I have jury duty tomorrow.

[Greg Myers]

Last time I spent the whole day and didn't get picked.

[Longbox55]

I had to do that a few years ago. First week I didn't get picked, second week I got picked as an alternate for a rape trial. Something I found out about in Illinois, if you get a traffic violation and take the court supervision to keep it off your record, you're automatically put on the list to be summoned for jury duty. Almost everyone that was there the same time I was had some sort o traffic violation withing the last 12 months prior.

[Tom Geiger]

Jurors are picked from a combination of state records. They take you from the drivers license, voter registrations and tax returns. You'd have to live under a rock to avoid those three.

I served three times at county level in Monmouth County, NJ back when I lived there. It seemed I'd come up every ten years. I worked for companies that would pay me. I found it interesting to serve. Each time I spent a week. The first time I only got out of the jury room once, for a jury selection and had to disqualify myself. I knew one of the people involved in the case. The second time, I got on a case that lasted less than a day. A young lady got pulled over and had an open bag of cocaine on the console of her car. She had a lawyer arguing that it was a rented car. Like when you rent a car you don't notice the big bag on the console? Based on the law, we had to find her guilty. Sentencing would be by others later.

Third time out, I got on a trial that lasted 4 days. I feared it would go into the next week, but we wrapped it up on Friday. It was an incest case with a step father and underage step daughter. Very interesting case. I felt my time was well spent and it was cool to see how the system works.

Someone above said, "IMO, jurors should be picked from a pool of people who are either unemployed, retired or on government subsidies." and that can't be so. Under our government you are guaranteed a jury of your peers, and that means you and me. If you were unjustly accused of a crime would you want to be judged by welfare recipients?

[Harry P.]

I've been summoned for jury duty several times but never picked. Just basically sat around for hours, then collected my check for 17 bucks...

But a jury is a vital part of our criminal justice system, so I have no real complaints.

[bullitt3980]

Its done differently here in Canada--when you get the notice in the mail you just call and tell them "sorry I was planning on going to the beach that day" and they apologize for bothering you that's the end of that.

well not really--I've been summoned twice and boy I seen a lot of folks say anything to get out of it but both times all the cases were settled out of court before juries were needed. A friend of mine got on a murder case and missed about 6 weeks of work(not in a row). I know its your duty as a citizen but I was glad to get off scott free both times

[JohnU]

Just got called up for jury duty starting the week of July 15. I work for a living and my employer does not pay when I'm not there. What would happen if I didn't show up? Contempt of court or something?

[Bobdude]

In Connecticut the fine for ignoring a jury duty notice is at least $ 150.00. You decide what you would like to do.

[Longbox55]

If you don't show up, they'll send someone to get you. depending on the state, you'll most likely get at least fined, and potentially get to spend a night in the "Hotel Of Barred Windows".

[W-Machine]

A local talk radio host ranted about his selection for jury duty, and floated the notion that professional jurors would free average folks from having to serve. I called in, and proclaimed it a fantastic idea, since such things were so successful in countries run by dictatorships. Conviction rates would approach 100%, because after all, you wouldn't have been arrested in the first place if you didn't do something. Not realizing that he had just become the butt of my joke, the guy went on for at least another twenty minutes about how brilliant he was, and praised my intellectual prowess for "agreeing" with him.

[Greg Myers]

I wasn't picked. Saw four movies though. Plowboy you stay home son. I don't think I'd want you on a jury any way or form.

[MAGNUM4342]

Jurors are picked from a combination of state records. They take you from the drivers license, voter registrations and tax returns. You'd have to live under a rock to avoid those three.

I served three times at county level in Monmouth County, NJ back when I lived there. It seemed I'd come up every ten years. I worked for companies that would pay me. I found it interesting to serve. Each time I spent a week. The first time I only got out of the jury room once, for a jury selection and had to disqualify myself. I knew one of the people involved in the case. The second time, I got on a case that lasted less than a day. A young lady got pulled over and had an open bag of cocaine on the console of her car. She had a lawyer arguing that it was a rented car. Like when you rent a car you don't notice the big bag on the console? Based on the law, we had to find her guilty. Sentencing would be by others later.

Third time out, I got on a trial that lasted 4 days. I feared it would go into the next week, but we wrapped it up on Friday. It was an incest case with a step father and underage step daughter. Very interesting case. I felt my time was well spent and it was cool to see how the system works.

Someone above said, "IMO, jurors should be picked from a pool of people who are either unemployed, retired or on government subsidies." and that can't be so. Under our government you are guaranteed a jury of your peers, and that means you and me. If you were unjustly accused of a crime would you want to be judged by welfare recipients?

I am going to go ahead and take a little offense to that. I am disabled and as a matter of course I have to receive medical benefits as well as food benefits from welfare. Just what makes you think I am a lesser person than you because of it?! You don't know my story and have no right to make that judgement!

[Greg Myers]

Funny thing, a guy was on hie cell phone telling someone he was going to do something to get off jury duty and to expect him at work within the hour. He got picked and it will last a few days.

[Greg Myers]

Just got called up for jury duty starting the week of July 15. I work for a living and my employer does not pay when I'm not there. What would happen if I didn't show up? Contempt of court or something?

Contempt for country ? I worked for a living too, served four years in the U S Navy 1969-1973

[MAGNUM4342]

So, it's better to pose additional hardships on the working people? $17 + $5 for food won't pay for much. A lot of people live paycheck to paycheck. Whether it's a day or a week, it's money that's badly missed. It certainly was in my case. Why not use the people that don't have to or are unable to work? Their intelligence is no less than a working person's. At one time, they were a working person.

YUP! As a matter of fact some of them worked more than one job at a time.

[PappyD340]

I've only had to serve one time, about 8 yrs ago, got picked to sit a murder trial lasted 3 days,we the jury deliberated for close to two hrs convicted the guy 1st degree murder , is now in prison for life no possibility of parole, and to tell you the truth I could live with not having to do that again. I could not imagine what it would be like to be sequestered, that would be a bummer for sure!!!

[Greg Myers]

So, it's better to pose additional hardships on the working people? $17 + $5 for food won't pay for much. A lot of people live paycheck to paycheck. Whether it's a day or a week, it's money that's badly missed. It certainly was in my case. Why not use the people that don't have to or are unable to work? Their intelligence is no less than a working person's. At one time, they were a working person.

Yeah, yer right, $17 + $5 wont even buy you a decent model kit. I don't know how you do it, living paycheck to paycheck ?

[Longbox55]

No, you nor anyone else would not would want me on their jury. I would almost feel sorry for the poor soul that I would be forced to judge. But, that will never happen. I've skipped out three times and will continue to do so.

If you continue that, you may find yourself on the wrong side of the bench, and most judges do not take kindly to those who skip out on jury duty without a valid reason.

[Longbox55]

BTW, the penalty in Kentucky is a minimum $100 fine, 3 days imprisonment, or both.

[mikemodeler]

I have found sitting off in the corner having animated conversations with myself usually gets me out of service!

I was called earlier this year, sat there all day only to have to return the next day. As I was riding the elevator up to the courtroom, the defendant's lawyer did not notice I was in the back of the elevator until after he started discussing the case with another attorney. I went up to the bailiff and told her what had happened and after a brief appearance before the judge, I was dismissed from serving and on my way home.

I am a salaried employee and as such was paid by my employer but was expected to catch up on my work in the evening after jury duty.

I won't comment on whether or not a person receiving government assistance makes for a good or bad juror but I will say that we all need to serve. I do feel for those who are either self-employed or work hourly and are not compensated by their employer for jury duty.

I have lived in North Carolina for nearly 8 years and have been called for state jury duty twice and federal jury duty once while when I lived in Illinois I was only called once in 22 years. My father is 91 and has never been called for jury duty, probably a good thing if you knew him!

[Maindrian Pace]

Around here, the lawyers only want vapid, empty-headed smilers who never watch the news, have no idea how the legal system works, or that we had one, and have no opinions about much of anything. Show a little intelligence or an opinion, and you're outta there like a mortar round. Jury of your peers? Only if you've got a skull full of mush, because your jury will too.

-MJS

[Tom Geiger]

Around here, the lawyers only want vapid, empty-headed smilers who never watch the news, have no idea how the legal system works, or that we had one, and have no opinions about much of anything. Show a little intelligence or an opinion, and you're outta there like a mortar round. Jury of your peers? Only if you've got a skull full of mush, because your jury will too.

-MJS

each side's attorney has a certain number of dismissals, people he can choose not to be on the jury 'without prejudice' , which means he doesn't have to give a reason. Picking jurors is a skill. If the person you are defending is a young girl, you want people like her on the jury who will be sympathetic. The defense attorney is more concerned than the prosecutor. The attorney wants to have people who don't have professional knowledge or other preconceived ideas either about the subject, or know of the case already and may have heard opinion. They do have a need to have somewhat intelligent people who can understand the story they are putting out there, and who can make a reasonable decision. You don't need to have a masters degree to be a juror, plain normal folks are just fine.

When jury selection begins, they bring up a pool of 20-25 people to choose from. The proceeding starts by the attorneys explaining the case to the jurors. Then they put the first 8 in the box and each attorney can ask them questions. In the first case, when my number was called, I had to stand up and excuse myself because I knew one of the parties. They thanked me for my honesty and I sat down to watch the rest of the selection. The case was a lady I knew who was suing her accountant for screwing up. The attorneys questioned the jurors if anyone was an accountant, then if anyone had any accounting background. One guy said he did tax returns for H&R Block during the tax season. He was dismissed. And it went from there until they had their jury of people they felt didn't have professional knowledge or any kind of prejudged ideas. People left on the jury were an 18 year old grocery clerk, a secretary, a fork lift operator, a house wife and a few others.

The next time I got up for jury selection, the case was a lady suing a store, a strip mall and a construction company. She fell and broke her leg outside the store during a construction project. I got into the box and when I answered that I was an investment property owner and supervised construction projects, I was dismissed. I can understand that they'd think I'd automatically side with my peers. I didn't see what happened past that.

I did get on two cases on two other occasions. First case was a young girl who was charged with cocaine possession. They set the jury so that there were a lot of sympathetic parent types on the jury. This girl was the age of my daughter at the time. Going through the case, we had to find her guilty due to the evidence and the law. Still a few mother types held out in the jury room because they 'didn't want to send the poor young girl to jail'. The judge then told us she wouldn't see any jail time, probably probation and some substance abuse help. Then the mothers gave in and found her guilty.

I was on one other case, but the jury selection was uneventful so I won't go through it again here. I can say that the attorneys need to be careful when they dismiss jurors because they only can dismiss so many and the next person in the box could be a worse juror. They do try to tailor the jury to the case, but have to keep some jurors that they're not totally against so they don't run out of dismissals before the jury is complete.

Edited June 22, 2013 by Tom Geiger

[JohnU]

That's all very interesting if it wasn't for the fact that my employer doesn't pay for the time missed. I had my boss write a letter on company stationary stating a financial hardship to get me out of it. Just waiting to hear back from the court. This may or may not work but it's worth a shot since I'm not due to be available until July 15. I'm sorry but for the pittance of a reimbursement you get for this it doesn't even cover my gas for the drive much less cover my bills!

[Greg Myers]

Getting up early.

Finding your way downtown only to find you have to pay to park.

Sitting around waiting to be called.

And all for a mere pittance.

A small price to pay for freedom and the best legal system in the world. God bless America.

[Danno]

I've been called to jury duty three times.

Every time I'm selected for a panel, I never get past the preliminary screening (called "voir dire"). As soon as the lawyers find out about my education, training, career, experiences, friends, associates, professional associations/organizations . . . and ~ as Mike said, 'IQ' ~ . . . I'm done. Every prosecutor wants me on the jury and no defense attorney wants me in the courthouse.

Their loss. I'm a whole lot fairer and impartial than they can ever imagine. They stand a better chance with me than with a lot of sidewalk civilians.

But, THEY (defense attorneys) profile!

[Greg Myers]

Must have been selected this time?