Jury Duty ... anybody had the honor?
 

I've 12 hours before I report for jury summons.

I've not had a summons in a decade. Back then, I'd already many years under belt as starving blues musician and pretty much fit the profile of "undesirable" and never had to serve.

Since then, i've had a steady job... and don't have the wild look...

Anybody ever have to serve?

i do not want to serve. even though my company pays full the entire time one serves. i always got out of it being a single mother with 3 starving children. ;)

if you want out of it wear a t-shirt that says: "if you are accused you are guilty" they will show you the door.

I thought about wearing one of my 1% biker t-shirts from the Devils Deciples


I'd get jury pay from my employer.... its just that I hate that whole munciple building and people atmosphere. Or church... I got nothing against enlighting sermons... its just sitting and waiting and trying to keep awake that sucks.

The only time I went not a single person was called to be considered for the whole day.

When they notify me I tell them, because of my past treatment by that court, I'd be glad to help out any defendant that is suffering a similar fate. ;)

lol, i'd like that.

Back in the day, (i think i was called about 4 different times) my backup was that the Public Defenders and Criminal Defense lawyers usually partied at the downtown bar/resturants we gigged .. (and many partied on the band bus).... So, when asked if ya know the defendant or plaintiff or their lawyers, etc... I got to play that card.
The prosecuting attorneys would ask "and do you think you could give a fair and impartial hearing under these circumstances?"

(i don't know why they even asked the question.. i was already written off)

Now, I been out of the Downtown Loop, so I don't know any current legal players.

A co-worker said I should just tell them I am a raciest.

I served on a jury for a guy arrested for breaking and entering and grand theft. We found him guilty, based on tons of physical and circumstantial evidence, then as soon as we returned the verdict, we were in formed that this was a 3 strikes case, and that the man would be going to jail ofr 25 years to life.

It kind of took my breath away to know that I had sent a guy to jail for that long. I know my role wasn't to think about the consequences; it was to give an impartial review of the evidence, but still. damn.

Last time I got called was a case about a worker getting hurt on job. So I heard the judge say that if you couldn't read or write you could go. So I raised my hand. And got my donkey out of there!

I would like to serve, as part of my duty as a citizen.

:thumb2: Applause for UT. Think about what kind of people you would want if you're ever in a pickle. The kind of intelligent educated folks you meet on the cellar, or the kind of people they usually get.

Do your duty. It's only a few days.

If you want to serve, move down to DC. We have two court systems, each of which can call youevery three years, and if you show up once, they keep calling. I don't know how many times I've had to go, but I've been on two juries. Both gun charges, one of each verdict.

Even though it is our duty as a citizen...some of us may be cut out for it, some aren't. I am not. I am fully capable of making the correct decisions one would need to make in the jury room and everything else entailed. but...i.e. putting a guy away for life even though the law says he deserves it. I would lose sleep a I tell ya.

I am not a fan of the 3 strikes law to begin with. I am less of a fan of the courts. I am even a lesser fan of lawyers and judges.

Just over 10 years ago I recieved a notice to appear .. I didn't, due to drug issues .. second notice .. I didn't do anything. The third notice was threatening, I still didn't do anything. Haven't heard back from them .. The FBI could be breaking down my door any minute :P

:smashfrea
I served in Feb. of this year... it was a two day process... when it came time to enter the court room from the jury room... the defendant had pleaded guilty and we were free to go... couldn't have been easier... :cool:

I served 2 years ago in Philadelphia and 8 years ago in St. Louis. I loved it...anytime I can get out of work, shit yeah! Got picked as an alternate for the case in Philly...that was a nice 2-day break.

At least it wasn't shoplifting or jaywalking!:eek:

I've served once. Also a gun charge. Just before we were about to deliberate, the guy did a plea bargain, because I think he realized that he had incriminated himself on a technicality during his testimony.

Up until that happened, we had had a couple breaks. I was amazed during those breaks by my fellow jurors. Some of them didn't follow simple instructions, they discussed the case before they were supposed to. I'm not a bossy/confrontational type, so I didn't tell them to stop discussing the case. As I listened to what they had to say, I was a little dismayed by their cluelessness. They latched on to trivial aspects of the case and ignored the "smoking gun," and they assessed the credibility of witnesses bases on their clothing. Granted, it was just the few jurors who were the same ones that didn't know enough to not deliberate until it was time that were also the ones who were so clueless, but I left with some concern about the state of the jurors in Arlington county, VA. It's probably the same or worse elsewhere.

You hear a lot of people complain about those crazy juries out there that will award someone $8 million when they get burned by hot coffee. We need level headed citizens to serve on the juries. Everyone should do their part.

several times... once you show up, you're on the list for life. Sat on three juries -- just Municipal Court DUI stuff. But I was once in the pool for a murder retrial -- first trial ended in a hung jury. It was my next to last day so I decided that if I didn't get called up on the 1st day of voir dire, I would uhh... get sick. So I got sick. Second verdict after a month-long trial was: not guilty.

I was hoping to be called for the Kazinski trail so i could write a book. ;)

One guy on a jury I was on drew a little hangman on the initial paper vote.

I've been called on twice. First time, it was a drunk driving case and, well, I'll say that my life has been touched by a drunk driver, so I got let off that one. The second time, I spent 2 weeks calling in each day to see if they wanted (needed?) me and never had to show up.

I don't think they will ever call me. Hee, hee, hee! Besides, I can spot a guilty person the way George Carlin can: Just like that *snaps fingers*

I've been called four times. Only ever got questioned twice. Both times, I was excused from duty. Once was because the prosecuting attorney knew my mother. (she was a court reporter for 17 years or so). The second time, I was so aggravated by the defense attorney (the man was a tool of the first order) that I told him I couldn't give an unbiased decision because I was, and I quote "so much smarter than him that I sincerely doubted that he could convince me of anything." Immediately realizing the arrogance of that statement (justified or not), I looked at the judge and said "with due respect to the court". I *think* that helped keep me from being held in contempt. I'm sure I burned some karma on that one as I probably deserved to get smacked in the head for being a jerk/dolt. It *did* get me excused though.

In my first post,.... I said something about in 12 hours showing up for summons...

Now, (the next day) its almost that same time at night that I posted that.... and I spent 12 hours messing with the jury thing today. They took allllllllll day and came up with 15 different juries.

I got picked for one....

Oh well, the worst is over (the day of the summons)

When I go back we can't bring our mags, books, or mp3 players..

(which is too bad, because I was listening to Ann Rice's book... something about Sleeping Beauty and what happens after the prince awakes her... ahahah it reads like porn romance novel with S&M)

Hey, your in court....you're supposed to tell the truth. Fuck 'em, if they can't handle the truth. :D

Tis because it _IS_ a series of porn romance novels with S&M.

HAHA! Truth!? In a court room??? gawd, that is the funniest thing i heard ALL DAY!! ;)

I was called to Jury Duty once, made it into the courtroom for Jury Selection, and dodged that particular bullet.

Of course I went out of my way to dress for the occasion. I do not typically go out in public in really bright tie-dye and ripped jeans, but the attorneys didn't know that.

I vote in every election, and am always surprised that I do NOT get called.

If I were, though, the chances of my actually having to serve are somewhere between slim and none. I know nearly all of the cops in my county, several of our more active judges, quite a few public defenders, a good number of the criminals, and the psychiatrist who does the competency evals for the PD's office. Under ordinary circumstances I'll have enough of a connection to at least one of the participants in the case that I'll get exempted on that basis.

[On the motley group of guests present]
Nora Charles: Oh, Nicky, I love you because you know such lovely people.

Why don't y'all want to serve on a jury? Don't you believe in your own country's system of justice? Which country do you live in? Who do you want to be on your jury if you are wrongly accused of a serious crime?

True dat, monster.

If there were a threat to the US sytem, a threat which would irradicate it, a fight would be in order to maintain the Judicial system.
There are a few reasons why people don't want to participate.
A whole bunch of people do want to participate, and some are gungho.

Probly a common trend to "apathy", is it's expected to "not show" your gungho-ness. This makes the litigaters "work" for their money.

Alot of people look at jury summons as being "drafted"... and if enlisted, you become nobody for the duration..... until deliberation.
You "have" to presume the accused is innocent. And it is a scary thought to think if you have to vote guilty, or... "are you absolutely positive its so beyond a reasonable doubt"

Most cases are ramrodded through in half a day. The states attn probably only has three witnesses, one of which is the arresting officer.

Many people don't want the duty in serious cases, because these are more time consuming.
In cases of violent crimes, many people don't want to be the target of all the friends and families of the accused, especially if a guilty verdict needs to be delivered.

Jury duty is like the income tax... ya know you got to pay it to help support the country. But at the same time, ya could feel like ya just don't want to do it.

Tv law shows are entertaining. And as an observer, we get to see all kind of stuff and hear arguments and see evidence that might be dismissed and get an entertaining all round view.. The jury doesn't see shit, but technical crap, and there's the feeling of "what are they not telling us, or showing us".
This makes jury duty a complete yet incomplete entity.

My experience has been contrary. Everything that happens in or around the court house is like a soap opera....come back in a week and pick right up on the proceedings. Delays, breaks, procedures, bullshit.....hurry up and wait.
Be there at 8am.....the judge shows up at 10.
Lunch from 11:30 to 1:30.
3:30, well that's it for today...be sure to be back here by 8am.

Grrrrrr.....they make me nuts. :rar:

Like being drafted? Very close.

I hope I'm not stuck with that next Tuesday. But the day of summons was like that. 8am = 8:45 to get ball rolling. 15 minute break = 30 or more before action happens. Two jury pools were out and the lady comes back and says, "Judge Jones will be calling for an afternoon pool. He said we'd start after lunch. It will be a long lunch, be back at 2:15pm" .... (It's 11:45am) I tease the lady with, " Hell I wish my job would give me 2 and half hour lunch breaks"
I walked downtown, and hit one of our scenic "Bourban Street Ambience" type bar/and (well it did have a restuarant aslo)

Afternoon pool didn't start until 5:00pm.


Tuesday, they got a trial before us (starting at 8am in this particular court room) they want finished by 11:00am and our crew of misfits are to show up at 12:45pm to try a 4 hour case...

lol, we'll see.

If I'm innocent, and wrongly accused, I'd excuse the jury and ask to be tried by the Judge. I'd put more trust in them being able to understand the subtleties of the evidence.

Excellent point, sm. I hadn't thought about that. There could be some pitfalls if you were.... say ... OJ, but for somebody innocent it might be a good choice. :thumb:

While they may be more perceptive than the average juror, my experience has also been that they care even LESS about the whole process than a random juror, as amazing as that is. Every judge I have seen or talked to, inside or outside a courtroom, is incredibly jaded, assumes both sides are lying through their teeth 100% of the time, and doesn't lose a second of sleep over the possibility that an innocent person might be wrongly judged.

Bummer, I thought they were all pompous asses because they were proud of their knowledge, ability and effort to be fair. :(

@ Bruce, .... I feel with you... Im sorry they (judges/litagaters/crockabullshithers/assholes who will take your home for any realty development that can happen)

don't give a shit...

Fortunatley... I did not have to pass judgement.

I Probly would have voted for the guity bastard/

We (misfits) got cancelled before the court actions.

I do show up if called (only called once in my county (but twice in counties in which I don't live!)), and would serve if chosen. That time, they filled all juries before my number came up. However, while waiting, I ended up sitting next to a woman who had the same dorm room as me twenty years before (at CWRU in Cleveland). Weird.

?


The SAME dorm room?


We call that "shacking up"

But, yeah, I don't think they asked if we shacked up with the other "jury poolies"...

Same here. I was on standby once but was never called in. My company will pay me during jury duty, provided I sign over the $5-10 a day the county will pay me. Not too difficult a choice there.;)

Ooooh I don't even know where to start on this one. :)

Juries have been taught how to act by what is seen on tv.
You can't have a case against someone without some kind of DNA or hair, or a fingerprint, right? That is the case of the defence.
On the prosecution we may have a lot of circumstantial evidence. We can show that this guy is a cheater and a scumbag, so there's no doubt he killed his girlfriend/ wife. That's the way it is on CSI, right?

By in large, a jury is made up of a body of people that are ignorant of the duties assigned to them. I am not saying they are ignorant people, I am saying that by design they are often left uneducated about the issues at hand.
Most people get their courtroom "education" via the TV and are easily swayed by the cool & sexy evidence presented & manipulated by the attornies on both sides.
They are frequently asked to deliberate over evidence & issues that are far beyond the attorney and the judge's scope of education & experience.
This is not done by mistake, believe me.

You have attorneys "interpreting" evidence like forensic, behavioral, chemical, physical, et al to the jury as though they themselves were an expert in those areas, but they most certainly are not.

Anyway, this is obviously an area I care a great deal about so I could go on & on.... and I don't want to slam the jury system. I want it to be better.

Here is the cool thing about being a juror..... you can ask questions and you can (pretty please) use critical thinking. Don't trust anything spoonfed to you in a courtroom - even if it comes from an expert.

After all, an expert is just a...... has-been drip under pressure. ;)

*teehee*
That's right xoB - just cause someone is an expert in court doesn't mean that he is an expert at home. :)

They would not have me. I even wanted to serve. Cowards.

Ooops
 

Well, here's one college student who got an unexpected civics lesson when he skipped out on jury duty.

http://www.forbes.com/home/feeds/ap/...ap2673532.html

I suspect that word is out around the courthouse that I could very well show up bearing pamphlets on Jury Nullification.