J is for Jury Duty

This year for the A-to-Z Challenge, I'll be looking at major events that happened in 2020 [the year we would all like to forget, so let's look at it first, before flushing it down the toilet].

Welcome to J!  We're looking at – JURY DUTY.

Have you ever thought about how many people are required to be inside a courtroom when a jury trial is in progress?  Let's count:

1  Judge
1  Bailiff [can be more than one, depending on the type of trial]
1  Court Clerk
1  Court Reporter
1  Witness
1  Plaintiff/Prosecuting attorney [sometimes more, including assistants]
1  Defense attorney [sometimes more, including assistants]
1  Plaintiff or representative
1  Defendant or representative
14 Jury [12 plus usually 2 alternates]

This is 23 people at MINIMUM.  And of course, during a pandemic that's too many people close together inside.  Most courts closed in March 2020 for at least several weeks, if not longer.  When they re-opened, many hearings were done virtually.  A few states and counties have been brave enough to try a virtual jury trial, but it's not common, and generally only for civil trials, not criminal.

My son had jury duty in 2020.  He was on call-in status, which means he called the courthouse every evening for a week, to find out whether his presence was required the next day.  Not surprisingly, he never had to show up that week.

Did you have jury duty in 2020?  What was it like?

Here's a teaser for tomorrow, letter K:

I is for Impeachment

This year for the A-to-Z Challenge, I'll be looking at major events that happened in 2020 [the year we would all like to forget, so let's look at it first, before flushing it down the toilet].

Welcome to I!  We're looking at – IMPEACHMENT.

Impeachment is when the US House of Representatives charges a federal official with a crime.  Once charges are brought, the person is considered “impeached”.  Then the Senate conducts a trial, and finds the person guilty or not-guilty/acquitted.

Here's a list of persons who have been impeached.  Interestingly, most are federal judges.

Donald Trump was impeached on December 18, 2019 for abuse of power and obstruction of Congress.  Trial was held January 16 – February 5, 2020.  He was acquitted.

Donald Trump was impeached again on January 13, 2021 for incitement of insurrection.  Trial was held February 9-13, 2021.  He was acquitted.

Before I went to law school, I thought impeachment meant the person was found guilty.  It surprised me that it only meant charges were filed.  What about you?  Let us know in the comments [please be civil].

Here's a teaser for Monday, letter J:

H is for Hand Sanitizer

This year for the A-to-Z Challenge, I'll be looking at major events that happened in 2020 [the year we would all like to forget, so let's look at it first, before flushing it down the toilet].

Welcome to H!  We're looking at – HAND SANITIZER.

CDC instructions are that we should keep our hands away from our face and wash them, with soap, frequently throughout the day because soap neutralizes this coronavirus.  For essential workers with frequent public contact, the recommendation is to wash every 30 minutes for 20 seconds, which is the time required to sing the Happy Birthday song to yourself twice.

Here's the CDC page on hand-washing

If you read the “recommended times during the day to wash your hands”, it basically would require most people to stand by a sink 24/7, except when sleeping.  If you don't have access to a sink 24/7, you can use hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol.  Hand-sanitizer stations have popped up everywhere.  I tried it once, and my hands broke out in a nasty rash. Not fun.  So when I have a choice, I don't use the sanitizer.  

Have you used hand sanitizer?  Let us know in the comments.

Here's a teaser for tomorrow, letter I:

G is for Ruth Bader Ginsburg

This year for the A-to-Z Challenge, I'll be looking at major events that happened in 2020 [the year we would all like to forget, so let's look at it first, before flushing it down the toilet].

Welcome to G!  We're looking at – RUTH BADER GINSBURG.

Let's stop talking about pandemic stuff and talk about Notorious RBG.

Ginsburg was the second woman [after Sandra Day O'Connor] and the first Jewish woman to serve on the US Supreme Court.   She worked tirelessly for women's rights throughout her career, and served on the Supreme Court for 27 years, from 1993 through 2020.  Near the end of her tenure, she was the senior member of the liberal-leaning justices.  Seniority meant that, when she did not agree with the majority opinion, she assigned the person who would write the dissent.  She wrote many of them herself, and “I dissent” became a common phrase of hers.

Here's the Supreme Court page on her

Here are some important cases, both with her in the majority and dissenting

Here are photos of the collars she wore, including the famous “dissent collar”

She passed away from pancreatic cancer in September 2020.  Then-President Donald Trump appointed Amy Coney Barrett to replace her, just before the November election.

Do you miss Ruth Bader Ginsburg?  Let us know in the comments.

Here's a teaser for tomorrow, letter H:

F is for Pandemic Fatigue

This year for the A-to-Z Challenge, I'll be looking at major events that happened in 2020 [the year we would all like to forget, so let's look at it first, before flushing it down the toilet].

Welcome to F!  We're looking at – PANDEMIC FATIGUE.

Are you tired of wearing a face mask and staying six feet apart from everyone?  Are you tired of working from home while also home-schooling your kids?  How can you possibly get everything done without help and/or more hours in the day?  You can't.

We're approximately on day 400 of “15 days to flatten the curve”.  Somewhere in those 400 days, the goalpost was moved from “flatten the curve” to “eliminate the curve”.  This is a good goal, but out of reach.  Humans simply can't live like this for more than a year.

Once it became apparent – back around I would say the four-month mark [end of July] – that masks and social distancing and closing the majority of businesses and most of society wasn't providing the desired solution, we should have moved to a different plan.  But we're still being told, 400 days later, that “we're all in this together” and to “just hold on for a few more weeks” and the nauseating “we can do this”.

No, we can't.  Lives and livelihoods have been destroyed.  Our physical health is suffering.  Our mental health is suffering.  Recent reports state that more people are dying from inactivity and from suicide than from COVID.  Despite trying their best to do schoolwork from a screen, most kids have lost an entire year of learning.

We need to change what we're doing.  It isn't working.  I will gladly continue to wear a mask, wash my hands until they're raw, and stay six feet apart from everyone IF BUSINESSES AND SOCIETY ARE OPEN.  Give us back what's left of our mental health, our physical health, our lives and livelihoods.  Treat us like adults and let us decide for ourselves how to act.  That's what freedom means.

Here are two good links about pandemic fatigue

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-we-can-deal-with-pandemic-fatigue/

https://www.everydayhealth.com/coronavirus/how-to-not-let-pandemic-fatigue-turn-into-pandemic-burnout/

What do you think?  Let us know in the comments.

Here's a teaser for tomorrow, letter G:

E is for Essential Workers

This year for the A-to-Z Challenge, I'll be looking at major events that happened in 2020 [the year we would all like to forget, so let's look at it first, before flushing it down the toilet].

Welcome to E!  We're looking at – ESSENTIAL WORKERS.

Doesn't it make you feel all warm and fuzzy to know that society deems your job “essential”?  Healthcare, grocery, police and fire services, repair and maintenance.  Because of the type of law I practice, my job is considered essential because I provide legal support for essential workers.  I still went to the office almost every weekday in 2020, although I do have a computer at home to log in to the office if necessary.  The only things that really changed for me was my commute time reduced by half [Yay!], and I made most court appearances using technology rather than showing up in person.

But what about other jobs?  Hotels, restaurants, hair stylists, theme parks, gyms, churches, GOVERNMENT WORKERS?!  Some of these I understand in the short term, but others make no sense.  

Pretty much every court and city hall was closed to the public.  Is that not an essential job?  Here in CA, courts are now open but most city halls are still closed for in-person.  What about school teachers?  Almost everyone agrees that kids learn better in person, but most schools closed for at least a few months and when they re-opened it was all online.  Here in CA, many private schools are now back in person but most public schools are still online until Fall 2021 semester.  How many of you think a teacher is not an essential worker??  We complain about the government but is it really not essential?

I don't know about you, but telling a hotel worker, a server or dishwasher in a restaurant, the lady who styles my hair, and all the other folks who go to work and contribute to society, that they're not essential is not good for politics, for economics, or for society.  I consider all those people essential too.  Our society would be lesser if we didn't have those people and those jobs.  The government wouldn't have any money [that it didn't print itself] without folks who are working, no matter what the job.

We're all essential workers.

What do you think?  Let us know in the comments.

Here's a teaser for tomorrow, letter F:

D is for Social Distancing

This year for the A-to-Z Challenge, I'll be looking at major events that happened in 2020 [the year we would all like to forget, so let's look at it first, before flushing it down the toilet].

Welcome to D!  We're looking at – SOCIAL DISTANCING.

Remember when standing that far apart would almost certainly mean someone would cut in line ahead of you?  Now, although it's not a guarantee, at least you have a decent chance of that not happening.

But what I'm most curious about, is why it's called SOCIAL distancing.  We still talk on the phone and text.  Now I have apps for Teams, Zoom, and Skype on my phone.  My oldest son lives in Seattle and we use Skype.  Some courts use Zoomgov, others use Teams, and some have their own system.  I've used all of them.  

I think the term should be PHYSICAL DISTANCING rather than social distancing.  Sure, we no longer give hugs or shake hands as greetings, but we're still SOCIAL.  We still meet, we just wave and bump elbows and stay six feet apart.  Just because we're physically distant doesn't mean we're socially distant.

What do you think?  Let us know in the comments.

Here's a teaser for tomorrow, letter E: