Jury Duty

[Ken Fitzgerald]

I will remind everyone that political discussions and comments are not allowed at this website.

This thread is about serving on juries not about elections.

[Chris Kennedy]

I have been called a couple of times, though I have never ended up serving. I can completely understand people wanting to "get out of it" because it is a major disruption in life. The last time I was called, I received an initial questionnaire and after the general purpose questions, there was a space for comments that might effect your service. I received this in early March, and in that section, I stated I was a professor, and that it would be preferable to serve after May 1 when classes were out, my student wouldn't have a disruption by having a change in professor, and my colleagues wouldn't be taxed by having to cover my classes. It was readily apparent that my comments were completely ignored because I was immediately scheduled. Now, I could ask for a deferral, which I did, but then my chair and I both had to write letters (which we did) and then the judge decided it was okay to defer me.

Seems inefficient to me . . . .

Cheers,

Chris

[Bill Cunningham]

A friend of mine spent a year and a half on a jury for a murder trial. In Canada, the Just-Us Industry can crawl along at a crippled snail's pace. He worked for that big blue computer company, and his contract covered full pay during that period. In cases like this where the company covers the wages, the jury pay reverts to the employer. He was getting close to retirement, and being 'out of the loop' for 1.5 years put him at a distinct disadvantage. So, when the trial was over he retired to the golf course.. I have been excused from Jury duty because I'm a one man business, and it would create a hardship to say the least. However, I am disappointed that i never got called up when I was a community college teacher. The union would have covered my pay as well, and I would have probably got an education in modern drug paraphernalia

[Bryan Morgan]

Not quite. It gives you the ability to reach a verdict that is contrary to the letter of the law. It's the spirit of the law that's most important, so a jury can use nullification to side-step the letter of the law and reach a verdict appropriate to the situation in front of them.

Right, but after several juries reaching the same conclusion on the same law its now precedent...

[Bryan Morgan]

I have always wanted to be a juror. Recently I made it as far as selection, but was rejected by the lawyers. It was very interesting and I took it seriously.

I never understood the desire by so many people to "get out of it".

Mike

For me, its monetary. These days I simply can't afford to be absent from work without pay. My work made us use up all our vacation hours and they certainly don't pay days off for jury duty. My wifes jury duty cost us $1200 for the couple weeks she was out. She got a check for $90. We can't pay the mortgage with that... That, and I have 0 faith in the current legal system and refuse to be part of the sham... I believe %90 of current law is invalid, how can I be honest and find someone guilty of something I don't believe in in the first place?

[Jim O'Dell]

I have never figured out why but in the nearly 29 years we have lived here.....every other year either my wife or I get selected for jury duty. I have a neighbor who has lived here all of his life....he's 4 years older than I......a stand up....never been arrested citizen.....he's been selected 1 time.....

Though I've been called, I have never had to serve and yet my wife has set through a couple trials......

One time I got selected and the entire jury pool got thrown out as all of us received a form letter from friends of the two defendents. Turns out locally, the defense lawyer receives a list of all potential jurists before the trial.

Most judges would lock the lawyer up for jury tampering.

I've been called 3 times for jury duty. Selected one time...Capital Murder case. Sequestered for 9 days of the 14 day trial. One of the best things I've had the privilege to be part of in my life. You really get to see how the system works. During voir dire (did I spell that right?) the judge had read through my 57 page questionnaire and said something like "I see you graduated from Baylor. I graduated from there in 195X. I think you will do fine." Of course, both prosecutor and defense teams had to approve also. I think I was #347 in the jury pool, so I bet they had used most of their veto cards. And I was the 10th one chosen. Lots of memories. Most good, a couple that were tough. Jim.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Jim,

There was no absolute method of proving how the friends of the two defendants got the names of the jury pool that had been selected. The judge addressed us and stated if he could prove from whom and how the names of the jury pool were gained, he would prosecute the individuals involved.

[Shawn Pixley]

I get called for jury duty every two years. I have served on juries as foreperson many times. Personally I feel this is our civic duty. I would only hope for those who find themselves in court that they would appreciate a jury of reasonsable men and women, rather than the slack jawed yokels I have seen. For those who eish to use Jury nulification as an excuse to get out of jury duty (rather than on the individual circumstances of the case and facts presented), I find that particularly un-American. Inconvenience is a poor excuse for not doing the right thing. Everyone dhould have the right to a fair trial by a jury of their peers. My opinion only, I could be wrong.

[Ben Hatcher]

Arlo Guthrie's Alice's Restaurant..., "a dozen black & white photos, with circles and arrows and a paragraph on the back of each one and the judge walks in with a seeing eye dog. It was an open and shut case of American blind justice."

jtk

the line is "twenty-seven 8 by 10 colour glossy photos"

[Bonnie Campbell]

I just got a jury summons this week.... For Mississippi. I called and told them I live about 2500 miles outside of their area lol Now I have to mail a statement asking to be removed from their voter rolls.

[David Larsen]

I think someone is missing the point of Jury Nullification. It is not an excuse to get out of jury duty. It is not an available option for every jury trial. Yes, it may have a place in some trials, but it isn't always applicable. If you say you believe in it for every case, then you are basically saying that you do not believe in our constitution. For that, you should find another country to live in.

[Tony Daurio]

Jury Duty is fine if you work for someone else. I'm self employed. Jury duty means closing down my business for as long as the trial lasts. Especially annoying if the case is someone suing Granny Smith because they didn't realize the pie they just took out of the oven was too hot to eat.....

[mickey cassiba]

I have never been called up, Charlotte was once, but rejected due to health. Nothing profound to add.

[Bryan Morgan]

Jury Duty is fine if you work for someone else. I'm self employed. Jury duty means closing down my business for as long as the trial lasts. Especially annoying if the case is someone suing Granny Smith because they didn't realize the pie they just took out of the oven was too hot to eat.....

Its not fine if your employer doesn't pay for it and you are on a razor thin budget as it is. Sorry, not being able to pay a mortgage is not worth someone else's bad behavior. Just who is getting punished here? I'd find them guilty just for creating hardships on my life.

[Douglas Clark]

Hey, good timing! I've got jury duty next week. I was originally called last month, but they let me put it off for a month because my wife was about to have a baby. They gave me a whole month and then the next invite arrived exactly when they said it would.

By the time I was 21 it seemed I'd been called to jury duty more than several 60-year-olds I knew. I've been seated several times, dismissed nearly as many but actually sat through one criminal trial (gang shooting) where we sent the dude to jail. My dad is an attorney and practiced in the county where I live for several years and so I got to know a lot of lawyers personally, which is good because they are more likely to dismiss you when they know you (unless you know both attorneys on either side of the case, which actually happened to me once).

Last time I was seated, I think I discovered a tactic that helps if you're seated in a criminal case. I spent a lot of time looking at the defendant and made eye contact several times. I think it made the dude pretty nervous, because I was one of the first guys his attorney dismissed. It probably also helped that I was a well dressed and well educated young father of three kids. Guess he was afraid that I couldn't be objective about the child abuse charges he was facing. He might have been right, but luckily we didn't have to find out, because instead I heard "Counsel would like to thank and dismiss Mr. Clark today" Man, I love those words!