Jury duty

[LisaH 0]

Got the notice in the mail, it's my turn.

Should I piss and moan about it and try to get out of it or consider it my civic duty and go?

Why are they sending me to downtown L.A.? ARG!!

Be yourself!
MooOOooOoo

[FlyingJ 0]

I actually enjoyed it the last time I was called in NYC. I thought about trying to get out of it, but when I sat there during jury selection and listened to the complete BS stories people were coming with to get out of it I just decided that if I was to get picked, so be it. I did get picked, and the case was kind of interesting. Seemed totally open and shut at the beginning, but as it went on we realized that it was completely opposite of what we expected.

Oh, and it was a stressful time at work and was kind of nice to spend a week away.

Killing threads since 2004.

[NWFlyer 2]

Go. Especially if your employer pays for it. You'll get a lot of reading done. Or maybe postwhoring! The courthouse up in Seattle had wireless.

"There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

[LisaH 0]

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Go. Especially if your employer pays for it. You'll get a lot of reading done. Or maybe postwhoring! The courthouse up in Seattle had wireless.

I don't get paid for it And I don't have a laptop.

Can I borrow yours?

Be yourself!
MooOOooOoo

[LisaH 0]

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I actually enjoyed it the last time I was called in NYC. I thought about trying to get out of it, but when I sat there during jury selection and listened to the complete BS stories people were coming with to get out of it I just decided that if I was to get picked, so be it. I did get picked, and the case was kind of interesting. Seemed totally open and shut at the beginning, but as it went on we realized that it was completely opposite of what we expected.

Oh, and it was a stressful time at work and was kind of nice to spend a week away.

I guess it could be interesting. Perhaps I should just suck it up and go. The only excuse I would really have is not getting paid for it.

Be yourself!
MooOOooOoo

[skybytch 273]

Does your employer pay you for jury duty, or can you afford to not get paid for a few days? If so, consider it your civic duty and go. If not, do whatever it takes to get out of going more than one day.

If you go with the right attitude and plenty of stuff to do, jury duty isn't so bad. Bring your Ipod and/or books - dunno about LA but Riverside county had internet in the jury "lounge" so you may want to bring your lappie too.

First time I ever had to actually show up, I ended up on a month long death penalty case (I coulda got out of it, but I didn't want to). It was very interesting; I'm glad I did it.

[LisaH 0]

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Does your employer pay you for jury duty, or can you afford to not get paid for a few days? If so, consider it your civic duty and go. If not, do whatever it takes to get out of going more than one day.

If you go with the right attitude and plenty of stuff to do, jury duty isn't so bad. Bring your Ipod and/or books - dunno about LA but Riverside county had internet in the jury "lounge" so you may want to bring your lappie too.

First time I ever had to actually show up, I ended up on a month long death penalty case (I coulda got out of it, but I didn't want to). It was very interesting; I'm glad I did it.

No lappie Guess I'll be forced to *ahem* read.

Not looking forward to this at all, but it might be an interesting experience.

Which way did you go? Guilty or not guilty? j/k

Be yourself!
MooOOooOoo

[FlyingJ 0]

Re: $ - I've served twice, and both times there was a minimal stipend offered by the court if you were not being paid by your employer. Something like $30 a day. Worth checking out!

I learned a lot on the last case, mainly that the sleazy looking public defender rocked, and that if I ever end up in court I hope I have the same guy representing the prosecution. He was a moron!

Killing threads since 2004.

[AggieDave 6]

I've been called to jury duty a few times, all in my home town and all while I was in college. One of the times, though, I was home for the summer so I went and didn't just send the card back with the mark that I'm in school.

Personally I viewed it as my civil duty, I was picked to be on a jury and all in all, even though it was a 2 day event that cost me money due to being off work for those days, it was a really rewarding experience.

Then again, I do have a strong sense of civic duty.

--"When I die, may I be surrounded by scattered chrome and burning gasoline."

[TrophyHusband 0]

you're lucky. i've never been picked for jury duty, but i want to.

"Your scrotum is quite nice" - Skymama
www.kjandmegan.com

[LisaH 0]

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you're lucky. i've never been picked for jury duty, but i want to.

Ok, you all have me convinced this is the right thing to do. I won't fake my way out of it.

Be yourself!
MooOOooOoo

[lawrocket 3]

The are sending you to downtown LA because of the demand. Van Nuys and Burbank don't have a huge need for jury trials.

Go for it andtry to get on a jury for a small case - a one or two day trial. It'll be sweet and you'll get out of jury duty for a while.

My wife is hotter than your wife.

[LisaH 0]

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The are sending you to downtown LA because of the demand. Van Nuys and Burbank don't have a huge need for jury trials.

Go for it andtry to get on a jury for a small case - a one or two day trial. It'll be sweet and you'll get out of jury duty for a while.

But, but...I can almost walk to Van Nuys or Burbank

Do I really have a choice on what case they have selected me for?

Be yourself!
MooOOooOoo

[lawrocket 3]

Yep. Claim hardship for a longer trial. If you luck out on a case that is expected to last a day or two, get yourself on it.

My wife is hotter than your wife.

[LisaH 0]

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Yep. Claim hardship for a longer trial. If you luck out on a case that is expected to last a day or two, get yourself on it.

I will. Thanks!!!

Be yourself!
MooOOooOoo

[BIGUN 1,500]

I've been called up three times. Each time my name has been called to sit in the box and when we're going thru vore dire (sp?), the defense attorney bounces me for some reason. .
I just go downstairs and get some more reading in.

Nobody has time to listen; because they're desperately chasing the need of being heard.

[tigra 0]

The last time I went, it was something like $17.20 per day, with $15.00 of that being the actual jury duty "pay" and the remaining $2.20 was considered a "transportation allowance." I think it was even broken down that way on the check stub. I worked for a small company at the time, and although they did pay me for the day, they expected me to sign over my $17.20 check. I was appalled that they would even ask- it was only a little more than my hourly wage! I thought they were being ridiculous and petty, so I decided to be the same way and insisted that they were only entitled to $15.00, and I expected $2.20 back. (It was the principle, not the money. I got mileage when I had to drive around for work, so why not jury duty?) Well, no one had ever challenged their policy before- just signed their little checks over like sheep! They were stunned, but ended up "letting" me keep the whole check! They were probably afraid I would report them! lol (Looking back, I'm not sure their book keeping or HR policies could have withstood much scrutiny. How they managed to avoid lawsuits is beyond me!)

That was several years ago, and I never even made it into a courtroom. I spent the day in a large room reading and watching TV. Now when you are called, I think you're expected to be available on standby for up to a week, longer if you are actually picked for a jury. And I have no idea what the daily "pay" is any more!

[skybytch 273]

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Which way did you go? Guilty or not guilty?

He'd already been found guilty but the first jury hung on the penalty, so all we got to decide was live or die. We decided that there wasn't enough evidence showing that he'd pulled the trigger so he got life.

I posted about it here.

[gonzalesna 1]

I guess in the jury duty aspect of things, I'm pretty lucky I don't have to worry about it. I currently don't have to even show up. Of course, I'm in the military, so there are worse things that could happen than jury duty. But I don't have to deal with it for now. Is a 4-5 year contract worth getting out of it for ya?

Some people refrain from beating a dead horse. Personally, I find a myriad of entertainment value when beating it until it becomes a horse-smoothie.

[ExAFO 0]

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Got the notice in the mail, it's my turn.

Should I piss and moan about it and try to get out of it or consider it my civic duty and go?

Why are they sending me to downtown L.A.? ARG!!

When I started law school, my classmates and I toasted the fact that we'd never be on a jury, as attorneys do not want other attorneys/law students on juries.

Illinois needs a CCW Law. NOW.

[TheBachelor 5]

Unfortunately for us who don't get paid (by our employers) for jury duty, it's very difficult to get out of it in Los Angeles County now. It used to be that you could claim "financial hardship", and they'd automatically let you go. If you claim that now, they'll ask you to provide detailed information about your income and expenses.

A positive change they've made is the "1 day or 1 trial" rule. Most people just have to call in the night before you're to report. If you get called in, and don't get on a jury that day, you're [probably] done. Unfortunately for me, the last two times I got called in, I first went to Compton, and then at lunch they said to report to another courthouse (Long Beach once, and one near LAX the other time) in the afternoon.

On both occasions, I was part of the pool that they questioned for jury selection, and in both cases, they didn't get the jury seated by the end of the day, so we had to come back. I got chosen for a jury in the first case. The trial only took a couple of hours, but with schedule changes, etc., I was there for about 12 hours over 3 days.

The second time, I was about to get chosen, and because I'm self-employed and didn't want to spend the [unpaid] time, I used the only excuse that I thoght would work. It did, and they threw me off.

Look on the bright side. I almost got picked for the GRAND JURY of L.A. County. That would have been one day a week for a year in downtown L.A. The judge wasn't very accommodating for excuses, but eventuallly gave me the option of doing "regular" jury duty instead. By then, I jumped at the chance.

I just got another summons, which I postponed for 90 days. The good thing about this one is it's in Torrance, where I live and work.

P.S. I'd love to be on jury duty if I was not losing income to do it.

There are battered women? I've been eating 'em plain all of these years...

[Andy9o8 3]

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Each time my name has been called to sit in the box and when we're going thru vore dire (sp?), the defense attorney bounces me for some reason.

Maybe it's that tat your arm that says "Hang 'em high".
Just a guess.

[usedtajump 1]

Been called for jury duty in Dallas several times and always went but never got picked for a jury. Last time I went, about a year and a half ago, jury pay was still $5.00/day + parking. Because of the ridiculous pay, I gave it the seriousness it deserved and always looked forward to going across the street to Elmer's liquor store for lunch and having a hot link sandwich and a 40 oz.

The older I get the less I care who I piss off.