Jury Duty!

No one?

Does it suck THAT bad?

when i get a summons i just ignore it and it goes away

Can’t you get in trouble for ignoring it?

I loved it. Even the times I wasn’t chosen.

I once met a guy I tricked with a decade earlier at one. God, he was charming and handsome and around the corner. We hooked up again and became fuck-buddies for a while. Go, OP!

I have been called many times and served twice.

The case I served on was a meth addict parolee who physically abused his girlfriend and resisted arrest. He was clearly guilty on both counts. The jury sucked and was dominated by two people who thought he should get off, one man had a son who committed a similar crime. The assertive ones tried to out talk the less assertive jurors but in the end we convicted him on some of the accounts but not resisting arrest, which I thought was wrong, he did resist. The upshot was he was going back to jail because he did this while on parole.

During jury selection one potential juror flat out said he was an attorney and his experience with meth addicts is that they're liars. he was dismissed.

The second trial I was selected for was a murder trail with two defendants, males, 19 and 20. They stabbed a guy after a confrontation in a restaurant. They made a plea deal the day the trial was to start and we were dismissed. Both got about 22 years, less than if they were fully convicted.

What I learned is that you have to pay close attention because people forget what they hear or don't hear it at all. I took notes and remembered important points that were crucial during deliberations. I was not impressed with some of the jurors, feeling they brought their preconceived notions into the jury room and their opinions were based on bias. Interesting experience.

Once I was called and dismissed during selection because I knew about seven witnesses, the plaintiff was suing my employer. I knew he didn't have a case but it was sad because it was age discrimination. My employer was a government agency and they did not discriminate, having hired many oldies because of their experience.

Another time I was chosen as foreman, probably because I had noted on the questionnaire that I had a masters degree.

It was a drug trial, crack. I thought the girl was obviously guilty, but she was also charged with possession or dealing near a school zone. I was going to vote guilty on the first charge and break the rules and do “jury nullification” on the second charge, because it was from her home. She wasn’t hanging on the street corner selling to kids.

The jury was excited to see crack. But there was, it seemed, a rich liberal Jew and a sympathetic Black woman with convoluted reasons why the girl was not guilty. As we approached the end of the day, I and the others voting to convict caved. I figured she wasn’t going to rob a bank, so it wasn’t going to hurt anyone to let her go.

After rendering our verdict, the judge put us back into the jury room and asked if we were intimidated. That seemed unusual and I assumed it was because the case was so clear.

Much later, I had an interaction with the police, and learned how awful the criminal justice system is. These cops were idiots and believed the pretty straight couple, rather than the old Gay guy. Later I learned that their employee, who was the crux of the matter, had at least 5 prior convictions. And the couple were serial liars. Now, I’ll never vote for a conviction unless it’s certain and a dangerous person, or otherwise a terrible crime. Thank God I didn’t do any damage before I learned.

Not jury related but the above meth account brought to mind:

The nice kid that shampooed my hair was murdered one night. He was just 19. Meth was involved. Their meeting that night sounded convoluted as my friend seemed to meet him through a friend of a friend. The murderer tried that alibi of “I was asleep in the other room as he was brutally stabbed repeatedly by a stranger in my bedroom”. Well, maybe, I wasn’t in court. It took forever to arrest that guy, but he got a couple decades in prison, I believe. Sad all around.

I wonder how Facebook has changed jury selection. I have a JD and am "friends" with a lot of attorneys, and a judge or two, in my town, even though I've never met them or communicated with them. Just networking. Is that disqualifying?

It seems like I’m called to jury duty a lot. In the span of 12 years I’ve gone three times. Two times I was on a jury in both cases really stupid and a waste of time. I’ve been summoned a fourth time and I just ignored it. I don’t get paid for the time off of work either. Why should jury duty cost me thousands of dollars in lost wages?

I just served on a civil trial right before the holidays. It was actually about as pleasant a jury duty experience as you could have - all the other jurors and judge were very nice. It's frustrating how slow the process can be though. Bring a book because there will be lots of down time.

I've been summoned twice and was chosen twice. I don't know why. I guess I seem harmless and neutral, which I don't consider a compliment.

The first time was a routine drug case. The guy was obviously guilty, but I don't think anyone deserves time for buying coke. I was too young to argue about that though.

The second time was an extremely depressing and disturbing case involving a guy who was accused of raping his daughters. I still can't be sure I/we made the right decision and it really made me think ordinary people aren't qualified to decide a lot of cases, as undemocratic as that may sound. I dread being summoned again.

Well I still have time to change my response to Not Mentally Sound!

I'm in Texas and I felt morally obligated to go, I guess, because what kind of people show up for JD if so many people like it and everyone tries to get out of it?

^Should read "if so many people DISlike it.."

I have been disqualified or excused four times and have served twice, both times as foreman.

Case 1. Criminal. Guy was on trial for rape and other sex crimes against his daughter. The charges they were trying depended on the daughter's being under 14 at the time of the alleged crime. But there was no birth certificate or other proof of age and the daughter could not remember how old she was when it occurred. Despite all this, the vote was 11-1 for conviction. I was the hold out. The judge made us spend three days in the jury room before roll calling in open court. He then sent us back to consider charges that did not depend on the daughter's age. We convicted him.

Case 2. Civil. Woman bought a Kia Sorento eight years prior. No records of any service on the vehicle. She never returned the vehicle for recalls issued. She seemed annoyed when testifying about whether she had regular oil changes or other routine maintenance. After eight years of driving and nearly 170K miles, she was suing under the Lemon Law. When we entered the jury room, we could barely stifle belly laughs. It took us all of ten minutes to acquit, most of which was filling out the forms.

What if you're FB friends with the local NORML chapter? Are the lawyers assholes when they're trying to decide whether you'll be a good juror? Do they treat you like a criminal if they don't like you?

What's the lunch like? Do you bring your own?

Thanks, R14, interesting. Thanks to the other posters, too.

In county court jury here in Florida, they don't feed you. They give you a lunch break, and you go to where ever you want.

Jury duty: locked up with a subsection of the most racist, ignorant people in your county.

The jury selection: they will hand you a laminated sheet of paper with a standard set of questions that you must answer out loud so both attorneys, the judge, the rest of the jury, the person on trial, and everyone else in the courtroom can hear your answers. Questions like how many children you have and their ages, where you and your spouse work, where you and your spouse volunteer, where you and your spouse attend church, synagogue/mosque, etc.

^^^^me again.

One prospective juror got released back into the pool because she started crying. When the judge asked her what was wrong, she said she was afraid the defendant (big black guy) would hurt her if she were on the jury that convicted him.

The attorneys might ask you a few casual questions, but they don't harass you. The two attorneys ended up using most of their throwaways on prospective jurors who couldn't really speak English well enough to follow the trial.

[quote]Why should jury duty cost me thousands of dollars in lost wages?

The only way R9 would lose that much money would be if he was a jury on a trial that lasted 10,000 years.

It seems like the working poor are the ones least able to afford to go to Jury Duty. And it seems the ones most able to 'afford' it would be retirees.

Doesn't seem fair/impartial. Do the demographics shake out that way?

Been called twice. The first time was dismissed without being called to be questioned. The second time I was called I was in the last pool called to get questioned. On the way in, I noticed the case on the digital display and knew I would not be cleared. It involved a potential sexual assault at a university in the area. I knew the entire administration there and had presented to the campus on alcohol education safety. I also had worked in Housing/residence life on a college campus. They kept asking questions and I kept raising my hand. The judge finally asked me to stand and explain my education and why I answered yes to all the questions. Both lawyers dismissed me immediately. Do want to serve on a jury though.

OP,

But it is fair to the defendant. It's the defendant that is supposed to have the fair trial--not the jurors.

If you had only retirees who could afford it on the jury, you would have a conviction rate of 100%--and sometimes the police get it wrong.

In my jury duty trial, 5 of the 7 jurors were for a guilty verdict. (6 jurors plus one spare). It took two of us two days to convince the other 4/5 that the charge was crazy. They were literally going to put a man in jail for a year for driving with an expired tag.

I think single gay men are more likely to be picked to serve on a jury because defense attorneys think we'll be more liberal and lenient. If the case has anything to do with sex, you're going to be picked for the jury if you're a gay man.

R22, right, not fair to the defendant if the only people on the jury are people who have the means to sustain a few unpaid weeks off (or are lucky enough to have a job that pays them while they serve on a jury--ie a 'good job') and retirees who would otherwise be home sharing propaganda on FB.

(Note that I said "retirees who would otherwise be...", not ALL retirees, I know.)

Also, to R23's point and R17's point, I'm not wild about answering personal questions aloud to a roomful of strangers. In Texas!

None of us were! That's why the woman (Indian, middle-aged) started crying.

I always worked for good companies and I think they only paid for one day of jury duty, so I can’t imagine others that pay for it all. Do I remember wrong?

[quote] R17: Jury duty: locked up with a subsection of the most racist, ignorant people in your county.

This is why DataLoungers and Liberals need to [bold] Go [/bold] to Jury Duty! People died for our rights. Tough it out and sacrifice a little to see that we’re represented! Please!

Your job legally must pay you for serving on jury duty. If they don't, they can get in trouble.

[quote] the jury are people who have the means to sustain a few unpaid weeks off (or are lucky enough to have a job that pays them while they serve on a jury--ie a 'good job')

I think the statistic is that most criminal trials are over in a day or two. At least when I've been to jury duty (several times, but only chosen once), they will say, "This trial is expected to last more than a week, so you can ask to be excused." They choose you at random, but from those randoms, they only take volunteers for long trials.

No one is forced to serve on a long trial against their will. This is where you see a lot of retirees volunteering to be on jury duty.

Pierre, aren't you a Euro?

"Our rights..."?

R29, not in Texas, an employer is not required to pay for a worker serving on a jury. It plainly states that on my summons. My summons states that your employer merely must not fire you for taking time off for jury duty.

R31, interesting! (Also, terrible.) In Florida, your employer must pay you for jury duty.

Where did the last three posts go?

I used to get called all the time when I was working, but I've been retired for ten years and have never been called during that time.

I live in an area with a lot of non-citizens and a lot of non-English speakers so the pool of potential jurors is somewhat limited; therefore I'm surprised I haven't gotten summoned more often.

I sat on a jury in a case where the defendant fell asleep drunk in a car while illegally parked in an apartment parking lot.

He drove off and they called the cops on him and he refused a breathalyzer .

Everyone wanted to give him benefit of the doubt and we all agreed to a lesser charge. I would have gone with the higher charge because I thought he was an idiot, but whatever.

He looked so pissed when they read the decision to him. I looked it up when I got home and saw that when it's your second offense, as his was, you get the same penalty whether it's the higher or lower charge.

That's a pity.

I was summoned to Federal Grand Jury duty last year. The jurors had to show up every Monday morning for six weeks. The courthouse was 40 miles from my house. When I was called for questioning, I said that if a person was arrested, they surely must've done something wrong. I was excused.

If you end up getting sequestered, make sure you don't have to share a room with some old bitch who hogs all the nightstand space with her June Allyson bladder pads.

Justice is a misnomer. Just like people vote stupidly based on preconceived biases in politics, they often do the same for trials. Money for good lawyers is all that matters.

Have served on many and all kinds of cases, drugs, rape, auto accidents. Ignoring a jury notification is against the law, they will catch up with you and it won't be pleasant.

(Sometimes when they catch you in Florida, they make you clean garbage off the side of the road just like a prison worker. Something to think about...)

You do NOT ignore jury duty in Texas honey. What r39 said is true. They will catch you and they will charge you with contempt of court.

Wow holy shit, R40.

Imagine picking trash by the roadside and getting hit by a drunk driver, and it turned out that the driver was the defendant in the court case you skipped who had been acquitted in the trial you didn't attend jury duty for!

[quote] when i get a summons i just ignore it and it goes away

Just like your teeth!

[quote] God, he was charming and handsome and around the corner.

What is this supposed to mean?

[quote] but I don't think anyone deserves time for buying coke.

Muchas gracias, señor. ¡Estoy de acuerdo!

[quote]I have a JD and am "friends" with a lot of attorneys, and a judge or two, in my town, even though I've never met them or communicated with them. Just networking. Is that disqualifying?

I did ongoing marketing work for the defendant attorney's law firm in a medical malpractice case -- though I'd never met this particular attorney, I thought for sure that would get me out of serving on the jury. But the judge asked me if I felt I could be impartial and I (reluctantly) said yes. Then it was two weeks of testimony (and video!) about a bowel resection.

I did JD twice. Once in Texas and once in the Bronx. Texas is surreal during everyday life, the closeup intimacy of the process allows me to almost smell the perfume of juror number 8, 30 years later. The accused was a young black man who robbed a local bar. The crime took place in a AA neighborhood and the witnesses from both sides all came and went together.

They all had nicknames, so the testimony was outrageous. "So when Hollywood approached Daddy Bad, Was Sidewayz with him or not?" Sidewayz had a severe speeth impethiminth which added to the visceral atmosphere.

The kid was guilty and stole a few hundred dollars. They wanted to convict but I swayed the jury one at time in order to keep him out of jail. The case was weak, it seemed like everyone was lying, and the story didn't make sense. No way I was going to send a young black guy to jail unless I was sure.

The kids father was there every minute. He was a mailman, they were both handsome and sympathetic. But 2. The lawyer had that kid in a military-starched white shirt that made him glow. The shirt kept the kid out of jail.

The other memorable thing was this. And this is a Texas type you don't see on TV. The effeminate, Mexican, Right -wing Christian. The trial part is over, we get our instructions, pick a foreman ("No, thank you") and this little queen with a big black cross, who read the bible during breaks, takes a big breath and announces "This is not right. I do not believe that we have the right to judge this man. Only God can judge him". I actually laughed out loud and said "Are you serious? What do you think we've been doing here for 3 days?" I don't remember what happened next, but he stayed.

[quote] The crime took place in a AA neighborhood

Alcoholics have their own neighborhoods now?

Was summonsed a couple of times. Only had to appear once and didn’t make it past voir dire.

R35 But was he masturbating while eating a sandwich?

R47, I'm afraid I would start laughing during the testimony if there were a Thidewayth at the trial.

I can't bring my phone, so no Datalounge all day. If I get picked, which I probably won't.

R51=OP

I was foreman on a jury for a civil case. Plaintiff suing contractor whom she fired before job completed cuz not happy with slow progress for money she’d already sunk. Contractor counter sued for balance of what he would’ve gotten had he not been fired. Not my idea, but we found for the defendant in the original suit and for the plaintiff in the counter suit. Nobody got a dime. Serves them right for wasting our time on trivial shit like this.

[quote]Nobody got a dime.

The attorneys did.

[quote] R30: Pierre, aren't you a Euro?

Mais non! Je suis américain!

R55, now I know!

Well, I have to be at the courthouse at 8:10am tomorrow to see if I am selected. It's a 30 minute drive to a different town in my county.

I'm not as enthusiastic now as I was when I got the letter.

^R57/OP

I’ve never been and I’m in my thirties. I would love to serve.

R36 are you in NJ? I got summoned to go to Trenton for Grand Jury but received a postcard saying I was excused, which was odd. I never had to go.

I want to be on one as well. I have received a notice at least seven times over the years but only had to actually go to the courthouse twice. Once I just watched and wasn't even questioned, and the second time I at least was able to be questioned. I was dismissed by the defendant's attorney. I figured it was because I was a middle-aged, college-educated, white guy in a suit and the defendant was a younger black guy. Little did he know I would have almost certainly had been fairer to his client than the rednecks sitting there.

Middle aged white guy, college degree. 3 times in past 5 years. Even in the old white couple divorce case I got dismissed while the welfare brigade all got picked

I was happy because boss pays, but frowns.

Hope I'm never on the other side.

In NYC I served Grand Jury TWICE. What a pain-- going to jury duty for half a day for one month. But I did get to see JFK Jr present when he was an ADA. He was even better-looking in person than he was in photographs.

Bitches, I was late and I missed the oath so I was directed to come back at the end of next month.

Denton County Texas was foggy as momma's mussy's microclimate this morning and there were accidents the whole way. What's normally a twenty-five minute drive took an hour.

Love all the JD stories.

And yes, I took the photo posted above. Harrowing!

I can't believe I nearly died for Jury Duty.

And I didn't even get to participate!

I tend to get called every two or three years. As a registered Republican in democrat controlled Chicago, I almost always get called the day before a holiday. Just another way of punishing those who don't go along with the machine here. In any event, while being in the jury pool, as a retired law enforcement officer, I am never chosen as a juror. The last thing that either side wants on a jury trial is someone familiar with judicial procedure and is not likely to be swayed by an emotional argument.

I served on a Grand Jury over a year ago and that was different but there was a bit of a dress code. No flip flops, shorts or tee shirts with slogans/pictures on them. One woman wore flip flops and very short shorts and received a warning not to dress like that again or she would be replaced. Jeans seemed to be acceptable providing they didn't have tears or holes. Quite a few of these jurors had jobs and dressed in office wear.

[quote] In NYC I served Grand Jury TWICE. What a pain-- going to jury duty for half a day for one month.

Unless you had to go back to work for the other half, sounds like an awesome day.

To R68: Yes, unfortunately, I was at jury duty in the morning for about 4 hours every day for a month, then had to take the subway back to work, usually working late because of what I missed in the morning. It sucked! And, after the first time, I got called again two years later. You cannot avoid it or they find you and serve you with a subpoena. I think after doing Grand Jury once I should be excused from jury duty for LIFE! But it hasn't worked out that way.