Guilty!

Well I have spent the last two days doing jury duty. I really thought I would get out of it. I thought the defence lawyer for a DUI would see a mom with young children who have never had a drink and would think "she is not what we want" the prosecutor said he thought I would have been his next choice to get rid of. We started at 8:30 in the morning yesterday and finished today at around eleven thirty. It took us about an hour and a half to deliberate. The defendant refused the breath test at purgatory (the jail here). He said he wouldn't do one without his lawyer present. He said his dog jumped on his arm while he was driving, that made him swerve and almost run off the road. The cop that was at the stop sign didn't see him swerve, he didn't even turn to make the curve in the road, that is why he went off the road. They gave him 3 different DUI tests and he failed all 3. We found him guilty. It was hard for me to decide someone had chosen to break the law. I felt good about my verdict, I thought he was guilty. I just felt bad being the one to say yes he was guilty. I felt bad that he had made the choices he did. If I could change anything I would change his decision to drive his car that night. After the trial the prosecutor talked to us for a minute and told us that there were things he couldn't tell us in court. Like this is his 3rd DUI arrest (and perhaps conviction) in 10 years. On the scene the man took a breathalyzer test, and failed. It isn't admissible in court like the one at the jail would have been. When he failed it on the side of the road, it was at a .167! The drinking limit is .08! I felt even better about the conviction after I heard that. It could have been me and my kids that he hit when he was driving, rather then almost killing himself when he drove off the road. I am now done with jury duty for at least 2 years. It was a good experience. I felt like I learned a lot. I made a difference and I would totally do it again. I just wish I could have picked a different date for it. I missed out on #1-going to Eastons classroom to help out #2 family game night at the school #3 piano lessons for two kids #4 spending time with my friend visiting from out of town #5 dentist appointment for all 4 kids. #6 running with my friends on Monday #7 working out with my friends on Tuesday #8 running with my kids on Tuesday. I also had to bug my friends and get 4 of them to tend my kids at different times. I wish I could have said some days were better then others, but such is life. That is the way the jury system works. And today it worked well.