so I got summoned...

Geico266 said:
But, but, but... it is suppose to be a jury of your piers! :rolleyes:
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Like this one?

77d83fb0008fb17b53d0dff8ddc0effd.jpg
 
denverpilot said:
Just in case they shoot you. Instant millionaire. LOL.
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Maybe not, cops choked that fat black dude to death on video and walked.

Times are getting a little strange.
 
I had to sit in on a murder trial last year. I was interesting, but wouldn't want to do that again.
 
I have been summoned about ten times. Ended up on the jury twice, once for DUI, and once for a civil trial.

The actual jury service was interesting, but was inconvenient. Due to the numerous things that have to happen outside the presence of the jurors, you are only doing your job for about 1/3 of the time that you are required to be there.

With a laptop and wifi, it will probably not be so bad if there is a next time.
 
Stevel said:
With a laptop and wifi, it will probably not be so bad if there is a next time.
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Unless you end up getting sequestered and have to turn in all electronic devices. For some reason there is always a juror who cant resist twittering about the trial.
 
weilke said:
Unless you end up getting sequestered and have to turn in all electronic devices. For some reason there is always a juror who cant resist twittering about the trial.
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Sequestered would seriously suck, but it is rare enough that I will not fret over to possibility.
 
Matthew said:
I've never gotten called for jury duty.

My wife did, once, and served on a criminal trial - assault, kidnapping, and a few other charges thrown in.
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Lucky you! I used to live in Oakland, CA and I had to go once a year, nearly every year. I have never ever come close to serving on a jury. I have been dismissed every time. Several after being interviewed. They are looking for people with no opinion on anything, no knowledge beyond their four walls and no affiliations with anyone. They used to promise $6 a day and never once did they pay. I was either self employed, or employed by people that would not give you paid time off.

Am I bitter on this deal? Yes. It sucks and a "jury of your peers" is damn joke. Why it is that I can't just be flagged in the system as someone unsuitable to be a juror and stop wasting my time is beyond me.!!:mad:
 
I make sure I fill out their forms honestly. Under the comments at the bottom, I tell them, "I would be happy to uphold the common Law". I never get to go.
 
I'm a physician. I ended up in the jury pool for a medical malpractice trial. I just knew that the plaintiff's attorney would throw me out. But the doctor's lawyer tossed me. He didn't want someone on the jury who knew how worthless and incompetent that guy really was. I would have told them too.
 
AlabamaCFII said:
I'm a physician. I ended up in the jury pool for a medical malpractice trial. I just knew that the plaintiff's attorney would throw me out. But the doctor's lawyer tossed me. He didn't want someone on the jury who knew how worthless and incompetent that guy really was. I would have told them too.
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:thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:
 
I was amazed that I was on the DUI jury, as I had been T-boned by a drunk driver a couple of years earlier. There was also an attorney on the jury. I thought that NEVER happened.
 
AlabamaCFII said:
I'm a physician. I ended up in the jury pool for a medical malpractice trial. I just knew that the plaintiff's attorney would throw me out. But the doctor's lawyer tossed me. He didn't want someone on the jury who knew how worthless and incompetent that guy really was. I would have told them too.
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Do they do their strikes in the presence of the jury in Alabama? That would suck.
 
JB1842 said:
Federal grand jury only sits one day a week, if that, for the normal course of business. For some people, that can be a big financial hassle. They are more selective with grand jury selection than trial jury selection. Anybody with half a brain can get excused without trying too hard.
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My old man was the federal grand jury foreman a number of years ago. He was fully retired at that point, so I don't think there was really any big monetary or time imposition on his life. He said that it was incredibly interesting, mostly due to the dealings he had with agents from various 3 letter agencies.....that and just learning a lot about the underworld of his community that he hadn't previously known.
 
The one time I got picked to sit on a Jury was for an assault case....



.... for a 7-year old that pushed another kid into a bank of lockers and caused an injury that required 6-8 stitches.

It's been long ago enough I don't remember the full details, but the entire panel, once we found out who the defendant was, his age, and the facts of the case, all agreed that this was something that shoulda/coulda been handled outside of the criminal court system.
 
AggieMike88 said:
The one time I got picked to sit on a Jury was for an assault case....



.... for a 7-year old that pushed another kid into a bank of lockers and caused an injury that required 6-8 stitches.

It's been long ago enough I don't remember the full details, but the entire panel, once we found out who the defendant was, his age, and the facts of the case, all agreed that this was something that shoulda/coulda been handled outside of the criminal court system.
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I hope you all demonstrated that in your choice after deliberating.
 
Mine was a 7 week trial, 1 week sequestered in a stinking hovel of a motel. When it was all over (not guilty verdict) the judge called us all into chambers to apologize to us all. The guy who had actually committed the crime had been granted total immunity from prosecution, the police had lied about everything to cover their major screw-up, and the defendant was just some poor kid that wasn't even there when the crime was committed. But we weren't allowed to know any of this during the trial.
Now, when I get summoned, I mention I was on that particular case and get shoved out on the sidewalk so fast my shoes squeal from the friction.
 
Stevel said:
I was amazed that I was on the DUI jury, as I had been T-boned by a drunk driver a couple of years earlier. There was also an attorney on the jury. I thought that NEVER happened.
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It happens. As I mentioned earlier, I've been on a jury. I also know of a judge who was on a jury.
 
midlifeflyer said:
It happens. As I mentioned earlier, I've been on a jury. I also know of a judge who was on a jury.
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In the late 1990's, Rudolph Giuliani, then Mayor of New York, served jury duty. Judith S. Kaye, then Chief Judge of the State of New York, who had in 1996 successfully crusaded to eliminate the 23 automatic exemptions (doctor, lawyer, prosthetics maker...), was summoned and gleefully reported for duty, but was eliminated at voir dire on a peremptory challenge (lawyer has so many chances to throw a potential juror out without "cause" such as conflict or bias).
 
only one word: Excused

telephone message sez all jurors are excused for tomorrow - guess the DA doesn't know what the inside of a courtroom looks like...
 
Clark1961 said:
only one word: Excused

telephone message sez all jurors are excused for tomorrow - guess the DA doesn't know what the inside of a courtroom looks like...
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DA and the judge have a T time for 1PM tomorrow...;)......:D
 
I think it's hookers and blow this time of year...
 
onwards said:
The whole jury system is a sham.

The only people who don't try to get out of it are either those with an agenda, or those too poor to care (and typically uneducated). Everyone else does their best to get out.

The end result is not a "trial with a jury of one's peers". It's a highly manipulated, carefully orchestrated marketing event, in which the "jury" selects one of two alternative products.

I would personally rather get rid of the entire system, or at least move to a system with professional jurors. We'd get a much fairer system that way.
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I disagree. Served on a federal trial about 8 years ago. As I recall, they excused very few, probably went through 18 or 20 to get the jury plus alternates. Defendant's lawyer already new my occupation and I ended up being chosen. We had a very good cross section of jurors. All ages, all levels of education, and wide variety of occupations.

Could it have been more efficient? Yes. But overall I was glad I served and satisfied with the experience.
 
Only ever been called once, in Maryland. They don't seem to like me much, big surprise. I guess I won't get to administer justice.
 
Got my jury summons today. May 23. Don't none of youse guys get in trouble and end up in my courtroom!
 
Matthew said:
Got my jury summons today. May 23. Don't none of youse guys get in trouble and end up in my courtroom!
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I'll do my best.
 
I get summoned about once a year. Twice, I made it as far a voir dire, both times I was excused. Once after the first question, "do you know anyone in law-enforcement". And, the other time, they didn't even ask. They just pointed out a couple of us and thanked us for our time.
 
My county sends out the jury questionnaire in advance. Fill it oite and mail it in. It doesn't mean you wil be called, but you are now in the pool. I got the questionnaire about 3(?) months ago.
 
SixPapaCharlie said:
The selection process is an Inefficient waste of time and money
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I've been through that twice. What a show. The first one the defense attorney asked everyone the same question, "if you were my client, would you be the type of juror that you would want on the jury." Everyone says "yes", there were about 20 before me. I said "I don't know." He asks something to the effect of what do you mean by that. I say the only type of juror that I would want up here is one that would find me not guilty and seeing as how I haven't heard any evidence yet, I don't know. There was a little buzz and a few chuckles. He wasn't happy. I was the next juror excused.
 
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