorney

I like the look of this old Spanish-style building. Reminds me of "old Santa Ana" and very different from the office buildings surrounding it.

Above is the old (original) Santa Ana Courthouse. At some point it must have become too small to meet the needs off a fast growing Orange County. I think it's currently used as a museum, and very glad they didn't tear it down! Look closely and you will see the contrast between old and new (mirrored high rise behind and to the right).

Old Victorian-style home that's been converted to a restaurant. I love these old houses, and there are a fair number still standing in Santa Ana, which is one of the oldest cities in Orange County.

A very cool old building, this is the original Santa Ana YMCA. All boarded up now, with a small homeless encampment in front, my hope is they preserve this beautiful building and give it a second life.

A couple of my favorite shots (above and below) Not sure how I managed to be crossing Main Street in Santa Ana without any cars around! Not a sight you see very often.
So, use the imaginary voting buttons below: Jury duty- Something you look forward to or something to be avoided at all cost??

Linking up with Skywatch Friday.
Click on the link to check out great skies from around the world.
Thanks for stopping by!!

38 comments:

  1. Great photos! I especially like the one with the Victorian-style home/restaurant and the homeless encampment/government buildings. I wish the government would build housing for the homeless. Thanks for sharing your day!

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  2. I have had Grand Jury Duty and it was interesting! lol Once a month for a year. I learned a lot, I must say!

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  3. Look at those gorgeous pictures!! A very productive looooong day!!! How many hours did it take you to get home? : )

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  4. I would love to do jury duty though I wouldn't have to drive because the various courthouses are not that far from where I live.

    I enjoyed reading about your experience and seeing the local photos. We too have a lot of homelessness. In fact I just read the other day that we now have almost 4000 homeless people in Vancouver. A 30% increase in the past few years. It's likely to get worse since housing is so unaffordable

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  5. At least you got to spend your jury duty time in a pretty town.

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  6. Beautiful blue skies. I was selected for jury duty about 15 years ago for a ridiculous case that shouldn't have made it to court. They settled half way thru the day - I wasted a day but I did my duty.

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  7. The blue sky and fluffy clouds make these pictures stunning.I've never been called for jury duty and would be quite happy if it stayed that way.

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  8. A beautiful report interesting with beautiful photos to support it

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  9. Amazing skies. Beautiful pics.
    Greetings

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  10. Been there with the jury duty lucky we only have to do it twice and I've done one though not selected. Sad about the homeless camp but we have them as well though not in such large encampments and not in such a public area, they would soon get dispersed. Great shots though the new courthouse looks more prison like

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  11. I've done jury service twice - first time was a hilarious case which was soon thrown out. Second time was more serious and very uncomfortable to listen to the evidence, certainly an eye-opener as to how the other half lives - the only witness I believed was a man let out of prison for the day to appear in court! As a result of that case I find I have some sympathy for the homeless and dispossessed. People camped outside a boarded up YMCA - that just about says it all.

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  12. Nice blue skies, thanks for sharing :)

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  13. Hello, I have never been selected for jury duty. Not sure if that is a good thing or bad. I feel sad about the homeless encampment but it is not good to have workers attacked. I would think they would make the camp move to another spot. They could use some of the empty buildings. Pretty blue skies. Happy Friday, enjoy your day and weekend!

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  14. Beautiful sky shots! Love the puffy clouds ~ Congrats to you ~ no jury duty ~

    Happy Weekend,
    A ShutterBug Explores,
    aka (A Creative Harbor)

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  15. no wifi...oh lord...that's like the world coming to an end

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  16. The skies cleared up nicely for you - those skies are beautiful! Love the older buildings in your photos - they have so much more character than the new sleek ones. My fave is the Victorian one converted into a restaurant. I've served on juries in the past and rather enjoyed it. Shame about the homeless and their encampment - it's too bad the old boarded up YMCA couldn't be fixed up and used to house some of them...

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  17. I always get made foreman the two times i was picked. Not the best time, unless they send for good food at lunch.

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  18. I do like those older buildings so much more!
    So far I've been excused jury duty but I have mixed feelings about it.

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  19. What an opportunity you grabbed - I was more and more horrified as I read this, and the lovely photos/older buildings could not make up for the ugliness of the story of the homeless encampment. The homeless, many times, are invisible to us - not so here.

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  20. Beautiful blue skies! I love the photos of the old buildings, especially the Victorian home.

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  21. Well, the walk and photos taken were an extra bonus on what could have been a very dreary day and also more added on to it if they had picked you!

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  22. Interesting. We have a different judicial system here (Sweden) so never had to ask myself that question.

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  23. Big difference in the sky from early to later. Beautiful city shots!

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  24. I thought the city sky reflected your feelings about being in the city. Not like the blue you usually have but it again came through in the afternoon. I've never been called for jury duty. They just randomly pick people from the electoral roll and you don't have any choice. I know people that have been called numerous times. When I was working I probably would have enjoyed the change of routine but now I think I would resent the time I lost. Loved the Victorian house. I've seen similar in New Zealand but never in Australia.

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  25. You got some neat photos, good to see what it looks like there.

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  26. Who designs these government buildings? So many look like 1970's concrete and steel - no imagination! Thank goodness the blue skies and clouds are redeeming.

    Your pictures of the homeless encampment are quite timely given some of the news lately about large cities in California and attempts to deal with the number of homeless people. We all should be ashamed about this ...

    I have always attempted to fulfill my jury duty when called.

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  27. In the end it was a positive excursion ! You could at least visit the town and see some beautiful things !

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  28. Great city captures. Love the fluffy clouds!
    I've never been in a court before, must be interesting :)

    Happy Sunday!

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  29. You have some really decent pics to show for your time. Tulsa is notorious for not treating their prospective jurors. For some reason I have never been called. My wife got called and got into voir dire for a big murder trial. Conducted in an auditorium and the judge ordered the heat turned off to keep everybody awake and bailiffs to get after anybody who looked like they were not paying attention. Nobody was excused for duty, not new mothers, people going on vacations they had paid for, people who were signed up for surgery. Nobody was excused.

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  30. Oh man you just reminded me - I have to call tonight to see if I have to come in the morning for Jury Duty. In New Mexico we are picked for the whole month. This month has been brutal having to remember to call every day to see if you have to come in. And in 5 years I've had to do this 3 times! Nice pictures. =)

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  31. hm, I heard of this before. We don´t have this Jury Duty system in Sweden. Maybe it would be a good thing to have. Makes people think twice I think :)
    Love the old houses. :)

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  32. My name came up last summer (in Eugene) and I was excited as it would have been my first time. But when I phoned in the nite before, the message said there were no cases and the whole panel was therefore dismissed! (In Lane Co anyway) anyone over 70 has the option of automatically opting out, but I wouldn’t do that because I think I still have most of my faculties in sipe of my great age. Also the courthouse is within easy walking distance of our apartment....I would def opt out if I had to drive as far as you did...that’s too much of a commute, glad you just had one day.

    It is a lovely old city ...one we’ve never visited...loved the walking tour.

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  33. First off, after seeing these photos, I need to get a new phone!
    I've been lucky to have always been on the "phone in" type of jury duty. I've never actually had to report.

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