Tuesday, February 26, 2008

Duty

I have jury duty for the next few weeks, grand jury duty actually. We're the jury that decides whether a suspect is indicted on felony charges. This court is devoted to drug cases for all of NYC.

Of course, everything is secret; talking about specifics from the court room is against the law. Plus, talking about case where people haven't been charged yet would be a pretty ass thing to do. I wouldn't do that even if there weren't a law.

What I'll say is this: So far it's been a simultaneously interesting and dismaying experience. Now, more than ever, I'm convinced that relying on strong drug laws and powerful enforcement are like putting a band-aid on a patient in cardiac arrest.