Monday, February 17, 2020 – Dressing for Court
Last Monday, I had jury duty. I know I am age exempt, but I choose to answer the summons and appear. I show up because I believe serving on a jury ranks right up there with voting and serving your country in the military. One is never too old to do these things in some way.
I noted on the summons the directive to “dress appropriately for court proceedings.” This is a relative phrase to one’s thought processes regarding what is appropriate for one’s court attire.
For example, I chose a pair of black twill pants, recently creased from the cleaners and a blue pin-stripe cotton button down shirt, also recently starched from the cleaners. I wore real black shoes (i.e. not tennis shoes or flip flops.) This ensemble was accentuated and topped off with my Ruth Bader Ginsberg socks. PS – my hair was not purple at the time.
There are three district courts on the fourth floor of the Brazos County Courthouse. All prospective jurors show up at 8:30 am. The result is many, many people milling around in their appropriate court attire. Most of the people are looking at their phones or reading a book. With each opening of the elevator door a new throng of appropriately attired court clothes appeared.
But then a man of some indeterminate age between 21 and 40, steps off the elevator. HE is wearing black jeans and black T-shirt with white lettering that read:
I (Heart) Big Fat Doobies.
I was so over-dressed. I was not one of the chosen ones for my district court. Not because of my appropriate attire. Probably when I said I was a “recovering bureaucrat retired from the state of Texas.” They know that I know how the systems work.
I do not know what happened to man. He was obviously called for another court. I have a pretty good guess that he too was not chosen FOR jury duty, but perhaps chosen BY the jury for jail duty.
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