To no one’s surprise, certainly not mine, my jury summons ended with a recorded phone message last night that told me I need not report this morning to the Randall County Justice Center.

All jurors summoned for duty were excused until the next time we’re called for duty, the recorded message said.

Call me out to lunch, but I have been waiting for years to serve on a trial jury. I keep getting these directives to report for jury duty, but far more often than not the litigants all settle before these cases go to trial.

Once, not long after moving to Amarillo, I did get a summons and reported for duty in Canyon. I sat in a jury impaneling room for most of the morning. In walked then-47th District Judge David Gleason, who thanked us for taking time out of our day to report for duty. He then told us are services were no longer required.

Drat!

I still got paid $6 for my half day of “work” on behalf of the state’s criminal justice system.

I’m hoping my moment will arrive — one of these days.

http://www.foxnews.com/on-air/fox-news-sunday/#/v/4299765/sarah-palin-on-fns/?playlist_id=86913

Check out the link here. It shows former half-term Alaska Gov. Sarah “Barracuda” Palin declare that President Obama lacks the “cojones” to enforce federal immigration law.

Her appearance on Fox News Sunday was interesting as well in the question that the show’s host, Chris Wallace, didn’t ask her to follow up on her statement about the president’s manhood.

Imagine this question:

“Governor, you say that President Obama isn’t man enough to enforce federal immigration law. But in fairness, governor, this illegal immigration crisis didn’t begin with the current president. His immediate predecessor, George W. Bush, faced the same problem. So did his predecessors: Bill Clinton, George H.W. Bush, Ronald Reagan, Jimmy Carter, Gerald Ford, Richard Nixon, Lyndon Johnson, you name ’em. This list covers both political parties. Did these men lack the same qualities you say is lacking in the current president?”

Jury duty awaits me … at least I hope it does.

But I’m not holding my breath.

I got a summons the other day from Randall County District Clerk Jo Carter’s office. I’ve been assigned a juror number and a panel number. I’m going to call the clerk’s office this afternoon, after 5, to see if I need to report Tuesday to the County Justice Center in Canyon. They might cancel the whole thing, which has happened the past few times I’ve been summoned for jury duty.

Unlike many of us, I actually want to serve on a jury. District and county clerks all across Texas lament the no-show rate of those called for jury duty. Their gripe is an understandable one, given that they are charged with summoning citizens to perform this important rite of citizenship. But some of us don’t take it seriously enough.

I’m not placing myself on some pedestal here. It’s just that I’ve always wanted to serve on a trial jury just because the process always has fascinated me. Do the jurors argue among themselves? How do they reach a unanimous verdict? What kind of arm-twisting goes on?

However, I’ve found that my occupation often precludes such an event from occurring. I guess journalists are considered “too knowledgeable” about certain cases to qualify them for a spot on an actual civil or criminal trial jury.

Well, I’ll hope for the best when the time comes later today. And in my case, the “best” means realistically that I’ll report for duty — even if it means I’ll likely get disqualified.