Fulton County Justice Center

I got called for jury duty and I must say it was a life changing experience. I appreciate the ease of the whole process.
They do provide a parking pass for free parking in the orange lot at Turner Field, but I just didn’t want to mess with all that. I paid 8 bucks and parked at the Underground around the corner.
You enter and go through the expected security check. The jury room was on the 7^th floor. I despise elevators but I figured it had to beat taking the stairs. The juror room was slap full of the grumpiest people I had ever seen in my life. I plastered on my best smile anyway. The room really needed some positive energy. The clerks were very pleasant which I appreciated.
The drink machines were malfunctioning though, I did not appreciate that.
I got called in the second of the first two groups of 60 that went to the court room. We all lined up according to the number we were given and were told to sit exactly in that order. You will have a big red board with your number on it. You will raise this number if need be. We were questioned, and that took several hours. Around 2 pm they dismissed quite a few of us. The rest had to stay and hope they didn’t get picked.
I must say I have a whole new respect for anyone who holds employment in that court room. That is a hard job. I cannot imagine being the one to hear all those cases daily and have to endure the trouble of the people on trial. I am sure some terrible things are discussed in there. The case this particular jury selection was for was very disturbing to me and when the charges were read I just felt so sad and over whelmed. This is the daily life of judges, bailiffs, attorney’s and all the others in there on a daily basis. I feel it would be very hard not to take the emotional stress to bed each night.
I know jury duty isn’t the most exciting thing this world has to offer, but it is important. I never realized how important until today. You essentially have a person’s life in your hands and that should be taken very seriously and be approached with the same respect you would like if you were the one on trial.
That being said, If you are ever called upon by the Fulton County Justice Center for jury duty I have some advice for you:
1) Just pay the 8 bucks to park at the under ground. Trust me. The odds of getting your vehicle burglarized is drastically reduced.
2) Take something to do! Several things to do in fact. A book, a lap top or tablet, a word puzzle book, whatever. If you get stuck there until 5 pm you don’t want to be that poor soul with nothing to do.
3) If you get a drink make sure it is water as that is the ONLY drink allowed in the court room if you get called back.
4) When the judge is asking questions you are to raise your number if a question he asks applies to you. For example: «Is there any hard ship which would keep you from coming the rest of the week?» There must have been 25 people who raised their cards for that one question out of the maybe 6 or 7 he asked. The more people raising their cards the longer you will be there. Because they question each person who raises their card privately and that can take a REALLY long time. So unless a question truly applies to you, don’t raise your card. It took over nearly 3 hours for all the card raisers to get called back for questioning. Really.
5)You better take a cushion with you when you go because that court room bench is no joke. That was seriously the MOST uncomfortable seat this planet has to offer. Seriously. Take a cushion. There were some people who looked like they were camping out in there they brought so much stuff. Don’t feel bad about carrying a cushion.
Hopefully this post will help some people. I know I wish I had known then what I know now. I would have been better prepared! (Especially in regards to that cushion! I cannot stress that enough!)

Today is the first day of my Jury Duty. I was hoping my group number 1 would be dismissed before having to appear at the Court House. Very thankful, I only had to wait about 3hours before finding out I was dismissed. Overall my experience was better than what I expected.
FYI: Plenty of clean bathrooms, very nice and helpful employees and Atlanta Underground parking (Directly across the street) $ 8.00 all day.

This is a place for criminals therefore, i dont belong here. I had a speeding ticket (69 in 55) sent here from the Atlanta municipal court on Garnett. This was because a rude, snarky court clerk accused me of photoshopping my cell phone bill. The bill was my proof that i called to pay for the ticket but another clerk on the bottom level «Zampel Tatel» I will NEVER forget that name said it was not in the system. It ended up being a FTA because they would never let a ticket slide by like that. I was prepared to fight the FTA armed with Zampel’s name and my cell phone bill showing the day i called the courthouse number and that SOB got snarky with me.
Of course, I snapped and ended up being asked to leave the courtroom and the court clerk nicely made my plea for me saying I wasnt guilty (escalating it from Atlanta Municipal Garnett st to Fulton county state court). I cried downstairs and some nice, tall man had me pay $ 100 to get my suspended license reinstated. This was in 2010(TWO THOUSAND AND TEN!!!).
Of course the court system is a clusterfuck so they sent me my court date to an old address. They suspended my license again and i went to Fulton county court to get a new court date. The ladies in whatever room I was kept referring me from one to the other. I refused to leave without a resolution so they finally gave me a lady number. I called her and she reset my court date right then and there.
They sent me the letter for plea arraignment or some shit and i showed up in my freshly laundered suit. I was there from 8am to 3.30pm. They were nice enough to let me grab food in the juror’s dining hall. In that courtroom, i was in the midst of criminals (domestic abusers, shoplifters and DUIers — the horror!!). The judge, Honorable Susan Edlein was VERY nice and didnt understand how a speeding ticket got there. I feel like I have to tell this story so many times so i might start sending the link of this review to anyone that asks.
The outcome? Im on probation until I pay the exorbitant fine.

Since my last visit as a juror there’s been a bit of construction. Access to the catwalk was blocked off and I couldn’t find an alternative. So I made the mistake of eating in the new cafeteria in the building. It’s extremely expensive, tiny portions, poor selection, and base quality. I had a couple of spoonfuls of «pot roast» on rice, which was overwhelmingly rice (perhaps 3 cubes of meat total). The dining room is institutional tables that aren’t even level nor regularly cleaned and insufficient to the number of jurors waiting for selection.

Thank you to the Unilocal poster (Nicole G) who posted that if you receive a summons and can’t attend that day, to just call them and they will reschedule for a day that works for you! I haven’t gone and done jury duty yet, but I wanted to write a post to say that that comment is still valid and I was able to call them (rather than send a letter through snail mail — who wrote that paragraph on the summons? BOO to that), get through quicker than I get through most doctor’s office appointment lines, and reschedule my date with no hassle. The date was two months after, but it was a day which I was not out of town, and so that worked for me. Plus, the guy on the phone was super nice. So four stars. because I can’t in good conscience give any jury duty place 5 stars.

Definitely bring a book, laptop and/​or smart phone. I sat for 5 hours just to be dismissed.
Also, please dress with class. A guy today was wearing a shirt featuring «South Park’s» Cartman that said «Respect Mah Authoritah.» Really? While I am mentioning that, please leave your snoring husband at home as well. (Yes, this happened today as well. A trashy-​looking woman brought her equally trashy-​looking husband with her.)
Also of important note: If you receive a summons and can’t attend that day, just call up the court. They will reschedule your date with no hassle. They’ll even ask you what date works best for you. That gives the court an extra star.

If you are lucky enough to find street parking, at least it’s only $ 2 an hour.

If you’re reading this before you report for jury duty, heed Juan M’s advice, it’s right on the money.
A couple of other things:
The login for the Fulton Co. public wifi is «guest,» and the password is «guest.» It’s a decent connection, or at least it is today when I’m here.
There are no prizes for arriving early. I busted it to get here right at 8, but there were definitely people strolling in at 8:15 and later, and no one commented on it at all.
There is no sugar free gum in the vending machines. BYO if you don’t want to keep tasting the disgusting fare you’ll wind up having to eat here.

What can I say?
Not even a year since I moved back in town and I got picked for jury duty.
Hey, gotta pay your dues as a citizen, right? Still, a pretty colossal waste of time as were were held as a threat for parties to settle so that they wouldn’t go to trial and basically stood in a hallway for an hour.
I guess that’s fine; reduces the overall expense to the taxpayer, right?
Bring food and a laptop (they have Wifi) else you will be swooped down upon by someone who will determine that you are in need of «talking to».
Nothing more to add as it will be even more redundant to what is written. Well, perhaps one more thing: I found that I was able to walk back to the parking lot over at Turner Field faster than waiting for the shuttle.
So there.

So I arrive at 7:50am for jury duty. Yes I know I’m early. I’m just like that. I stand outside with a few others who were there before me and a woman comes out and says we can now come inside. Great! Because it’s COLD! We get inside but we can’t go any further than the immediate entryway. We’re told that we must stand there until 8:30 when the building opens to the public. There is nowhere for people to sit and a few elderly people are having a difficult time standing for that long. I feel bad for them. A few people come in who were also summoned to jury duty and one woman squabbles with the officer after she is told she can’t enter until 8:30. That’s just what I would do — argue with a cop. Jerry! Jerry! I was so hoping for a Springer moment but alas, it didn’t happen. Once we’re inside I choose one of the comfy seats with the nice padding. We wait and wait and most of us are wondering what’s taking so long. Then suddenly a judge came to explain to us why things were taking so long. I was shocked to say the least. I had previously drafted a review that was not as nice but I edited it to reflect that the judge came to speak with us which I felt was very nice and considerate. While I still do not enjoy being there for jury duty it did make it a little nicer knowing that someone cared enough about all of us sitting there to come and give an explanation.

I sit in the Fulton County Justice Center writing this review in real time because, well, as a potential juror, time is all you’ve got here. Now I’m not going to rate this place as low as my friend James here. Granted, I’d rather cover myself in honey and then roll around on a hill of fire ants than be sitting here, but they make it as pleasant (OK, LEAST painful) experience as they can make it.
As I sit here I spy row upon row of padded seats, more comfortable than airport seating, less comfortable than my office chair. Don’t sit in the end seats as tempting as it may be. After comparing, their padding is noticeably more worn than the others. I also spy a large selection of magazine from which to choose. Sure, many of them are months old, but there appears to be a good choice. There’s Wallpaper, Rolling Stone, Vogue, uh, Chemical Week… Pittsburgh Magazine? OK, so it’s a weird ass selection (and aren’t all ass selections bound to be weird?) but it’s a better selection than most dentists have.
The TV is on, tuned to CNN. The sound is also on, high enough to be heard, but low enough to be tuned out. At this point, people have already gravitated towards one another. Shallow, cocktail conversation has been struck (with the exception of the girl nearby who seems intent on recruiting someone into her church.) On the other hand, I’m amid the loners who came well-​supplied. Based on the 1000 yard stare of each of these loners, they’re accustomed to waiting. Road warriors most likely. They’re fortified with books, iPods, and laptops, just the things to keep others at bay and increase the likelihood of having your opinions ignored should you actually be chosen to serve with the other riff raff.
Ah yes, laptops. They’re allowed, thankfully. Even better, there’s free wifi available. You’ll first try to log into the Fulton County node, but that won’t work. You’ll need to use the library’s connection. The connection’s not bad. It’s good enough that the guy in the next row up is watching inappropriate videos on
.
I arrived at the Orange Lot near Turner Field at 7:45am, just in time to catch the shuttle to the Center. I may regret that choice later when I’m trying to leave. (Note: I did regret it, but at least it was a nice day to walk.) Security checkpoints passed (as trained as we are not to bring liquids through check points, you can indeed bring bottle water through), I’m now waiting. It’s 11:30am. The first group was called to a courtroom about and hour ago. I think that was a bullet dodged.
An older woman kindly checked on each juror, asking if we needed coffee, juice or bottled water. She does this in a saccharine tone that implies that she will bring the requested item to you. This is a trick. If you say «yes,» she’ll tell you where the vending machines are. Luckily I witnessed a few others fall for this trick, so I just asked where the water fountain was located. Unfortunately, I’d forgotten small denomination bills. However, that same woman did tell me that because the Superior Court was not in session, it was pleasantly uncrowded in here. Mondays and Tuesdays, apparently, can be standing room only.
Eventually the room is pared down as groups of folks are called into the hallway. If you’re called into the hallway, you’re about to be voir dire’ed i.e., the legal equivalent of two kids picking kickball teams. You’ll be brought into a courtroom. (Make sure you line up by your number!) The judge will tell you what’s going on. The defense and DA will ask your group questions. Me? I wasn’t picked. No, I didn’t need to say, «Illegality is such a relative concept» or «All white people look alike to me» to get out of it. I did, however, have knowledge of some arcane metric prosecution was going to use, so I think that’s what disqualified me.
But what do I rate? I mean, though I recognize it’s my civil duty, I still did NOT want to be there. No one really did. The staff at the Justice Center recognized that. The judge and both legal teams recognized that. As such, we as jurors were treated with respect the entire time we were there which is nice compared to your usual government experience. So even though they may be asking you to floss a live electric fence with your ass crack, at least they’re nice about it. As such, I’ll give them 3 stars.

Unless you’re in the unenviable position of going to the Fulton County Justice Center because you’re participating in an ongoing case, more than likely your main purpose in coming here is to be a juror for the State or Superior Courts (a position not necessarily more enviable).
If you are here for jury duty, then, I’ll offer the following advice: you’ll find yourself waiting for extended periods of time, so you’ll want to bring some method of entertaining yourself for that time. A book might be sufficient, but as the clerks will frequently interrupt your reading with announcements, something less attention-​intensive might be in order. The main jury duty waiting room has wifi, so a laptop or wifi-​enabled smartphone might help. You iPhone and G1 users might want to consider bringing your phone chargers, as you’ll probably text, facebook, twitter, surf, and maybe even Unilocal a little more to pass the time (or maybe that was just me).
The way jury duty works here is everyone who gets summoned gets thrown into a giant room, where every so often, a clerk will announce the names of individuals chosen for a particular case. Those people will go to the courtroom and then get asked a series of questions to gauge their worthiness to sit on that particular case. If the case in question is a drug possession trial, the questioning doesn’t take nearly as long as, say, a major trial expected to last two weeks. The latter may end up taking the full day – my most recent experience took from 8am to 6:30pm, with individual jurors interviewed while the remainder of the 78-​person group stands/​sits/​paces outside the courtroom (like I said, extensive periods of waiting).
When it comes time to eat, some jurors may opt to eat at the small cafeteria located on the first floor, but for more variety, take the elevator to the second floor and follow the signs to the café in the Fulton County Government Building.
In terms of transportation here, while the jury summons mentions a Turner Field parking lot-​shuttle combination, I’ve found the fastest and most convenient option is the MARTA down here. At least in this case, it’s smarta.