The only time I've been through voir dire (back in California, many years before obtaining my CHL), I made it all the way through until the judge — a good friend of mine — asked the jury panel if any of us were personally acquainted with or related to anyone else in the courtroom, including the accused, either attorney, the clerk, the bailiff, or anyone else. I raised my hand. My friend, a superior court judge, said "Yes, Mr. Annoyed Man. I suppose you think that I should probably disclose to everyone here that you and I know each other from church, are members of the same Sunday School class, eat dinner together occasionally, and go camping together every year? Do either defense counsel or The People have any objection to this? Please approach the bench to consult." Neither attorney had any objection, and I made the jury.
We were told to return to the courtroom the following morning for the beginning of trial, so I reported bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, eager to experience my first courtroom drama. Upon arrival, I was informed by the clerk of the court that the trial had been postponed — the prosecutor having just been assigned the case the day before with no time to prepare — and that all the jurors were dismissed. That counted as fulfilling my jury duty obligation, and I was released from having to appear any further. Thus endeth the only time in my life that I have actually been summoned for and actually served on jury duty in my entire life.
So far, the courts in Tarrant County seem to have been content to muddle along without me.
