I recently completed two weeks of jury duty. I found it an excellent lesson in civics.

To those looking the juicy details, well, forget that part. First, it was a Seattle case. And, while I sat in on all the testimony, judge’s instructions and closing arguments, I happened to occupy one of the two alternate juror seats chosen at random before the trail started.

Which brings up lesson 1: It seems that studies have shown that if a juror knows he or she is an alternate, they may not pay as much attention to the testimony as the others. That’s why these days two alternate seats are picked before the trial starts, but only the judge and the two attorneys know which ones. I did still get my $10 a day and a signed certificate from the judge. And paid Metro transit rides to and from Seattle, of course.

Lesson 2: Not everyone wants to do jury duty. The defense attorney asked jurors in our pool of 50 how they felt – one being upset, 5 being happy – when they received their jury summons. Most were at a 1 or 2. Me? A 4. It would have been a 5, but I knew that after the trial each day, I would have hours of work to do here at the Reporter.

Lesson 3: There isn’t likely to be a paperless trial anytime soon. Courtrooms are awash in paper. The attorneys have their typed depositions. For one witness, a typed recap of what was said during an earlier interview was given to each juror. And we all had notebooks to write down what was being said, etc. Unfortunately, we couldn’t keep our notebooks. So much for my great American novel.

Lesson 4: Jurors obey the rules. At least this group did. We were told not to discuss the case among ourselves until we began deliberations – and no one did. There was talk of families, cars and some brief snow that fell in Seattle, but not the case.

Lesson 5: I now know why we have a drug problem. Testimony showed that the wholesale price for a half-ounce of crack cocaine is about $800. The retail value – once it has been broken up into smaller sizes – is between $2,500 and $3,500.

Lesson 6: Those TV shows about some people not cooperating with the police are true. Though this incident at trial had plenty of witnesses, no one would testify for the prosecution except a mother and her daughter, who were at the center of the case.

Lesson 7: This is a dangerous world. The incident occurred at an apartment complex in Tukwila. Several Sheriff deputies testified that they are not allowed to respond to incidents there unless three of them enter together. One deputy estimated that he has been called out there 50 to 100 times in the past year.

All that said, it was a rewarding experience. Time consuming? Yes. Slow moving? Again, yes. But remember that one of the strengths of our system of government is that we allow for a trial by a jury. That means we all must do our part.