Mailbox surprise

I just recently changed my DMV record to reflect my San Diego address. This may or may not have been due to the fact that I was issued a citation for not having the correct address on my license somewhat recently. (Talk about a victim-less crime...) Anyway, good thing I made the change, otherwise I might not have received the jury summons that I got in the mail today.

The one thing most people would consider worse than an unexpected bill is the dreaded jury summons. I actually would not mind doing my "civic-duty;" being on a jury is actually pretty intriguing to me.

I am concerned about something, however. On the back of the summons it reads:

The right of a trial by jury is the privilege of every peson in the United States. This right is guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution and the California Constitution, which provides, "the right of trial by jury shall be secured to all, and remain inviolate."

It goes on to say that in order to make the system work that people need to be willing to serve on juries. But the Superior Court of San Diego seems to be misinformed, or maybe they just printed their summons forms before President Bush signed into law legislation allowing the Executive Branch to decide if you get a jury trial or not.

This makes me wonder if there is such a thing as a conscientious objector status (or something equivalent) for jury duty.

The reason that the Superior Court system gives for fulfilling your civic duty is because each one of us is guaranteed a jury trial. However, I am now asking myself, should I fulfill my end of the covenant, serving on jury, when our government is no longer willing to fulfill their part of the deal?