54 years on this planet and I just got my first Jury Summons.

[trumad]

Now is it Guilty before proven innocent---or the other way around?

[WilliamPitt]

1. The end is nigh.

[trumad]

5. God my biggest fear is to be sequestered with a bunch of Central Florida Douchebags.

[cynatnite]

2. A piece of advice...

don't jump up and scream guilty unless you want to be dismissed.

[Kaleva]

4. Also don't pull a Ted Nugent.

[WilliamPitt]

15. And don't smoke

[cynatnite]

23. ...

Good idea.

[Warpy]

3. Mostly it's hours of boredom

waiting for some sneering attorney to disqualify you from the jury.

I usually tell them the truth about my crazy family. That gets me out early.

[southernyankeebelle]

9. Gee I am 64 and never been called either. My husband has been called twice. Plus once

many years ago when he was stationed in Germany. He was able to get out of that one. But he got a doctor's note because he has had medical issues.

[RebelOne]

18. Yes. Been there, done that three times.

Two times in Florida and once in Georgia. Last time I received a jury notice, I was able to opt out because I was over 70 years old, which is the one advantage of aging.

[Andy823]

6. Wish I could say that

I have been called for jury duty 6 times. Two were cancelled, went through 3 trials, and the last time I was picked but on the day I was going up for the first day of the trial, I was in a car accident. I got out of that one, but I just received another summons and will be on the list for next month!

[cynatnite]

8. I was put on one over a guy that hit a car with a baseball bat...

twice.

We found him guilty and fined him $500. Probably the biggest waste of time in my life.

[JoePhilly]

29. Reminds me of an SNL bit where they say "Some one is mugged every 15 seconds in NY"

And then they do an "on the street" report in which the same guy is mugged every 15 seconds.

[Robb]

7. During jury selection, the best thing to do is barge past everyone else

...and scream "I know what I'm doing!!! Take me straight to the crime I'm supposed to be adjudicating!!!11"

[Wait Wut]

10. Either way is fine...

...just don't call the judge a dbag. Actually, you should probably just stay quiet. Or, should we start a donation thread for your bail, now?

[11 Bravo]

11. I would love to experience jury duty! I've ben called three times, but never empaneled.

The first two times, the case was settled pre-trial; and the last time the defendant was a former second grade student of mine, so I was dismissed!

[CreekDog]

12. Are you aware that the judge will interview you during jury selection?

you might want to arrange in advance for someone to come and bail you out afterwards.

[slackmaster]

13. I'm also 54 and have been called NINE times and served on THREE trial juries

Enjoy the experience, trumad. I believe you will find it to be an eye-opener no matter how much you think you know about what goes on in court.

Unless you happen to be a trial lawyer, in which case neither side of any kind of issue will allow you to sit on a jury.

[left coaster]

20. Ahh, ok, now I don't feel so bad. :)

(See my previous post).

[slackmaster]

28. San Diego has long had an unusual propensity for high-profile cases that require big jury pools

Political scandal trials, lots of drug cases, famous prostitutes, etc. It was especially bad in the 1980s and 1990s during the Ritual Satanic Child Abuse Scare era.

[Logical]

34. Or a ex-cop.

[MineralMan]

14. I'm betting you won't be seated on a jury.

That's the usual thing.

[Scurrilous]

16. Pull a Liz Lemon...

...and maybe you'll be excused.

[MuseRider]

17. I just had mine a few months ago

I am 58. Finally, and it was a murder trial. I was picked in the first bunch but not chosen in the end. Good luck.

[left coaster]

19. How did you manage that? :)

Both my husband and I are old farts (mid-fifties), and have been registered/active voters since 18 years of age, and between us we've been summoned to jury service 11 times. Both of our sons (one is 26, the other 28) have been tapped, one once, the other twice.

I'm all for serving, civic duty, etc., etc., but we are starting to feel a bit picked on, I confess.. hehe..


Maybe there is just a shortage of qualified jurors in Los Angeles county? Yeah, right. No, that can't be it.

[trumad]

22. No idea---

I thought I'd never get picked....

[CreekDog]

21. "Just say you're prejudiced against all races."

[CreekDog]

24. I recommend liveblogging the trial

[Woody Woodpecker]

25. I got my summons to serve the jury

at age 35.

I got picked, and it was a damages case - all we had to do was determine damages from his insurance company to pay for an accident and hospitalizations - it was a mess - not enough information about his hospitalizations except for the itemized bills, but we decided in the favor of the plaintiff at the amount of $172k

He wanted more. He wanted damages from not working - including a percieved "promotion" to a branch manager that he thought he was going to get - but the absence cost him the promotion. He was a investment advisor to a bank. We all agreed that it was nonsense and we did not award him any "future" damages. We just awarded him to cover the bills from his insurance company and a small 50k award for stress (or whatever they call it). The judge agreed with our decision and told us so after the trial was over. She told us that the insurance will cover most of the bills and will leave the guy with very little actual money - and that made us feel better.

It is not the kind of case I would sit for, but I consider it a honor to serve my city as a juror.

[ieoeja]

36. The one time I sat, judge and lawyers for both sides were appalled by our decision.

Traffic accident. Elderly woman ran a red light and side-swapped a car containing a young Hispanic couple. The male driver claimed he hit is head on the side window and suffered neurological problems. His lawyer brought in an expert. The defense attorneys said, "he doesn't look injured to us."

Initial vote: 3 for plaintiff, 9 against.

My argument: 100% of the evidence presented in the trial supported the plaintiff.

Second vote: 10 for plaintiff, 2 against.

Juror A: "let's hear from the other two who initially voted for the plaintiff."

Juror B: "he must really be hurt, or he would never have taken it to trial."

Juror C: "I figure he is faking it but was talked into it by his lawyer; I don't want to see him get stuck with that cost."

From that point forward every attempt to bring up the "100% of the evidence" argument was deflected with arguments against Juror's B & C. Eventually, it came down to 11 - 1 in favor of the defendant at which point I gave up.

Judge: "will you please stay to explain how you could possibly get the ruling so horribly wrong?"

Me: "nobody said anything racial, but the original vote was me and two Black women for the Hispanic man while the other 9 white folk voted for the white defendant; since I already argued with these people that 100% of the evidence supported the plaintiff, I can only draw one conclusion."

Exclamations of innocence to my charge of racism.

Me: "given that I only stayed here voluntarily, I'm not going to sit around here and listen to this shit. Goodbye."


FYI: "deflected with arguments against..." my allies idiocy is why we often see DUers correcting incorrect claims made by fellow DUers. A proven lie can get a hundred truths ignored.

[notadmblnd]

26. My mother is in her 70's and never been called

I'm just shy of your age and have served 6 or 7 times. It's just the luck of the draw, I guess?

[Johonny]

40. it is a matter of where you live

Most courts are in large cities. Most cases are tried in large cities. My parents live in a rural area have been called once ever, me I get called every 3 years in the city. I believe it is the total injustice in the disproportion of the serving that tends to make people slowly grow to hate jury duty. The first time was not so bad, now I am frankly sick of it.

[notadmblnd]

41. They do it by Drivers License in our State.

Not by voting registration. I've served in Circuit court and Federal court. I also used my mothers mailing address for at least the first 30 years of my life so the rural/urban explaination doesn't fit. I really have no idea why my mother was never called. They wouldn't have liked her anyway, she's always been a mouthy old bat.

[LeftofObama]

27. I've been called for jury duty 3 times,

and I had to serve all 3 times. The third time I was the presiding juror (formerly foreman of the jury)

The first time was a criminal (murder) trial. The defendant was acquitted.

The second time was a civil trial. We found in favor of the defendant (General Motors)

The third time was a civil trial. We found in favor of the defendant. (musician)

Hmm come to think of it I guess I'm a defense attorney's dream juror. LOL!

It's actually quite interesting. Just go and be honest, if you're picked it's really not that bad.

[FarCenter]

30. Where you stand in the justice system

judge
lawyers
plaintiff
defendant
court stenographer
bailiff
cafeteria staff
custodians
juror

[slackmaster]

37. True, but when you are wearing a badge that identifies you as a juror, lawyers avoid eye contact

They steer clear of you.

[HopeHoops]

31. I'm 49 and never been on a jury (other than DU).

The compensation is squat but it is a civil duty. On the other hand, if you don't want to serve all you have to do is ask the interviewer if you'll be allowed to watch the electrocution (even if the crime is shoplifting).

[Baitball Blogger]

32. What letter did you pull?

If it's lower than "M" you probably won't be called.

[rug]

33. Wow, and you only had a 35% chance.

[dembotoz]

35. it is an educational experience

served twice

second one was for an exotic dancer who go into a car accident while trying to find the address for a 'date" that had been arranged for her......


it was interesting

[calimary]

38. I actually welcome a jury duty summons.

Yeah, you sit around and wait. And wait. And wait.

But when I've had to do it, I take my laptop and plug it in - there's always internet available. Sometimes they even have a bank of computers in the back of the room that can be used for free while you're in the jury waiting room. I even logged into DU one day.

I found it incredibly relaxing! You can't really do a lot of business. It's like being home sick from the office for the day. You're simply stuck. So you're FORCED to relax. Lots of people catching up on reading. Take a good book or your iPad or something and make a day of it!

[X_Digger]

39. I wish I could say that..

I've been summoned nine times since I turned 18 many moons ago.

I've been actually picked four times, and was on one grand jury. Now *THAT* is an experience, if you ever get the opportunity in a state where the GJ can actually ask that evidence be collected, and can grill the PA/SA/DA.

This last time I did opt out because of my wife's health issues; I felt like a cad for a week.

[ZombieHorde]

42. Just remember jury nullification is always an option.

Just because you believe the person is guilty doesn't mean you have to say he or she is guilty if you disagree with the law or believe the situation was special in some way.

[madinmaryland]

43. I thought you were in Frisco with cboy and upton having beers?

[craigmatic]

44. You lucky bastard I seem to get them every other time I vote.

[Earth_First]

45. 32 and I've been summoned twice, three including a local matter... n/t

[badtoworse]

46. I'm 62 and I've only been called once

I was asked what newspaper I read and they dismissed me when I told them the Wall Street Journal and the Newark Star Ledger.