3 week rape trial. And guess who gets to be a juror?
 

No really. I didn't need the next 3 weeks of my life anyway.

At least you are getting paid everyday.

Oh yeah. When I found out about the $10 per day(PLUS mileage, bonus!), I ran right to the phone to order a 997S.

Wow, I wonder if the victim knows how much of an inconvenience it is for you.

When I turned 18 and registered to vote, there was a thing I also filled out to inform my county I was a college student and therefore could not do jury duty. Last year I got selected for jury duty. I then had to hassle with them to get off. I essentially just said, well I'm in Ohio and I'm not going to show up and they then said they would remove me from the pool.

Just go in tomorrow, announce you impression the accused is GUILTY and you'll be out in no time...

One of the unfortunate facts of our criminal justice system (in these modern United States) is that we have the lowest common denominator of society sitting on juries and rendering verdicts. Folks with no job, or very low level jobs, who aren't bright enough to get out of it. The "professional class", career people of this country, are simply "too busy" or "too valuable" to take the time to do their civic duty. And then they sit back and b!tch about the sometimes ludicrous decisions handed down by our juries. Seems to me if folks with the wherewithal to actually comprehend the evidence and legalities presented took the time out of their lives to sit on juries, it would represent a significant step towards straightening out what is wrong with both out criminal justice system and our tort system.

Not necessarily true! In Los Angeles, they will not excuse very many people and will issue a warrant for your arrest if you don't show up. I got out of jury duty last time because I told them I was scheduled to be out of the country for several weeks for a feature I was working on. I'm scheduled to go again in about a month.

BTW, I fully expect you to post a poll with the case facts (prosecution and defense key points) and let us vote, thus advising you of our decision, sort of like being democratic super delegates.

Just wait until you or someone you know is involved in any way in a crime and your viewpoint on jury duty might change... a lot.

I have been called three times, got to the courthouse twice and never been seated.

Still, its our right to a PUBLIC TRIAL, something that billions of others around the world do not have the right to, so its something that we should never forget.

Hey wait a minute.....I'm sitting on the jury....lets see......divide by zero.....don't forget to carry the one......well what do you know?......I AM the lowest common denominator! :)

Don't take my *****ing too seriously. I am quite aware of the gravity of the situation. The charges against this person are serious. There would be big jail time involved, and the person has a child of their own. We have not heard from the victim yet, but if these charges are true, they have certainly been through a horrific ordeal.

My feelings of irritation at having to go through this are minor compared my desire to do a good job as a juror.

If I or a loved one were ever effected by a crime this way, I would certainly hope that the jurors did their duty well.

You should feel honored to have been chosen, and do everything you can to find the truth in the case. I can't imagine how I'd feel if I were to be in a position where I needed a jury to do a good job, knowing how people are these days. I imagine the victim reading through the list of excuses the jurors used to try and escape the horrors of civic duty, losing all hope that a competent verdict will prevail. Like being raped twice. We don't seem to have any sense of perspective in this society anymore. It's all about me.

I hope you do well, and let us know how it goes.

Do your civic duty!

I have been called for Jury Duty about a half a dozen times and was even selected to hear cases twice.

Personally, I think everyone should be required to sit through a case as a juror. It is not like TV. I have a much greater appreciation for our legal system and why I think it is the best in the world.

How exactly do they pick the foreman of a jury?

Perhaps "pick" isn't the correct legal term..

I made the mistake of wearing a suit to jury duty years ago ......I thought I would not get called and that I would just head into work.Well I did have to stay and since the other people assumed that I was some important person they made me the foreman.It was an eye opening experience,glad I did it but if I never have to again would be fine.

I was called in for jury duty. Spent most of one day getting shuffled around and having questions asked that seemed to eliminate most of the people. I was actually looking forward to serving jury duty, I consider it an important process.

So we're down to about 20 or so people including me. The case is some type of theft by receiving (they were quite vague). I piped up and asked if I could have a copy of the ORS (Oregon Revisted Statute) that covered this offense and any related adminstrative rules that might exist.

Long pause.... After they dismissed the room, they did not ask me to come back. Ever.

Frankly, my feelings were hurt. I wanted the copy of the law so that I could make an accurate assessment of the person's guilt. Does the crime they are charged with meet this definition? Does the evidence show guilt? I have no problem finding someone guilty, but I felt it was my duty as a juror to fully understand the violation. :(

I was called in for jury duty. Spent most of one day getting shuffled around and having questions asked that seemed to eliminate most of the people. I was actually looking forward to serving jury duty, I consider it an important process.

So we're down to about 20 or so people including me. The case is some type of theft by receiving (they were quite vague). I piped up and asked if I could have a copy of the ORS (Oregon Revisted Statute) that covered this offense and any related adminstrative rules that might exist.

Long pause.... After they dismissed the room, they did not ask me to come back. Ever.

Frankly, my feelings were hurt. I wanted the copy of the law so that I could make an accurate assessment of the person's guilt. Does the crime they are charged with meet this definition? Does the evidence show guilt? I have no problem finding someone guilty, but I felt it was my duty as a juror to fully understand the violation. :(

angela

Yeah, this whole participatory citizenship thing is waaaaay overrated.

I now return you to your regularly scheduled programming, Great Wal*Mart Sales of 2007: What You Missed on cable channel 342: The Apathy Network.

Good man; let us know how it goes. I think you will find the whole process very interesting.

I say the salary for jurors should be upped by a factor of about ten. Then people wouldn't b*tch so much about it. If the defendant is found guilty, they pay for it. If not, the state does. What's the problem here?

I like Wayne's idea of "paid professional jurors" too. We have enough "smart", diversified folks, many with "time to spare" (i.e. retirees, etc.) that could do a FAR better job and it would be much more efficient than the current system in terms of delivering "logical, reasonable, verdicts" imo. My last time being called (and having to show up) netted me in a room with approx. 150 other people for a whole day, and not a single one of us was even selected to be a "potential" juror that day.