BANGOR – U.S. Sen. Susan Collins said serving on a Penobscot County jury was a lot harder than voting on federal legislation, but said participating in the process strengthened her faith in the judicial system.

“I was so impressed with my fellow jurors. Each one of us really tried our very best to make the right decision,” said the Republican senator after more than four hours of deliberations at the Bangor courthouse Tuesday.

Maine’s junior senator, along with 11 other jurors, convicted an 38-year-old Bangor man of four traffic charges after a brief trial at Penobscot County Superior Court. Dale Johnson was arrested last New Year’s Eve after police spotted a car operating erratically on Hammond Street in Bangor.

After a short chase, the car pulled into a driveway on Charles Street where Johnson was arrested.

Two Bangor police officers testified Tuesday morning for the state and Debbie Ryder, who was in the car, testified for the defense saying she was actually driving the car, not Johnson. Ryder testified that when she tried to exit the car from the driver’s side, the door handle broke and she instead climbed over Johnson and exited on the passenger side.

Police testified that they saw Johnson trying to crawl from the driver’s side of the car into the passenger side.

The trial lasted about 31/2 hours and the jury deliberated for about 41/2 hours, before returning the guilty verdicts on eluding a police officer, operating a motor vehicle after license revocation, operating while under the influence of intoxicating liquor and failure to stop for a police officer.

“The responsibility is quite awesome. You are so aware that someone’s future is in the balance and that your decision is going to have such an impact on a person’s life,” said Collins.

Johnson was sentenced immediately by Justice Nancy Mills to three years in prison with all but one year suspended and four years probation.

Collins sat in the back row of the jury box and seemed to listen closely to the testimony of witnesses.

The last time Collins served as a juror was during the impeachment trial of President Bill Clinton in the U.S. Senate. She voted not to impeach the president.

On Monday, Collins sat with dozens of other prospective jurors, many of whom read books and magazines during the long wait as jurors were chosen, dismissed and assigned cases. Collins, however, couldn’t escape her senatorial duties, according to Brewer City Manger Stephen Bost, who also was among the pool of prospective jurors.

“Well, we had a series of pleasant conversations during the day and one of them was about the city’s hope to secure federal funding to revive the Brewer waterfront,” the city manager said.

Bost was not chosen to sit on a case.

While Collins was in court Tuesday morning, Bost was receiving a call from her office to discuss the federal funding issue in more detail.

Brewer officials have also talked with Rep. John Baldacci and Sen. Olympia Snowe about the funding, he said.

“I do have to say that an awful lot of people who were all there [Monday] to serve their community and their state were impressed that their senator was right there among them,” Bost said. “To see her there participating was a wonderful experience.”

U.S. Senators are not required by law to serve as jurors.

Collins said she would have asked to be excused had the senate been in session, which it is not. Next week, however, the senator is due back in Washington D.C. for a lame duck session.

Also during the wait on Monday, Collins said she talked with the superintendent of schools in Millinocket, a small business owner in Lincoln whose business is being affected by cutbacks in the paper industry and a man from Millinocket who had an issue he wanted the senator to look into.

After the verdict was delivered, Collins said she was “exhausted” by the whole experience.

“I work longer days in Washington, but for some reason this really wore me out. I’m very tired. I was supposed to be on MSNBC tonight with Brian Williams to talk about the presidential election, but I can’t do it. I was supposed to go on at 7 p.m. and it’s just cutting it too close. I couldn’t switch gears that quick,” she said.

The jury returned its verdict about 5:30 p.m.

Jurors remain in the jury pool for one month and may be chosen to sit on more than one trial during that time. They are paid $10 a day as well as mileage costs.