I had to report to Jury Duty the first week in November. I had no excuse not to be there because I only live a few blocks away from the courthouse, and I really wanted to serve on a jury. The Multnomah County process is different from Washington County. In Washington County, if you don't get picked for a trial, you are excused. In Multnomah County, if you aren't picked for the first round, you have to come back to the jury room to see if you get picked for another trial. I stayed until 3:30pm, and finished a book, a few magazines, watched CNN's election coverage, and eavesdropped on conversations. My neighbor was with me, and she was picked during the last cycle. She told me later that she had to report back the next day. I got dismissed.During lunch, I took the opportunity to run across the park to the Mark O. Hatfield US Federal Courthouse. It is a beautiful and distinctive building, with quotes etched into the marble. After going through security, I stood in the huge atrium, looking at the two (or maybe three or four?)-story waterfall coming down the wall. I took the elevator up to the 9th floor (the elevator looks like something out of a sleek space station). There were courtrooms up on the 9th floor, but it didn't look like any court was in session. The view from the large windows is absolutely spectacular. I headed outside to the rooftop sculpture garden. I had heard that there were "whimsical" sculptures up there, and they would probably feel a lot more whimsical if it wasn't drizzling. I would have spent more time out there if it weren't cold and if I didn't have to go back to the jury room. This garden is free and open to the public. The security people are quite nice.
