Go To Sleep With A Smile

I was called for jury duty on Wed Oct 19 and Thur Oct 20. My panel was assigned a criminal case involving multiple felonies. I listened to potential jurors answering questions to determine if any were accepted to be a sworn juror. Some of the questions were personal. Some of the answers were sad and depressing. Most of the excused jurors had a traumatized past. The most common answer was they experienced or knew a close family member involving domestic violence. A few of them cried. This was the first time I realized how broad domestic violence around the county. The domestic violence stories I heard included boyfriend and girlfriend living in the same household. One juror said two of his friends filed restraining orders. I’m fortunate nobody in my family and none of my friends experienced domestic violence. I sleep tonight with a smile.

Another juror was convicted of fraud. Think about being convicted of fraud. If I was convicted of fraud, then it’s difficult for me to be trusted. Banks, insurance, and accounting companies don’t want to hire me. My ability to conduct business is very difficult because nobody trusts me with a fraud conviction. I’m fortunate I can be trusted. I sleep tonight with a smile.

The most depressing juror has a family experience of felonies. She was the victim of domestic violence. Her boyfriend attacked her. Her oldest son is incarcerated because he was convicted of grand theft auto. And her husband was murdered. The murderer was caught and is in prison. I’m fortunate I’m not a victim of felony crimes. I sleep tonight with a smile.

However, my family and I had close calls with felony crimes. My dad’s subwoofer speaker was stolen from his car during the late night hours. The speaker had a small value at the time it was stolen. My dad’s truck was vandalized, burglarized, and stolen. The vandalism damage and lost property from the theft had little value. Regarding the truck being stolen, fortunately, the truck was found one month later in good condition. All of the property was missing. I sleep tonight with a smile.

The closest call being a victim of a felony crime was an attempted burglary that took place in February 2011. If I didn’t investigate the noises downstairs and scared the two burglars, then they invaded our house and stolen portable and valuable possessions such as a laptop, jewelry, and blank checks. Police arrived minutes after I called 911. My family and I made changes to safeguard our house immediately. I sleep tonight with a smile.

The most frightening moment involved one of my cousins who lived in Los Angeles. She was walking to her car in the parking lot after work. A man attempted to kidnap her. Fortunately and with the best timing of the world, her co-workers were walking to the parking lot, saw them, and the kidnapper ran away. Everything is okay.

Some of the potential jurors I heard in the courtroom were victims of crimes that affected their lives. My life is good I can’t complain about the small little imperfections. The next time I walk in a mall, especially during the upcoming holiday season, I think for a moment all the people I pass. Some of them are victims of crimes; in particular, domestic violence. Some of them are domestic violence victims they don’t report to the police. Moreover, some of them have restraining orders against their boyfriends or girlfriends or significant other for any abuse.

I sleep tonight with a smile, and perhaps you should, too.

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