Quick question about (Milwaukee) Jury duty

So, I have jury duty tomorrow and the next day. It seems as though it’s different from state to state (county to county?). In Milwaukee you have to sit there from 9-5 two days in a row if you don’t get called. If you do get called but don’t get selected, I have no idea if that fulfills you’re obligation or if you go back to the pool. But that’s not what my question is about.
My question is about killing 8 hours, 2 days in a row.
On their website it mentions that they provide wi-fi and it also says “Cellular phones, pagers, and computers are not to be used in Courtrooms or deliberation rooms without the prior consent of the Judge. The above are acceptable in the Jury Assembly area” The Jury Assembly Area is where I’ll be sitting for the day waiting to be called. I was originally planning to bring just my cell phone, but when I saw that they had wi-fi, I figured I would bring my laptop. My question is, would you assume that you can either bring it in (but not use it) to the courtroom if I get called or that they have some sort of lockers? I mean, they can’t just expect everyone to pile up their laptops somewhere and surely I’m not the first person to want to bring mine with me.
Now, if I only had a set of headphones and I could watch some movies on Instant, but I don’t. Maybe I’ll be able to find a quiet corner where I won’t bug anyone.

The other thing I’m hoping to be able to do is donate blood. The American Red Cross is takes blood donations from the jurors, but I think they might only be there on Mondays. It’s something I’ve always wanted to do and what better time to do it then when I’ve got 16 hours to kill.
As I wrote this, I realized they must have some place to lock up things that are allowed in the courthouse, but not the courtroom.

I recently had jury duty. I didn’t bring a computer but there were a number of people who did so it’s apparently a common thing. So I would assume they’ll either let you keep it on your person (but turned off) if you go into the courtroom or have a secure place for you to store it.

In NY, all you have to do to fulfill your obligation is show up. Even if the case is dismissed and you never set foot in the courtroom, that still counts as serving and you’re out of the jury pool for eight years.

In Milwaukee you aren’t there for a specific case but on call for any case in the courthouse that needs a jury, that’s kinda the problem. It’s not that someone’s going to come down and tell us they settled and we can go. If we don’t get selected, we’re there for 16 hours (or close to it). Also, we’re only out of the pool for a minimum of 4 years. But I’m 30 and this is only the second time I’ve been called, there’s a lottery involved.
My hope (and probably everyone’s) is that I get selected for some quick and easy case right away tomorrow morning and can be back and work a couple hours later.

If you get selected for the jury, the bailiff will store your laptop safely for you, as you won’t be allowed to have it in the jury room (you might Google something and that’s bad). Same for cellphones, Blackberrys, Ipads, etc.

So take it with you and just be sure it is turned off, closed and stowed, like in a case or briefcase, when you are in the courtroom.

When I was called for Jury Duty a few years back (in Milwaukee) I brought a laptop to work on while waiting. When I got called for selection I just put it away in it’s case and carried it with me. There was no problem. The Jury waiting room is just a large room with auditorium style seating and a few tables off to the side so there isn’t really a “queit corner” but I found everyone pretty much leaves everyone else alone. They also played a movie during the day so you might want to bring headphones for music if the movie will distract you.

I’m in the room with the tables right now. I called on the way here and asked and they said I could just bring it in or the bailiff would lock it up for me. I really wasn’t looking forward to spending 16 hours surfing the internet on my phone.
I count at least 4 other laptops in this room.

It says they are “not to be used in”, it doesn’t say they are “not permitted in”.

I had always heard that jurors in Milwalkee were given a 12-pack of “Milwalkee’s Best” for serving jury duty.

The way it worked for me was there was a whole bunch of us called in. We were divided up randomly into juries for the seven cases that were starting. But then most of the cases were dismissed or adjourned past our serving time. In theory, we could have been reassigned to another case. But in reality, there were so many of us who had been dismissed, there were more of us than could possibly be required. So they kept a pool of fifty people as possible reassignees and let the rest of us go.