I got jury duty...

[Ghost Boy]

I just received the jury summons in the mail. Dammit! I thought i was lucky when I avoided the first time around. Last year I received a jury summons. I had to call everyday at a certain time(5:00 pm I think) to see if they still needed me. That was bothersome to me as it was. Eventually they told me I wasn't needed anymore. I know I have no experience in this but from what I've seen on TV and movies, it looks like boring and cringing process. You have to sit in room for hours and depend if the person is guilty or not. If one or more people don't agree then they have argue it out until they all come up with unanimous decision.

Maybe I'm being silly. I wanna know if any of you had gone thru jury duty and have some advice for me?

 

[Limlim]

Read up on Jury Nullification and casually mention during the screening process that you are an ardent supporter of it and will educate your fellow jurors on what it means. You'll see yourself off the list in no time.

 

[labelsorlove3]

I actually had to go to jury duty in February and its a very long, boring process. I'm also extremely shy so when I got called into a court room (for a double murder case) and I saw how many people were there and how many questions I would have to answer in front of them I freaked out. LUCKILY my name was never called so I just sat there for 3 hours... I am not sure how it is during actual trial, but for jury duty make sure you bring stuff to do because if you are stuck in the room waiting for your name to be called you will be really bored!

I just received the jury summons in the mail. Dammit! I thought i was lucky when I avoided the first time around. Last year I received a jury summons. I had to call everyday at a certain time(5:00 pm I think) to see if they still needed me. That was bothersome to me as it was. Eventually they told me I wasn't needed anymore. I know I have no experience in this but from what I've seen on TV and movies, it looks like boring and cringing process. You have to sit in room for hours and depend if the person is guilty or not. If one or more people don't agree then they have argue it out until they all come up with unanimous decision.

Maybe I'm being silly. I wanna know if any of you had gone thru jury duty and have some advice for me?

 

[yesm]

Never had to do it yet, what upsets me is i'm pretty sure you have to pay for your own travel costs and everything. Not sure if I'd even be able to make it there without money to get there... hmmm...

 

[Minus]

I too had to call in every day. On one occasion the recording told me to go down for jury selection. It was a murder case. At the court house we reported in and they collected information on how far we had traveled to get there, so that they could pay us travel expense plus the states token amount for reporting in.

Once there we all went into the court room. They randomly pulled 12 names for the jury and another for the alternate. My name did not come out of the hat. Those of us that did not have our name pulled, had to stay in case one of the potential jurors was rejected by the lawyers. We all sat there as the lawyers questioned the potential jury. Mainly they wanted to know if you knew any of the people who were involved in the case and they tried to get a feel for how sympathetic you may be to their position. In this case it was mostly the defense lawyer asking questions.

They ended up accepting the entire jury that was initially pulled at random so the rest of us were dismissed and went back to calling in each day. After about another week of calls my time was up and i no longer had to call in.

yesm, i believe all states pay their trial jurors and most but not all, pay mileage. The amount varies greatly depending on where you live. Grand jurys may have a different rate and federal court has a standard rate. Her Majesty's Courts Service has "three types of allowances the court can pay jurors. In addition to travel and subsistence, you may also claim for any financial loss suffered as a direct result of jury service."

 

[Jilted John]

I was called many years ago.I had to sit for a week,listening to various pieces of evidence about whether this guy had,or had not burnt down a stable,burning six horses alive.We sat in a jury room for 3 hours hammering it out,because the judge wanted a unanimous verdict.
It was 11 to1 guilty,but one guy insisted that the defendant didn't mean to kill the horses.I was so pissed of by this guy,that I told him straight,that the feller in the dock,had threatened to do it the day before, in front of two witnesses.what more proof do you wan't? Unfortunately for the defendant,the judge kept horses himself,and gave him 5 years. I admit I had trouble sleeping that night,thinking I'd had part in that man sleeping in a prison cell that night,but that's what jury duty is all about.Doing the right thing.

 

[aspeckofdust]

I went through jury duty this past week actually! It really wasn't as bad as I expected to be and I ended up only having to be there two of the five days I was supposed to go. I won't go into much detail (unless you particularly want me to), but I think I actually got lucky, because while I was sent to two different trials (one per day), I never got past the jury screening, which they didn't even have a chance to do the second day.

I guess I can't give you any real advice, due to how smoothly and easily my time with it was. Definitely bring music/headphones and/or a book to help pass the time though.

 

[A new life]

Want out fast?
Just ask the judge about jury nullification.
Also go to this site and tell the attorneys that you've been doing your homework. www.fija.org/

The floor will open up
you will fall through
and slide down down down
ending up in the parking lot where you left your car.

 

[SofiasMami]

Hi-
Jury duty isn't so bad. I could never figure out why people who have plenty of time to engage in mindless activities like watching "Law and Order" marathons or the OJ Simpson trial whine when they get summoned to serve.
If I were wrongly accused of some heinous crime, I sure wouldn't want a bunch of whiny people who are upset that they can't use their smart phones to log into facebook for like 3 hours in a row deciding my fate.
I've been called up twice and I just make sure I have lots of reading material for the breaks. I got booted during the selection process in a trial for domestic violence last year. The prosecutor asked me in open court what I thought about the government and law enforcement being involved in domestic violence issues. I said I had no problem with it because it's not the 1950s anymore. The defense attorney had me excused, although I wasn't trying to get booted on purpose, I was just being my usual blunt self.
Lots of people get called up to serve jury duty, sack up and enjoy it instead of complaining!

Teresa

 

[tangerinedream]

I just got a summons, and I'm dreading it only because even though it is illegal for an employer to lay off people because of jury duty, I am technically a temp employee and I bet it would be easy for them to dodge the legalities and fire me should they so please. Also, my employers are not required to pay me while I am absent, and the most I would be eligible to receive as a jury fee through the county is $40/day, PLUS I'd have to pay for parking and other travel expenses. Um, wtf? I am a single working mom.

I was called once before not long after my daughter was born and got excused because I was a nursing mother.

The idea of jury duty is cool, and I'd be more than happy to fulfill my civic obligation if I didn't think I would be penalized for it.

 

[yesm]

yeah i got jury dooty too, i doubt they will use me though.