Jury Duty

[legion]

I have been selected by the powers that be in McLean County to serve jury duty the week of February 11th. I have no problem with this, in fact, I welcome this.

The problem is that I have to attend a wedding in Michigan on February 18th. All of the documentation I received refers to jury duty as a week-long obligation. I know this can't be true as things like murder trials can take months. I plan on calling the county on Monday to help decide if I should defer or not.

I also think that my chances of actually being selected to serve on a jury are rather low. I've always been under the impression that at least in criminal cases, lawyers want the dumbest people possible. Some other reasons include my opinions (one just needs to glance through a few of my postings to understand this) and my occupation.

[rcecale]

Just show up wearing your "NUKE A GAY WHALE FOR JESUS" t-shirt. Instant dismissal!

Randy

[legion]

I think my "Glock Shooting Sports" shirt would be sufficient...

[pwd72s]

Hang a meth dealer for us, okay?

[Rick Lee]

When I had jury duty in fed. court, I'd have gone to jail for wearing a t-shirt. That judge was a very hard a$s. NO ONE got out it. One guy had just dropped his wife off for back surgery that morning and she was to be laid up for weeks with only him to help her out. Denied.

On the good side, once you get kicked off a jury, technically, you are still obligated to be ready to serve when they call you for however long. But it's pretty unlikely you'll be called. I was seated in this case and was the last one to be kicked off. Never heard from them again. I read a few days later that the defendant pleaded guilty to avoid the death penalty. 21 yrs. old and sentenced to life with no parole. Gotsta suck.

[peppy]

Jury duty is our responsibility to a fair system.

I have only served one time and was selected foreman (I guess I was the most gullible) we put away a rapist for 60 years.
I had to explain penetration of the outer labia to a lady in her seventies.

[cgarr]

Remember: "Just the facts Mam"

[rcecale]

Originally Posted by peppy

Jury duty is our responsibility to a fair system.

I couldn't agree more. I hope my snide comment wasn't taken as being against serving on a jury.

Served only once, on an attempted murder case in SoCal. Although the guy seemed guilty of a lot of things, attempted murder wasn't one of them. Even the DA prosecuting the case told a few of us, after the verdict, that the case had been filed wrong in the first place, and that even he didn't think the guy was guilty of AM. The case had been dropped into his lap at the last moment.

Anywhoo, I was happy to serve then and would be happy to serve again, it really is our responsibility!

Randy

[peppy]

Randy I did not take it as snide.

I think most people complain about jury duty, because it is somewhat of an inconvenience.

[Don Plumley]

I was once called for Jury duty the week prior to leaving on vacation. I brought copies of the tickets with me. When the Judge asked those that had reasons why they could not be impaneled to approach the bench, I indicated that I would be happy to serve on a Jury, however, I had non-refundable tickets and would have to leave at the end of the week. Dismissed.

You can also simply ask for an automatic deferral and push it outside of the wedding dates.

[cab83_750]

Originally Posted by legion

I also think that my chances of actually being selected to serve on a jury are rather low. I've always been under the impression that at least in criminal cases, lawyers want the dumbest people possible.

Yes, that is why the computer selected you.



Just kidding. I get the notice almost every year for the last 3 decades. Never got selected. My court is the Malibu court and sometimes I wish I would be selected.



Note that in some cases, the others pointed out, this becomes an inconvenence for the prospective Jurors (us non-criminals). We all have family obligations, house responsibilities, career responsibilities, schedules, etc. And guess what? Some employers will not pay you when you are serving.

[Moneyguy1]

I was called three times in three years. Served on one jury and when the third notice came, I raised hell. Dismissed.

[KFC911]

Our system here is so ineffecient, it's pathetic. I've received a notice in the mail quite a few times over the years (to call a number the night before to see if you even have to go to the courthouse), but have only had to show up once. That day, I sat in a room of approx 150 people (who were requested to show up after calling), and waited to see if anyone was needed. NOT A SINGLE one of us was even called in for "potentially" being selected for an actual jury. I left at lunch (got a call for a problem at work) and didn't go back...

[Hugh R]

Just tell the lawyers that "You vote your conscience".

About two years ago I was on a panel of potential jurors on a drug dealing case. One potential juror in front of me was asked if he was a member of any organization seeking to overturn the drug laws of the United States. He said, and I'm paraphrasing here "I'm a physician and I'm a member of the American Medical Association. The AMA has been telling the government for decades that they need to treat drug addiction as a pharmacological condition rather than as a criminal issue. But apparently the lawyers in the U.S. Justice Department and the elected politicians seem to think they know more about human chemical dependency that do the physicians. So, yes, I guess you could say that I am a member of a group seeking to overturn the drug crime laws in this country". The judge dismissed the entire prospective jury pool of about 30 of us.

[legion]

I don't want to not serve on a jury. I just want to not miss a family wedding.

If my jury duty doesn't conflict, that would be great.

Problem is I have even more stuff going on later in the year...

BTW, I've had two friends serve on juries in the last year. One trial was for a murder case, the other for an attempted murder case. The strange coincidence was that the accused in both trials were both formerly of Chicago. Thanks Richard Daley for making Bloomington great!

[Drew001]

I had jury duty over the summer - three weeks on an attempted murder trial.

All you have to do to get out of it is say that you don't trust the cops, are scared of guns, etc. during Voir dire (jury selection).

Serving on a jury was one of the best experiences that I've had.
It was wonderful - great jurors, fantastic Judge, interesting case.
I lost a lot of money in income (my employer doesn't pay for jury duty), but it was very cool to be a part of the experience.

Postpone it if you must, but do your duty eventually. It helps everyone.

Q: Can I postpone my jury service to a more convenient date?
A: Yes. You must register by telephone before you can request a postponement. Fill out Section A of the jury summons. Then call 1-800-778-5879 to register yourself for jury duty. The telephone system will then prompt you on how to postpone your jury service.

[Rick Lee]

There was no getting out of the jury duty I got called for. And there was no opportunity to tell the judge you had some bias on some issue. They asked specific questions and if you said yes to any of them, you went to have a one on one with the judge. Of course, he asked the standard, "Do you think you could be a fair and impartial juror?" questions. But lying to this guy would have been a very bad move. He was a fanatic about jury duty.

[Mo_Gearhead]

"Trial by a jury of your peers" (?)

Interesting concept, but it usually falls apart in practice.

The individuals that are too busy, too wealthy, too smart, etc. usually attempt to opt out. More is the pity for the entire system.

That is why 'good' judges draw a hard line and do their best to get a balanced 'cross-section' of the community in their jury box.

If you ever find yourself (falsely) accused of a crime and have to stand trial ...you will pray that the judge has done his/her best, to not have a jury pool of those NOT smart enough to evade their civic duty!

[Moses]

Originally Posted by peppy

Jury duty is our responsibility to a fair system.

"Fair" is the key point.

If a judge has the authority to issue a "directed verdict" to the jury and he also has the power to "set aside" a juries verdict, then the whole affair is a charade.

I believe in a fully informed jury and I believe that "jury nullification" is a critically important tool to combat tyranny and malicious prosecution.

I don't think they'll ever want me to sit on a jury.

[ChrisBennet]

Short of voting, jury duty is the easiest obligation a citizen has to perform. One should be happy to do it and thank their stars that someone won't be shooting at them while they serve their country. I can see not being too keen on the government for one reason or another but jury duty is just helping your neighbors.
-Chris