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Being a Legal Assistant Doesn't Preclude Jury Duty

By Lynne DeVenny

Illinois legal assistant Jacklyn Ferino, also known as Juror No. 103 for the Blagojevich trial, thought her profession would keep her out of the jury box.

Ferino, a softball player and 2000 graduate of Shepard High School in Palos Heights, thought her job as a legal assistant would preclude her from serving on the jury. But she was selected, her sister said, because she didn't follow politics.

"We are not a political family," her sister said.

I understand how Ferino feels. I thought being a paralegal was an automatic get-out-of-jail free card when it comes to jury duty, even though I've always wanted to serve on a jury.

But I can also see how trying to pay your bills on the $40 daily stipend would be a significant stressor, along with 14 long days of deliberations that resulted in agreement on only one of the 24 counts. Although Ferino isn't talking about the experience right now, she is clearly happy to return to her job at a Burr Ridge law firm, and put former Gov. Rod Blagojevich's trial - and the accompanying media circus - behind her.

Source: Southtown Star

Full post as published by Practical Paralegalism on August 19, 2010 (boomark / email).