I’m serving on jury duty now, as many Americans do in our system of judgement-by-peers. I can’t discuss the actual case, but wanted to record some pedestrian notes:

• No one is quite as bright as on Law and Order, which is not surprising as the writing there is fast, dense, and excellent. Incidentally, if you want to know what my father looks like, and what I’ll probably look like when I’m older, see Jerry Orbach.
• There is a classification system for fingerprints, the major groups of which are whirls, loops, and arches.
• Storytelling is immensely important for trial lawyers. Not just for the opening and closing arguments either. For example, one lawyer has a style of drilling witnesses with questions. The other, which to me is more successful, uses the witness to help tell his story. He moves the plot along with all the characters and details and just happens to be doing it in the form of questions.
• Because of these needed skills, and because the entire trial is a play for the benefit of the jury, a good lawyer is the difference between guilty and innocent verdicts.
• All in all, it’s an impressive system, one I’m happy with. Most Americans dread jury duty, I’m finding it fascinating.