Confession: When it comes to trafficking, I have been been a part of the problem
Confession: When it comes to trafficking, I have been been a part of the problem
I am 35-years-old and I have never participated in jury duty.
Honestly, I have prided myself in beating the system. When I turned 18 and received my first summons, my boss told me I could just throw it away. “How will they ever know you got it?” she reasoned.
More than likely, she didn’t want to deal with me missing work. Regardless of her motivation, I used her “toss the summons in the trash method” for a few years.
After I started walking with God, I felt dishonest about trashing jury summons and began responding. However, I always managed to produce a great excuse to in order to skip out on or postpone my service. “I am a full-time student. I am a social worker with DCFS and my clients need me. I am 9 months pregnant. I am a single mom with a full-time job.”
My reasons were all true, but each time, I celebrated my success at getting out of dreaded jury duty.
As of yesterday, my perspective on jury duty has radically changed. I had the opportunity to meet with the LAPD Detective assigned to one of the leading Trafficking Task forces in the country. He spent some time talking about the need for public awareness in order to bring justice to victims and proper convictions and sentencing for traffickers. He noted that they can take a case to trial, but if it ends up in front of a jury that isn’t convinced that a 13-year-old prostituted child is actually a victim, it makes his job very difficult.
Here I am…travelling around speaking at Trafficking Awareness Events and all the while, unintentionally contributing to the problem. By wiggling out of jury duty, perhaps I have given up an opportunity to tangibly be a part of bringing justice to those who need it.
Maybe I am the only one who has seen the jury duty summons as a huge inconvenience to my life. But I have a feeling I am not.
The next time a trafficking case goes to trial, it is my sincere hope that you or I will be among the jurors, prepared to bring an educated voice and a vote…prepared to bring justice to the victims. This is one simple way we can be a part of the fight against trafficking.
Harmony Dust
Get Educated About Trafficking
This is GREAT Harm! Thankful that we live in a country that provides us a way to serve in a tangible way to bring justice., even if it feels inconvenient some times. It’s gonna be incredible to watch as more and more people start seeing the trafficking issue for what it is and rise up to do something about it as you are!
What a contrasting view of what everyone looks at as an inconvenience. Jury Duty really is our opportunity to bring about rightful justice. Thanks for sharing this.
I’d always been one of those people too! I’ve looked at it as an inconvenience and have tried to get out of it. Thanks for putting it in a new light. I definitely want to be a part of the solution and bringing justice to this issue.
Wow, this is awesome, I love the way that Harmony has looked at this particular situation. What a great example of how we can look at so many areas of of our lives. Those duties that seem to be an inconvenience are actually an opportunity for us to do something to help the lives of others.
This is great. Helps people realize that we all have a duty as Amercians to protect our people. If we avoid all inconveniences we could all have blood on our hands if we continue to ignore the injustices that our fallen government gets themselves into. We have to all be a voice for those who cannot speak for themselves…someone did it for us as we learn in history classes.
The Judicial System is a wonderful experience. I’ve had the pleasure to see this through, when I came in for jury selection I too had many reasons I was about to give his Honor. The case was four drug dealers facing charges of kidnapping, extortion, assault and theft from two victims. I had decades of history buying cocaine from these individuals and knew their violent ways quite well. Standing in-front of the judge I quickly accepted to fulfill my duty. Seven days of presenting and two days of jury deliberation brought back twelve votes of guilty on all counts. The judge thanked us for participating and doing our job and sent us out to return home with a wonderful pride. The judge was now doing his job.. sentencing.
– An absolutely beautiful feeling being part of the community, especially bringing my inside perspective to this group.
I definitely have never looked at a jury summons in this light, but you are absolutely right! God can use every opportunity in our lives to change this crazy world!
Great perspective Harmony! I wonder how many things in life I’ve avoided, thinking they were an inconvenience, that could have been an opportunity to be light in the darkness?