Jury Duty

[turtlespeed 226]

. . . Starts tomorrow.

I can't really afford the time away from the office, but I will represent and do the right thing.

I am usually a little stressed about the time serving. I have come to the conclusion that I was allowed to utilize the voting laws and be part of the process that made a difference, I won't complain about it ever again.

I won't even complain about Grand Jury duty.

I'm not usually into the whole 3-way thing, but you got me a little excited with that. - Skymama
BTR #1 / OTB^5 Official #2 / Hellfish #408 / VSCR #108/Tortuga/Orfun

[skyrider 0]

I can tell a guilty person from a mile away....

[Kennedy 0]

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If the police arrested him he must be guilty. When's lunch and do we have to stay awake and listen to the liar for the defense?

I'd love to say it's a joke and good way to get out of serving, but unfortunately I heard those words from a potential juror in superior court.

witty subliminal message
Guard your honor, let your reputation fall where it will, and outlast the bastards.
1*

[turtlespeed 226]

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If the police arrested him he must be guilty. When's lunch and do we have to stay awake and listen to the liar for the defense?

I'd love to say it's a joke and good way to get out of serving, but unfortunately I heard those words from a potential juror in superior court.

Grand Jury Duty is really inconvenient for a small business owner.
I will be happy to serve again if they ask though.

I'm not usually into the whole 3-way thing, but you got me a little excited with that. - Skymama
BTR #1 / OTB^5 Official #2 / Hellfish #408 / VSCR #108/Tortuga/Orfun

[skyrider 0]

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If the police arrested him he must be guilty. When's lunch and do we have to stay awake and listen to the liar for the defense?

I'd love to say it's a joke and good way to get out of serving, but unfortunately I heard those words from a potential juror in superior court.

In reality, many people think that way...many of them post to this forum!

[wmw999 2,589]

I just got to use our online option to reschedule from the week after Thanksgiving (we'll still be out of town) to January. Man I love that reschedule option. And now that it's online, I don't even have to actually speak to a person

I can't imagine not serving. I've been picked twice, actually served once (the other time someone else on the jury caused it to be invalidated), and made it clear once that I could not be "impartial." Based on the voir dire and my (limited) understanding of federal small & disadvantaged business contracting, it sounded like a fall guy had been selected.

It's a small price to pay, and there's generally some entertainment value involved too

Wendy P.

There is nothing more dangerous than breaking a basic safety rule and getting away with it. It removes fear of the consequences and builds false confidence. (tbrown)

[turtlespeed 226]

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I just got to use our online option to reschedule from the week after Thanksgiving (we'll still be out of town) to January. Man I love that reschedule option. And now that it's online, I don't even have to actually speak to a person

I can't imagine not serving. I've been picked twice, actually served once (the other time someone else on the jury caused it to be invalidated), and made it clear once that I could not be "impartial." Based on the voir dire and my (limited) understanding of federal small & disadvantaged business contracting, it sounded like a fall guy had been selected.

It's a small price to pay, and there's generally some entertainment value involved too

Wendy P.

There is the entertainment - kinda like "People of Walmart" in the smaller courts.

I'm not usually into the whole 3-way thing, but you got me a little excited with that. - Skymama
BTR #1 / OTB^5 Official #2 / Hellfish #408 / VSCR #108/Tortuga/Orfun

[wmw999 2,589]

Once I got selected for traffic court duty; only 12 potential jurors showed up, so we were all selected . The judge warned us there was a full docket, and apologized for what was going to be a full day.

Then she went and told all of the defense lawyers that there were only 12 jurors, and that they were all going to be really irritable by the end of the morning, never mind day . They all settled; we went home about 2 hours later.

I just hope that the (numerous) no-shows had some sort of consequence.

Wendy P.

There is nothing more dangerous than breaking a basic safety rule and getting away with it. It removes fear of the consequences and builds false confidence. (tbrown)

[skyrider 0]

I have went many times, dismissed every time..without even an interview...One look, they see "biker", and say "dismissed"...

[kelpdiver 2]

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I just got to use our online option to reschedule from the week after Thanksgiving (we'll still be out of town) to January. Man I love that reschedule option. And now that it's online, I don't even have to actually speak to a person

Now, this is example of perfectly valid reasons to bitch about jury duty. Once a year potentially, you get a notice from CA about 6 weeks out that you need to be available on this day. If that day isn't good, you have to ask for a reschedule X days in advance, and who knows when that will be. There's no ability to offer up suitable times.

What does Texas allow you to do with rescheduling? Is it the same sort of mindless deferral, or can you select a time? And no hardship is considered a hardship, which only encourages people to not show to ask.

It has improved somewhat in that at 5pm (?!) the night before, you can call/check the web page. And then you're to do it again in the morning the next day for the afternoon session. Much of the time, you're not needed. But you still have to plan around the possibility of being committed for the next days to weeks, with very short notice. Very inconsiderate - and they have little motivation to improve this. It's a free resource to them, right?

I believe that this is a case where easy technology would let jurors pick their week out of a 3 month window. Sure some weeks will be less popular than others, but when you make it pleasant enough and expand the available/willing jury pool, then you get a diverse enough set that you can meet any needs.

[wmw999 2,589]

No, you can choose any week for about 2-3 months. The one thing that has to stay consistent is the day of the week. If there were an absolute reason why that day wouldn't work I suppose you could call the clerk and ask about rescheduling otherwise.

But I got to pick which week; no problem at all.

Wendy P.

There is nothing more dangerous than breaking a basic safety rule and getting away with it. It removes fear of the consequences and builds false confidence. (tbrown)

[Nightingale 0]

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I just got to use our online option to reschedule from the week after Thanksgiving (we'll still be out of town) to January. Man I love that reschedule option. And now that it's online, I don't even have to actually speak to a person

Now, this is example of perfectly valid reasons to bitch about jury duty. Once a year potentially, you get a notice from CA about 6 weeks out that you need to be available on this day. If that day isn't good, you have to ask for a reschedule X days in advance, and who knows when that will be. There's no ability to offer up suitable times.

Hehe... I did.

If you call the courthouse directly instead of the jury recorded message number and ask for the jury room, you can sometimes talk to a person who can actually assign you a date. This is how my conversation went:

Me: "I need to reschedule my jury duty"
Jury Lady: "We can't do that. You've already rescheduled once."
Me: "I'd really like to serve, but I had a law school final on the last day you scheduled me for, and the new day you scheduled me for is in the middle of the bar exam."
JL: "Is the following week good for you?"
Me: "Sounds great! Thank you!"

[rhaig 0]

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What does Texas allow you to do with rescheduling? Is it the same sort of mindless deferral, or can you select a time? And no hardship is considered a hardship, which only encourages people to not show to ask.

first time I was called I showed up with a letter from work with reason for a deferral, but they just asked "who doesn't want to serve" and there were enough left so we all got to leave. All that did was put us earlier in the list the next time we get called. The next time I was juror candidate number one. Of course it was a DWI case with circumstances very similar to my DWI case that had just been dismissed (lack of evidence). So I brought that up and got the walk. Haven't been called again since.

--
Rob

[RonD1120 62]

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I have went many times, dismissed every time..without even an interview...One look, they see "biker", and say "dismissed"...

The same with me, as soon as they determine I was employed to run court ordered substance abuse treatment programs.

Look for the shiny things of God revealed by the Holy Spirit. They only last for an instant but it is a Holy Instant. Let your soul absorb them.

[Andy9o8 2]

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I have went many times, dismissed every time..without even an interview...One look, they see "biker", and say "dismissed"...

The same with me, as soon as they determine I was employed to run court ordered substance abuse treatment programs.

...which for a docket-full of criminal cases at least has some logic. But most court systems (esp. the bigger ones) also have a boatload of civil lawsuits - accident cases, med mal, commercial disputes, etc. - awaiting jury trials. No reason to bounce you from those. Too much laziness in public sector drones.

[RonD1120 62]

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The same with me, as soon as they determine I was employed to run court ordered substance abuse treatment programs.

...which for a docket-full of criminal cases at least has some logic. But most court systems (esp. the bigger ones) also have a boatload of civil lawsuits - accident cases, med mal, commercial disputes, etc. - awaiting jury trials. No reason to bounce you from those. Too much laziness in public sector drones.

[Andy9o8 2]

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Now that I am retired, I'd be willing to serve twice a year.

Ideally, the jury system works best when juries represent a fair cross-section of the community. Problem is, too many people between 25 & 65 with responsibilities bend over backwards to get out of jury duty, and too many judges accommodate them (although some judges take a tougher line with this). Thus, juries all too often tend to be over-represented by college students, the chronically under-employed and retirees.

[Southern_Man 0]

I've never been called.

I think I would likely be dismissed because I have spent a lot of time in the local court system through my work. That wouldn't make me an inappropriate juror in all cases but I'm sure in a fiar number there would be assumption of bias.

If they asked me about my own experiences in the court as a plaintiff or defendent (divorce issues) I am 100% certain I would not be allowed to serve.

"What if there were no hypothetical questions?"

[popsjumper 2]

I'm scared of courtrooms. I'm afraid that if I go in, I may not be coming back out.




HELL YEAH THAT DUDE IS INNOCENT BECAUSE OBAMA DID IT!

My reality and yours are quite different.
I think we're all Bozos on this bus.
Falcon5232, SCS8170, SCSA353, POPS9398, DS239

[champu 1]

I've been called in once. Slept in the jury waiting room all morning. After lunch I sat in the pool in the back of the courtroom through the jury selection and watched half the jury try to give the "wrong" answers to the screening questions to get out of serving. A couple were successful but I never got brought into the box.

If I'm not working on something particularly time/mission critical then I wouldn't squirm to get out of serving.

[billvon 3,120]

Been called seven times so far in San Diego. Didn't get used twice. Three times I got called for jury selection but I'm always one of the first to get bounced out.

Got picked for a grand jury once in an interesting case - accessory to murder. They didn't end up wanting a bill because they realized they could get him on murder one after people started cutting deals. Two weeks that were effectively wasted (no decision was asked for) but at least it got them a better case in the long run.

Last one was a case of sexual harassment - first case in San Diego where a man was going after a woman for harassment. I didn't get to finish that one due to a sickness in the family; fortunately they still had two alternates when I left.

[skybill 22]

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I have went many times, dismissed every time..without even an interview...One look, they see "biker", and say "dismissed"...

Hi Gypsy,
Got pulled for Federal Jury duty in downtown LA some yrs. ago!! Middle of summer. Showed up in cutoff jeans with pullup cord on beltloop, flip flops with the stow band for the toe, my Best "Sport Death" t-shirt and my Air Trash hat!! This dude that was giving us the intro said that I should wear some more appropriate clothes as I would wear to work>>>>I said,"This IS what I wear to work!!"...... Parachute Rigger and general all around Sport Parachute Bum!! Didn't get picked for any jurys.

SCR-2034, SCS-680

III%,
Deli-out

[Andy9o8 2]

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I have went many times, dismissed every time..without even an interview...One look, they see "biker", and say "dismissed"...

Hi Gypsy,
Got pulled for Federal Jury duty in downtown LA some yrs. ago!! Middle of summer. Showed up in cutoff jeans with pullup cord on beltloop, flip flops with the stow band for the toe, my Best "Sport Death" t-shirt and my Air Trash hat!! This dude that was giving us the intro said that I should wear some more appropriate clothes as I would wear to work>>>>I said,"This IS what I wear to work!!"...... Parachute Rigger and general all around Sport Parachute Bum!! Didn't get picked for any jurys.

There are many judges that would have held you in contempt of court for doing that. No, I'm not kidding.

[BobMoore 0]

A comedian once said a sure-fire way to get out of jury duty is to confess to the judge that you find the prosecuting attorney sexually attractive. And this works whether the prosecuting attorney is female or male.

I haven't had the opportunity to try this yet.

"For you see, an airplane is an airplane. A landing area is a landing area. But a dropzone... a dropzone is the people."