I've been called for jury duty...

[Phentex]

cattle call tomorrow morning. There IS wifi so wouldn't it be funny if I get selected for DU jury duty while I'm waiting?

See you in the courthouse!

[Kaleva]

1. Have fun! Let us know the dirty details when you get back!

[Phentex]

4. Will do!...

at least the weather is supposed to be good. I don't mind jury duty in ATL or DU3.

[bluedigger]

2. No phones in the courtroom.

I had jury duty yesterday and today. It took two days for voir dire. I didn't get called.

And a little hint. Don't share your opinions on the case with other people in the jury pool. First thing this morning one person was called up to the bench and told to come back to see the judge after lunch. He told her she might want to bring her attorney... Three others were found in contempt because they didn't come back for the second day.

[Phentex]

3. Thanks...

What were those people thinking?

My fears are forcing myself to sit still and then trying not to fall asleep!

[bluedigger]

5. The voir dire process was pretty interesting, actually.

This was my first experience with jury duty. They started with a questionaire on various things such as gun experience, negative experiences with police, prior knowledge of the case, and ability to judge fairly without preconceptions. The judge then excused people for hardship reasons such as health, with the agreement of both attorneys. One woman was excused because her religion forbade judging others.

Then they randomly picked twenty-five out of the pool to go before the bench and be questioned. The prosecutor got an hour and a half to question them and then the defense had their turn. A few more were excused for various reasons. One girl was excused because she had finals in community college, but an instructor who was giving a final had to get someone to cover for him.

After the questioning both sides start eliminating people from the twenty-five until they agree on 12 plus an alternate. They each got a set number of challenges. I was a little surprised at some of those who were excused. Then the judge let the rest of us go home, and they can't call us for duty for another year.

It also helped that the judge had a good sense of humor. Some of the jurist responses during voir dire were pretty funny. One kid wasn't sure if he lived in the county. One of the court staff had to look it up on a map, as he worked on a ranch that straddled the border out at the end of nowhere.

[Lionel Mandrake]

7. Voir dire is an American industry.

People make their living advising lawyers which jurors to get rid of. Defense attorneys brag about having selected stupid juries for their guilty clients. In the USA, the more serious the crime, the more peremptory challenges are allowed. In most of the UK, by contrast, peremptory challenges are no longer allowed. I believe that the Brits have the right idea.

[bluedigger]

9. Both sides have the same number of challenges.

It's as fair as any system.

[Lionel Mandrake]

12. Sure, it's a fair fight

in the sense that both sides play by the same rules. The object of the voir dire game is to select jurors that are likely to favor your side and get rid of jurors that are likely to favor the other side.

Please recognize that this is nothing but a game. The gamesmanship has nothing to do with justice.

Some lawyers can afford to hire more and better experts and thereby gain an edge. Is this fair to the average defendant, whose resources are dwarfed by those of the DA's office? Is this fair to the public in a case with a rich defendant who can afford the best defense that money can buy?

Go to any law library and take a look at the books on jury selection. You'll be surprised how many such books there are. As I said before, it's an industry. And it contributes nothing to justice.

[a2liberal]

13. Some people actually think it is

I recently got into a discussion with someone who effectively argued that anyone who is innocent has nothing to fear from a prosecution, regardless of their resources (i.e. If you're innocent any lawyer is good enough)

[OriginalGeek]

14. "religion forbade judging others."

Man it irritates me when people use that to get out of jury duty. EVEN if they are sincere. They are NOT the ones judging. They are weighing the evidence and giving an opinion on whether or not they felt the prosecution made its case. It's the judges job to judge. It's right in his name.

Of course my biggest problem is that I don't ever believe they are sincere. I'd bet a pay-check they go about their day judging the shit out of people. In line at the grocery store (oooh this teller is so fat), driving down the street (those kids look shady, better lock my doors), probably even on their way out the door of the courthouse (what was THAT guy arrested for? I wonder....I'm sure he did it...wow that girl is dressed like a slut).

The one time I made it that far there was one kid who couldn't hardly even keep from laughing as he said it wasn't his place to judge his fellow man. Douchebag.

I believe in jury duty. I never try to get out of it but I do recognize there are hardship reasons for not serving and I don't begrudge people those reasons one bit. I like to do it because it's something different to do for a couple days and I figure there may be a chance to help out someone - either by acquitting if the case wasn't proven or by convicting if the case was proven. Somebody in that courtroom is seeking justice and I am happy to play my part in that.

[grandtrio]

6. Sleeping could get you out.

Just got off jury duty. Felony murder. One guy actually did go to sleep during the selection process. He did not get selected to serve, perhaps he was smarter than those of us who were selected.

[Lionel Mandrake]

8. In Judge Maloney's courtroom, sleeping could land you in jail.

Maloney is or was a superior court judge in Los Angeles. I was on a panel sent to his courtroom. Maloney warned us not to close our eyes, even before being seated in the jury box. He explained that if our eyes were closed, he couldn't tell whether we were awake or not. He also said that sleeping in his courtroom would constitute contempt.

Not all judges are such assholes.

[Phentex]

10. Just had coffee during the break...

I'm good until lunch. Not called back yet but my neighbor was here and she's been called.

[grandtrio]

11. Just wondering

How much do you get paid to serve on a jury in your area.
Question is for anyone who cares to answer.
We were paid $25 a day + $7 a day for lunch.

[OriginalGeek]

15. I don't remember it being that much

but it was maybe 8~10 years ago last time I went.

They brought us lunch one day (boxed lunches - sandwiches and potato salad) but one day we went to a pizza place down the street - wait, that might have been pre-trial - lunch break while waiting to see if we would be called....

[Phentex]

22. I think it's 25 but I'm not positive...

when I served years ago I know I paid for my own lunch!

[Wait Wut]

16. My visual:

"Phentex, could you please join us for your interview?"

"Yeah, hang on. I'm on a jury at DemocraticUnderground regarding an offensive post about chicken."

http://www.democraticunderground.com/124085630

[Phentex]

19. Instead I was called for jury duty here...

and then got the screen that the jury was full. In real life, I sat for hours before being told they had enough jurors. So life mimicked DU3 but not in the way I expected.

[RebelOne]

17. I have been called to jury duty once in Miami, FL, and again in Atlanta, GA.

I was picked for the jury in Miami, and I was lucky that the defendant did a plea deal before I had to serve. Than I was called for jury duty in Atlanta and tried to get out of it to no avail. But fortunately, I was not picked. Than a couple of years ago, I received a notice to appear for jury duty in Marietta, GA. The notice said that if I was over 71, I would be exempted. So, since, I was already 72, I declined.

[Phentex]

20. They exempted students yesterday...

I know it's different in the different counties. My friend was called when she had a six week old baby and the judge was very harsh about it even when all she wanted was a deferment. Yesterday, the video said you could be deferred if you were the sole caregiver for a child under 6.

After sitting most of the day, I sorta wanted to be selected so I could do something!

[avebury]

18. I've been on jury duty only once and

never got picked for a case. I just had to do every day for 3 weeks and sit there until they released us for the day. On one case, during jury selection, the judge asked if anybody had ever been the victim of a burglary. One woman raised her hand. The judge asked her how long ago. Her response was "Yesterday while I was here." The judge's response was "Your are excused." In another case I learned that one of the guys that had been picked for a jury and was sitting there while the case began noticed that one of the defendants kind of waved at him. That was when he realized that he had been the guy's parole officer several years earlier. That case got tossed out and the prosecutor was going to have to start all over with a new trial. Oops!

[Phentex]

21. I've been picked a few times...

it's been a few years though. Seems like the last couple of times I either did not have to go in or I was not selected before voir dire began.