By Elliott Brack
Editor and Publisher, GwinnettForum
OCT. 1, 2019 | The news of the death of Cokie Roberts of Washington, D.C., came to me in the car on the way home. It hit me as if she were a member of my extended family who had died.
Up until then, I didn’t totally recognize the impact she had on all of us as a person familiar with the Washington scene. She was thoroughly connected with the city and its halls of politicians, public servants and bureaucrats, having been the daughter of not one, but two members of the House of Representatives (father and mother) and her father had even been the majority leader. Plus, Cokie Roberts knew every nook and cranny of the Capitol, and knew not only the members, and their office staff, but the maids and waiters there. She had enormous contacts, giving her a substantial grounding of everyday Washington. She was a trusted voice.
Her reports to the country were examples of clarity and understanding of what is usually a most complicated circumstance. You felt you were getting an up-to-date and unbiased report of what was really going on. Not only that, but her reports were like she was speaking, more like talking, to you directly. There was such a calmness and an honesty in her reports. She was a wonder. We were the beneficiary of her work and insights.
Cokie Roberts: 1943-2019: may you rest in peace.
JURY DUTY: Some people want no part of jury duty. They consider it a waste of their time, perhaps even cutting into their pay. They really don’t want to do what some consider a public duty.
Other look upon it as more worthwhile, of a way of giving to the community.
Recently I was officially summoned for jury duty, and “served” my one week-or one trial in this capacity. But I never once had to grace the courthouse grounds. That’s because here in Gwinnett County, when you get your jury notice, you enter an automated system that lets you know each night after 7 p.m. during the week whether you will have to appear for duty the next day.
You can either call or use the computer to find if you have duty the next day. Each night when I called, I was told that I did not have to appear the following day. It was that way all week, so though I didn’t have to go to the court, I put in my time being “on call.” (You don’t get paid that way; if called to appear for service, you are paid $30 a day.) In Gwinnett, if you are a jury on a case, you are dismissed for the rest of the week when your case is finished.
It’s not like that in some other counties. Many have a large pool of jurors actually appearing at the courthouse to see if they will be called on a jury. The automated aspect in Gwinnett is managed by Abby Carter, who has been with the county for 12 years, and the jury manager for seven years. She says that most counties operate a call-in service, but many do not have the one day or one trial aspect that Gwinnett has. Abby puts it this way: “In Gwinnett County, we don’t require anyone to come in unless they are needed.”
SAVINGS TIME: Larry Zani reports from Kaiserslauten, Germany, that Germany and most of Europe end Summer Time (Daylight Saving Time) this year on Sunday morning, October 27. In the U.S., the change will not be made until a week later on Sunday morning, November 3.
- Have a comment? Send to: elliott@brack.net
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