Prospective jurors got quite a surprise when they showed up for Civil Court duty on Sutphin Boulevard in Jamaica recently – thanks from a judge and a commissioner, coffee and cake, and even some prizes.
That’s because they just happened to have jury duty on Monday, November 16, which this year was Juror Appreciation Day.
“It’s a good thing to give jurors the attention they deserve,” said Gloria D’Amico, the Queens County Commissioner of Jurors – whose signature is on those dreaded jury summonses.
“Without the service jurors perform, there could be no court system. That’s why the Chief Judge of New York State started Juror Appreciation Day more than 10 years ago,” said D’Amico, who is also Queens County Clerk.
In addition the everyday greeting and instructions from court officers, this day the roughly 300 people in the jury pool received congratulatory remarks from D’Amico and Civil Court Judge Joseph Lane.
With the speeches aside, a lucky group found that their names had been drawn at random and they received gifts ranging from New York Mets batting helmets to gift certificates from The Mets; Queens Museum of Art; the Flagship Diner in Briarwood and Napoli Pizza & Pasta Restaurant in Long Island City.
Before they were assigned, everyone in the group also got to take a turn in the side room, which was set up like a European breakfast buffet, with a selection of pastries and coffee.
Even if the waiting room at 89-17 Sutphin Boulevard doesn’t have that degree of amenity every day, it’s still a far cry from what some might remember from jury summonses past.
The spacious airy room features “Wi-Fi” computer networking and computer terminals that can be used by prospective jurors while they perform their civic duty.
“They get a lot of celebrity jurors in Manhattan,” D’Amico said. “Our jurors are the stars here.”
