number of jury cases

In my county, it seems about 100 potential jurors are called in every week for jury duty at the county court house. About that many people show up, anyway. Of those, only a few juries are selected to serve on trials. Juries are about 14 people, maybe less. Most of the 100 people don't end up on a jury.

I'm 50 years old and have now had jury duty 4 times. I've only been on an actual jury once.

During this last jury duty, I think there were only 2 or 3 trials during the week. Let's suppose there may be between 2 and 6 jury trials every week of the year. That would be between 104 and 312 jury trials for the year, including both civil and criminal cases. It doesn't include traffic court or grand jury cases, which have separate jury pools - but I've never yet been called for jury duty for them.

The county's population is about 420,000. I imagine there are way more than 312 indictments here each year.

Waiting in the jury assembly room, I thought about how much trouble is gone through to gather all these people in one room, all to pick a few people for a couple of trials. I thought of how many cases must get plea-bargained, or otherwise never make it to a trial.

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Ah, wait.

The city proper has its own Municipal Court with its own jury trials.

That may have been where I attended my first jury duty, when I was living at my prior address within city limits.

Yes, an old checkbook register of mine shows an entry from December 2002: $10 pay for 2 days of jury duty.

But both courthouses are downtown. I don't think that jurors for the county cases are restricted to people living outside the city limits. So I am not certain which of them hosted my first jury duty.

contacting lawmakers

Good simple overview:
Consumer Reports: A Simple Guide For Contacting Your Local Lawmakers (And What To Say To Them)


It sounds so easy.

But then I think, and I get uncertain.

What happens if you call after working hours, when no one is present to take the call? Do you get prompted to leave a message, or to call back?

If I call and speak to someone, or if I leave a message, will my voice be clear enough for them to easily understand? What if I flub my words or message?
Would it be better for me to send an email (or paper mail) after all?

If there are multiple bills or topics you want to voice your opinion on, is it better to call (or mail or email) separately for each one to avoid confusion? Do they keep track of how many times each person contacts them, and do they give you less credence if you contact them multiple times?

I wonder if the lawmaker's aides who handle this stuff are honest enough to keep accurate records of what constituents ask them to support or oppose. Perhaps some simply ignore messages with viewpoints opposed to what the lawmaker or they themselves support.

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I could just call up right now and at least get an answer to the first question.
But I need to verify who my representative is; this is state-government-level. I think I know who it is, but need to make sure.
Oh god maybe later I have to do something else now.