Escaped Jury Duty

pwd72s · 02-01-2006, 05:17 PM

Well, the trial part anyway. I was in the jury pool today for the trial of a meth cook. I was dismissed after being interviewed by the judge. He wanted to know if I could be "impartial". I told him no, explaining that I lost a dear friend to that drug. We were close friends from the early 60's until 2 years before he died in 1988. I just couldn't stand being around him during his meth head days...joined his siblings & parents in an intervention, which did no good. This still pains me deeply. Impartial? Hardly! Appoint me God, and I'd sew every meth cook on the planet in a sack, and toss them off a cliff! So...want to get off jury duty? I guess the best way is to tell the truth.

jorian · 02-01-2006, 05:33 PM

A college buddy was er, excused. He asked, "After we find him guilty are you going to send him to some minimum security tennis camp?"

DavidI · 02-01-2006, 05:37 PM

I am an automatic exemption because of my peace officer status. To tell you the truth, I would love to be on a jury. I could be impartial and see through all the BS from both sides. The system will not give me the opportunity.......David

ted · ted's Garage

Hey Paul,

I just got called for a month of Federal court jury service.
Last time I was in court it was a hit and run case and this one lady claimed she could not be fair and impartial. The judge challenged her on every angle. With about 5 questions such as...

Oh you were in an accident 3 years ago and you could not be fair and impartial now? Lady yes.

So since someone else hit you 3 years ago you would then take it out on this person regardless of the facts? Lady yes.

So the judge got disgusted excused the lady. As the door closed behind her the judge told his assistant to call the jury lounge and be sure that lady is placed on a long civil case.

techweenie · techweenie's Garage

I had a similar thing happen on a drunk driving jury. Lost a good friend to a drunk sherrifs deputy driving the wrong way on the freeway.

I promised to be impartial and the judge accepted me at my word, but I was the first 'pre-emptive challenge.'

Maybe it was my comment that the blood alcohol level legal threshold was too high in California. (they later lowered it.)

Hetmann · 02-01-2006, 06:22 PM

I've been called a couple of times. Each time I show up dressed in a coat and tie. Each time I've been dismissed before I ever even talked to an official.

Rick Lee · Rick Lee's Garage

I got called for fed. jury duty in Sept. This judge had a hard-on for making EVERYONE "serve". He told us stories about how he lobbied (and was successful) to get the law in VA changed so that no one but the governor was exempt. He wanted the gov. to have to serve too, but they drew the line there since he'd be petitioned for pardons. This guy was hardcore. Case was a fed. RICO rap on an MS-13 murderer. Half the potential jurors knew folks in the FBI (common around here). Judge didn't care. You'd just about haffta to make a racial slur to get kicked off this one.

VaSteve · 02-01-2006, 06:38 PM

This is tough one however, if you were on the defendant's stand would you want your "peers" to be 12 people that couldn't find and excuse to get out of it?

Rick Lee · Rick Lee's Garage

Defendant ended up pleading guity to get out of the death penalty. He was guilty as sin. I had read all about it in the papers before I got called. They don't fool around with that in VA. Cap murder is taken pretty seriously here and the killer figured it out before the judge had a chance to send him to the gurney.

mikester · 02-01-2006, 07:33 PM

Everyone around me gets it...I never get called. I wish I would though - I would love to serve.

Joeaksa · 02-01-2006, 11:39 PM

Got called a couple of years ago, and served. Trial was dismissed before we got into the courtroom.

Got called last year and had a long overseas trip scheduled. Told them if they could find someone to fly the plane I would be happy to serve, otherwise I would lose my job. Dismissed!

Happy to serve and we need to. Next time it could be yourself or someone you know on the stand. They deserve a jury of their peers.

JoeA

dhoward · dhoward's Garage

Quote:

Originally posted by techweenie
Snipped....

Maybe it was my comment that the blood alcohol level legal threshold was too high in California. (they later lowered it.)

Quick hijack
And how would lowering it have affected the situation?

Rick Lee · Rick Lee's Garage

Making extraneous comments can get you tossed. The judge won't toss you, but the defense or prosecutor might.

In theory, I agree with Joe. Everyone should serve, it's a civic duty, blah blah. But the way they do it here really rubbed me the wrong way. The did not allow ANY cell phones in the bldg. at all and offered nowhere to store them. This wasn't mentioned in the letter I got. So I took the Metro there and obviously had no car to put my phone in when they denied me entrance to the courthouse. A nice juror who did drive there took cell phones from about seven of us and put them in his car. He ended up getting picked, but the juror supervisor then took all the cell phones to his office and let us pick them up later. It was pretty silly, since they said it was security reasons, but plenty of staffers in there talked on their cell phones in the hallways. My grandmother always tells me to NEVER go anywhere without a book. Jury duty proved her right. Lots of downtime. Luckily, most of the jurors in my group were well-educated professionals, so I wouldn't have felt like a total idiot, had they picked me. Alexandria, though about 2 miles from DC is different world. In DC it's quite the opposite. The vast majority of professional adults you see on the street are not DC residents and are not the ones who come to jury duty here.

Moses · 02-02-2006, 06:40 AM

If you really don't want to serve, just tell them you believe in a fully informed jury. You will be tossed in a second!

Jurors have a legal right to rule not only on the facts of the case, but whether or not the law was "appropriately" applied. For example; before the civil war, many folks in border states were arrested for harboring runaway slaves. Juries would frequently aquit based on their distaste for the law. What we now call "jury nullification" is a powerful and important tool to prevent legislative tyranny.

When Ellie Nesler was arrested for shooting the habitual child molester who had violently raped her son, the jury should have aquitted her on the basis that she should never have been arrested and charged. The judge did not allow the jury to decide if the law had been appropriately applied to Ms. Nesler. Many of the jurors wept as she was sentenced. Needless to say, judges and lawmakers hate the fully informed jury.

Judge; "If the evidence of guilt is overwhelming, will you vote to convict?"

Juror; "Only if I think the law is appropriate and properly applied."

Judge; "Dismissed."

legion · 02-02-2006, 06:43 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by mikester
Everyone around me gets it...I never get called. I wish I would though - I would love to serve.

Ditto.

Joeaksa · 02-02-2006, 07:04 AM

In Arizona its based on your drivers license address of record.

If you have moved and not updated your drivers license address, then you probably not be called. You also might have a warrant out for your arrest when you do not show up when summoned!

Joe

Rick Lee · Rick Lee's Garage

Well, I did move and updated my address with DMV immediately. Still, almost a year later, they sent the notice to my old address and it took another two wks. to get to my house. Sure am glad I got it though. That judge sends US Marshals out to pick up no-shows and haul them in front of him for $1000 fine and a few days in the pokey.

EdT82SC · 02-02-2006, 08:21 AM

Wow! In California they don't do anything if you don't show, and over 1/2 summoned don't show. There are laws requireing you to serve if summoned, but they are not enforced.

pwd72s · 02-02-2006, 10:28 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by ted
Hey Paul,

I just got called for a month of Federal court jury service.
Last time I was in court it was a hit and run case and this one lady claimed she could not be fair and impartial. The judge challenged her on every angle. With about 5 questions such as...

Oh you were in an accident 3 years ago and you could not be fair and impartial now? Lady yes.

So since someone else hit you 3 years ago you would then take it out on this person regardless of the facts? Lady yes.

So the judge got disgusted excused the lady. As the door closed behind her the judge told his assistant to call the jury lounge and be sure that lady is placed on a long civil case.

Oh-oh...under Oregon law, I can't be called again for two years. Maybe this judge will retire by then? Crossing my fingers. But really, I was telling the truth...my hatred of the meth and what it is doing to this society would have indeed slanted my judgment. I simply would not be able to toss that aside & go only on the evidence of guilt or innocence...not on this one.

vash · vash's Garage

done it twice now. it really is alot of fun. and educational.

both cases have been child molestation cases. very creepy. but i learned alot with how the system worked. bonus point was that the assistant DA was this hot woman. she works out in my gym and i discovered she was gay. in my mind, she got hotter. we are chatting friends now.