My Civic Duty

When I first realized I'd have a felony, I immediately looked up if that meant I could no longer vote. It turns out every state has it's own rules. Luckily, at some point in the future, I will have the right to vote. Some states forbid felons from voting for life. In how many ways are felons marginalized in their lives? Is my vote not acceptable because I broke the law in the past?

There are few civic duties in being in the USA. The most important is voting. Another is the duty to serve on a jury. Yesterday, I received my first summons since moving to this state. On August 25th I am to show up at the state courthouse. Before going, though, there is a questionnaire that must be filled out within ten days. They mailed the paper form, but I could answer the questions online instead. Something told me that this wasn't going to go well... The questions included:

and

I decided to do some research before filling out the form online. Research showed that jurors cannot have a past felony. In this state, I am barred from ever serving on a jury. In the past it was my law degree that would keep me from being selected for a jury, now I can't even get that far in the process.

I filled out the online questions and immediately, the result was, "Disqualified. You are not expected to show up at the courthouse." The thing is, I would love to do my civil duty and sit on a jury. Of course, in my future, my phd in criminal justice may also keep me from ever serving regardless of what state I live in.

Some people may actually think I'm lucky to be able to "avoid" jury service. I believe the opportunity to have a 'jury of your peers,' is very important - even if our broken system does not result in a real diversity of our peers. In truth, it's a duty everyone should be honored to do. Sure there isn't much pay, but you are ensuring our justice system can work to the best of its ability. 

Since I retain my right to vote, I may look for opportunities to vote on stopping the lifelong marginalization of ex-felons. There are a lot of good people with mistakes in their past. I'd prefer to have people who have overcome their past on a jury, than someone who has never known the reality of inner change.