we're 23 diverse individuals


halfway
 through
service
on
 the grand jury

i have learned
my patience
 runs
 thin
 quickly

my tongue
 has
 been
 bitten
 to the quick

do tongues have quicks?

the grand jury
 is
 a secret process
 so
 i can't blog about it
 specifically
 but 
i think
 maybe
 character portraits
 of 
my fellow jurors
 like 
these are okay 

there's a young man
 who believes
 the grand jury system
 is flawed

the first day
he asked to see the judge

 clearly
 the judge was unimpressed

he didnt get excused

 after our first case had been presented
the assistant da read us the law

 that
 young man
questioned
 how a defendant had been found
 how the line up had been organized

he was asked to step into the ante room
 he was in there for 45 min

the rest of us
 sat
waiting

 he returned
with
 a stack
 of
 reading material
he
pored over
 while
another case was presented
after which
 he refused to vote 

12 votes are required
 one way or the other

 we're 23 people

his abstention was moot


we 
are
 such 
a diverse 
opinionated
 group
 intent on being polite
on doing things
 'fairly'

 the combination 
has
 made 
some of the deliberations
 drag on

 at one point
 we were voting on how to vote


there's a case
i cant tell you anything about 
 its
 a
he said/he said

its not going to be an easy one that