Civic Duty

I performed some civic duty this past week. I served on a jury in a civil trial. Herewith some obvervations from the experience.
The case was a dispute between a homeowner couple and a contractor. This is an issue anyone who has owned a home for ten years has been through, and trust me when I say, this issue goes both ways.
I went into this wanting to be on the homeowners side but was in the end persuaded by the evidence to rule in favor of the contractor.
It is apparent to me, that the pervasive attitude in this country these days is there is 'no' loser. Well my friends, there 'are' losers and there 'are' winners.
While 'every' member of the jury (early on) agreed the contractor deserved his money, half also thought the homeowners deserved something. I wanted to scream. That half of the jury was convinced that a contractors [mistake] was the same as a breach of contract. Without going into detail, the contractor definitely made a mistake but was NOT given the opportunity to fix the mistake which would have been on his nickel. Could I convince the other half of the difference? No, and here is where I was surprised. I called for the balif to get us a dictionary so a leeetle course in education could ensue. The request was denied. Arrgh.
Bottom line was this. I could see compromise had to be in the mix here, so I made a decision that I would go 1/2 of the amount the other six wanted and not one penny more. The other five went along with that quickly and that is how we voted. End of case.
I wanted so badly to watch the faces of those involved when the verdict was read. Didn't happen... and I was very surprised. Upon re-entering the court, only the judge and the court clerk were present. The clerk read the verdict, we were thanked and we went home. I felt cheated. : )
Yesterday I received a call from the losing attorney... he wanted to know if it was something he did. I had a quite candid conversation with him. That in itself was interesting; I concluded he very seldom in his life got what he considered to be [plain talk]. I guess some things never change.
Several jurors made the comment they were sure glad nobodies life hung in the balance, e.g. a criminal trial. I stated it would make no difference to me and in fact I believe that comment. Our system says the evidence rules and I can live with that (at least I think I can/could).
In the end, I am glad I was chosen and would do it again tomorrow. I might just carry a dictionary along with me though... one does things based on their life's experiences [along with, the evidence]. : )