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| Dick Van Dyke and Mary Tyler Moore in The Dick Van Dyke Show (Photo Source) |
Instead of being at home and working on adding new items to The Curvy Elle Shop, I am sitting in a courthouse waiting to see if I win the jury duty lotto and get excused. (Keep your fingers and toes crossed for me, and positive vibes flowing!)
A couple of nights ago I was watching Me-TV (a local station that plays all old television shows). The Dick Van Dyke Show was on. Coincidentally, the episode, called “One Angry Man,” was on that night, which centered around Dick Van Dyke’s character, Rob Petrie, getting a letter asking him to come in for jury duty.
This show is from the 1960’s and maybe jury duty laws were different back then, but I was confused about a few things on the show.
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| Rob with lady defendant in “One Angry Man.” (Photo Source) |
1. Rob says he will NOT forgo jury duty–meaning he had a choice in the matter. Now a days we DO NOT HAVE A CHOICE and will end up in jail if we don’t show up. Was this different back in the day? Was it not our duty as US citizens to have jury duty up to once a year?
2. His wife Laura (Mary Tyler Moore) comes to “watch him in action” as a juror. I can’t imagine this being allowed today with the security and rules of the court.
3. He talks to the lady defendant, flirting and being stupid. He simply is slightly reprimanded. Today, I can imagine being kicked off the juror panel or being charged with being in contempt of court if you did this–if you could even get close enough to do this!
4. After the lady gets off the hook for her crime, all because Rob was convinced she was innocent, she calls him AT HOME to thank him for sticking up for him. In today’s world, I can’t imagine how she would find out his NAME, let alone be able to contact him.
Life in the 1960’s was so easy compared to that of the post 9/11 world we live in today… Or maybe it was 1960’s sitcom glossing over the real life America?
***Episode in question, “One Angry Man”: