Jury Service

[Miniman]

I just read that someone missed jury service through illness. I've been called up for the third time in the last 8 years.

My previous two stints were really boring - sat on a one day case in that time allocated of 4 weeks between the two.

Who else has been on jury service & how did they find it (realising that we cannot share details of cases we sat on).

[PanchoHambre]

I have done it once before... and coincidental have been called to again tomorrow

I really need to not get picked... I cannot afford to miss work... half the damn city is unemployed let them do it

I believe you can discuss the case freely once it has ended BTW

My previous go was a tremendous waste of time... a ludicrous lawsuit that hat the whole jury just beyond irritated...

Philly is going to be a ZOO I dont need this crap

[Calicolady]

You can discuss cases as long as you're not serving on that particular case. When judgement is issued it's a matter of public record.
I served 5 times in 3 years up north-Jersey. I moved 5 times and each time was to and fro from one county and back. I don't know what nailed me; re-registering to vote, or changing driver's license, but I loved it. I had cases each time. You find out what you are made of. Oh, maybe not everyone.(Like the movie-Ten Angry Men.
Never served on the grand jury though.

[PanchoHambre]

I don't know what nailed me; re-registering to vote, or changing driver's license, .

that's what got me...wouldnt mind if it was not causing problem with job

t

[Calicolady]

I got paid each time the difference what the court pays and what I made daily, from the employer.

[lilylove]

I've been called 5 times I think...only picked for one jury... didn't like it at all...
1. what gives me the right to judge another person?
2. 15 dollars a day plus milage pay but $ 25 dollars a day to park in down town Seattle!!
3. $101 dollar ticket for turning the wrong way ( one car in front of me and two cars in back of me also got the same ticket!! I fought the ticket and won!! YIPPEEEEE!!!! BUT WAIT!!! THERE's more! It cost yes... $101 dollars to file the paper work! ( but at least it didn't go on my record)
4. Some idiot decided he needed my gas more than I did and took it from my gas tank while paying 25 dollars a day in down town seattle!!!

NOT A GOOD TIME AT ALL....

[High Cheese]

I got a Jury Duty letter once right before I moved out of an apartment. I just tossed it and figured I'd blame it on the move if it ever came up. Never heard a peep. (knocking on wood)

[Calicolady]

DON'T ATTEMPT TO LEAVE THE STATE
WE HAVE YOUR MUG RIGHT HERE:
http://www.netcookingtalk.com/forums/image.php?u=269&dateline=1233245371 (http://www.netcookingtalk.com/forums/member.php?u=269)

[lilylove]

I guess I should add... as much as I don't like it... I do feel like it's my duty and I will go again if called. That and I'm toooo chicken to skip out!!

[joec]

I was called once when I lived in Texas but wasn't selected, I've never been called since. It is probably due to the fact I have zero interest in local politics so I don't register to vote. I refuse to take the lesser of two evils so will register when I have a clear choice for someone I like and if my vote has a chance to get them elected. The few times I have registered, it has always been a an independent which tends to take you off the voter rolls for some reason it seems.

[Miniman]

I have done it once before... and coincidental have been called to again tomorrow

I really need to not get picked... I cannot afford to miss work... half the damn city is unemployed let them do it

I believe you can discuss the case freely once it has ended BTW

My previous go was a tremendous waste of time... a ludicrous lawsuit that hat the whole jury just beyond irritated...

Philly is going to be a ZOO I dont need this crap

We can't discuss what went on in the jury room certainly.

[High Cheese]

We can't discuss what went on in the jury room certainly.

Laws may be different between the US and UK.

[sattie]

Ok... I was suppose to go on Monday, and did not.... so what is gonna happen??? I tried to call, but did not get through. I gave up and went back to bed cuz I was feeling so cruddy.

[joec]

Ok... I was suppose to go on Monday, and did not.... so what is gonna happen??? I tried to call, but did not get through. I gave up and went back to bed cuz I was feeling so cruddy.

You could go to jail for contempt of court. They probably issue a bench warrant for your arrest as soon as your name was called. :yankchain:

It would really depend on the court, area and local laws in some cases. They usually put a warning on the letter telling you what will happen if you don't appears.

[Maverick2272]

Yea, here it is contempt of court and they issue a bench warrent. However, they don't go hunting you down. You will only get nailed if they stop you for something and run your drivers license.
Then yer in trouble!
I have only been called once. I went but was not selected. I got an $12 check a week later just for showing up and sitting around all day.
Jury duty is a necessary part of our judicial system, but I worry about the hardships it can put on people as we have no real compensation system in place. Also, I sometimes have to wonder how many jurors we PO'd about having to be there and rushing into a decision just to get it over with...

[simplicity]

I've been called several times. I'm usually struck for civil cases. The most unusual jury I served on was Murder One. The defendent was a Mexican national who was accused of a fatal stabbling outside a cantina. The entire trial needed interpreted from Spanish to English and back gain. The jury was primarily white. It took about 10 minutes of deliberation to find this man innocent.

I met one of the attorneys in the elevator afterwards and suggested it never should have been brought to court for lack of evidence. He shrugged his shoulders and blamed the D.A.

Okay, you can laugh at Texas justice or racism or whatever. I'm blaming it on an overzealous D.A., who fortunately is no longer around.

[buckytom]

i get called regularly, but rarely have to serve. one of the perks of being in the tv bidness.
the state just sent me this big questionnaire about all the details of my life. are they kidding? did they think i'd volunteer all of that info, so i could get selected for lots of fun civic duty?


the last time i did have to serve, i was on grand jury. me and a bunch of retired older people. just about all of the cases were related to illegal drugs.

the weird thing was some of the cases were presented with the evidence in metric weights, some in avoidupois. it really threw off the old timers trying to calculate it, so i told them to divide everything by 28.35, and they'll be fine...

[homecook]

I've been called for jury duty twice now in the past 3 years. We're given 5 days that we may have to serve. We have to call every evening after 5 pm to see if they want us to report. The first time I ended up reporting and it was for a traffic accident. The guy was trying to get more money out of the opposing insurance co. He didn't! It was a blizzard that day and I had to drive to the county seat which scared the heck out of me.
The second time was in my own city but I never had to serve. Every day I called they had a recording that said not to report. It figures that one was closer and in the summer.

Barb

[Wart]

I've been called several times. A couple of times I needed to call a number where a recorder would recite the juror numbers who were suppose to show up or the recording stated no jurors were needed the following day, call back. More often than not no jurors were needed.

One time I was a student at Kent State. I went in to ask if I could be excused because of my studies. When they hears I was a KSU student I was excused. I'm guessing I was excused because it was in the news how jury selection was starting for the trial of a person accused of killing three people, one a Kent State student.

When I was in my early 20's I was called and made it to the jury box for questioning in a civil case. The case was an off duty Sheriffs Deputy working as a bouncer at a bar being accused of beating some guy senseless.

So I'm in the jury box looking at the defendant. And I swear I know him. When it's my turn to be questioned they ask me if I know Bob Suchandsuch, the defendant. Well, I think I do. I was pressed, I said he looks allot like a Bob I knew who I thought was a Sheriff. Then the attorney pressed further, If I remember correctly it was the defendants attorney*, I was asked where I thought I knew him from, I said Evilins Acres. A small bar out in the sticks. Then this attorney comes after me, am I sure, am I positive this is who I know, all I could say was This guy looks like I guy I know named Bob, I thought he was a Sheriff, and if it's not Bob it sure could be his brother.

That bar in the sticks, Evilins Acres use to be Idle Acres, was a 3.2 bar. AKA an underage bar. Downstares was a bar and the upstares was cat house and gambling parlor. And illicite stuff moved through the parking lot.

I really didn't want to answer any questions after I saw it was Bob, or could have been Bob, or was more than likely bob. But before questioning I was told to tell the truth and the penalties of perjury. And i htought they were talking directly to me since I swear to God I knew the guy.

Saw the plaintill a few years later. He started laughing, said they won but couldn't talk about it, and thanked me.

I mentioned I knew the bar where he got the snot stomped out of him. It was a known Punch Pallace located near one of the busiest highways in the country (I-80). Truckers and drugs in the late 70's and early 80's. Wow.

[VeraBlue]

Actually, you can talk about a case all you want once it's concluded. It's all part of record by that time.

I've been called a few times in my years. Once got to be 'madame forewoman' on a case of negligent homicide. AFter three days they settled and that was that...don't know what the settlement was.

Got excused twice..once for being a mother of small children and once for travel plans.

Last time I served was about 6 months ago. Got two weeks and only had to report once. Didn't get picked for the jury they were seating.

It's a huge pain in the ass but I don't want to ever consider the alternatives to being judge by a jury of peers.

[VeraBlue]

1. what gives me the right to judge another person?


You shouldn't think of as judging a person....that type of thinking can effect your objectivity. You are judging facts as presented by lawyers. You are then instructed what the law is. Deliberation is where you weigh the law against the facts as you believe them.
You get the right because you are an american and are entitled to a trial by jury....rather than the alternative, which is a trial, often without representation and judged by a person, based on the facts as presented, but on bias and predjudice.

It would be easire to remain objective if the defendant wasn't in the courtroom. It's almost impossible. That's one of the main reasons defense lawyers insist on having the defendant in the courtroom. First reason is you are guaranteed the right to face your accusers. Second is you can speak in your own defense. Third, lawyers know that if they present a person with a history, a name....it's harder for the jury to simply judge the facts. Jurors are avrage everyday people and being in a court room is intimidating enough....Add the weight of the situation and lawyers know all they really have to be is better at stating a case than the other lawyer.

Before any lawyers in the room acuse me of painting a bleak picture, Lou is lawyer with some special prosecutor's gig...I love to hear him talk all lawyer like:wub:

It's a pain in the ass, but it's a privilege many people would sacrifice for. We get it for free.:applause:

[PanchoHambre]

YAY.... I was dismissed!

and early enough to go play in the snow with the doggies

I was not wanting to serve on this Jury... and the alleged incident happened a few blocks from my house so I am really not sure I could have been impartial... I would have done my best if chosen but am really happy I dont have to

AND this is the last week they are having free breakfast for the jurors due to budget cuts so I lucked out:clap: bad coffee but surprisingly good bananna bread

[lilylove]

You shouldn't think of as judging a person....that type of thinking can effect your objectivity. You are judging facts as presented by lawyers. You are then instructed what the law is. Deliberation is where you weigh the law against the facts as you believe them.
You get the right because you are an american and are entitled to a trial by jury....rather than the alternative, which is a trial, often without representation and judged by a person, based on the facts as presented, but on bias and predjudice.

It would be easire to remain objective if the defendant wasn't in the courtroom. It's almost impossible. That's one of the main reasons defense lawyers insist on having the defendant in the courtroom. First reason is you are guaranteed the right to face your accusers. Second is you can speak in your own defense. Third, lawyers know that if they present a person with a history, a name....it's harder for the jury to simply judge the facts. Jurors are avrage everyday people and being in a court room is intimidating enough....Add the weight of the situation and lawyers know all they really have to be is better at stating a case than the other lawyer.

Before any lawyers in the room acuse me of painting a bleak picture, Lou is lawyer with some special prosecutor's gig...I love to hear him talk all lawyer like:wub:

It's a pain in the ass, but it's a privilege many people would sacrifice for. We get it for free.:applause:


well...for me... truthfully it was very hard to keep the person separate from the law.

[PieSusan]

As a lawyer, I have never been called to serve. If I were, obviously I would never make it on a jury.

[VeraBlue]

well...for me... truthfully it was very hard to keep the person separate from the law.


And that's precisely what the lawyer is betting on. It's almost as though you have to look at the flag the whole time...:glare:

[VeraBlue]

As a lawyer, I have never been called to serve. If I were, obviously I would never make it on a jury.
Yea, Lou got called once...and was excused within five minutes of opening the letter.:oops: