Most of the trials I observed this summer do not resemble Law and Order. There were no battles between Big Brother and corporate giants where I worked. The claims generally fell under $25,000, and the dress was casual for the parties and some of the attorneys. Credit card debts were collected, offending parties in car accidents were sued, and doctors met insurance companies in court to claim $200 a pop for medical procedures that the insurance companies had deemed unnecessary. Daily life goings ons. The “characters”, more like you and your next door neighbor than Jerry Springer. This is what you see when you sit in for jury duty.
There was a case the other day, where a couple in a sedan--the husband driving, the wife, very pregnant, nomming on snacks in the passenger seat--got into an accident with a commercial van. Both parties were suing each other for damages, and their stories didn’t line up. The couple claimed they were making a legal left turn and that all was clear until the van sped up to make the light, and hit them. The men in the van claimed that they were already in the middle of the intersection when the sedan came out of nowhere and hit them. The photos of the damaged vehicles showed damage on the right passenger side of the sedan and on the front bumper of the van. When facts are contested between the two parties, the jury comes in.
