Jury Duty

[Yao11]

I've been summoned for a case this week. Any advice for someone who's never done jury duty before? How many hours a day on average does this last?

All advice is appreciated.

[Kam]

I've been selected three times, and the first time I didn't go, but nothing happened to me.

The second time I went, there was nothing on the docket. This was Harris County in NorthWest Houston.


The third time was my charm. It was in downtown so parking was a bitch. It only lasted one a half days and I got paid a big ol 46 bucks! It's 6 for the first day, and 40 the rest of the time.

My court case involved some chick in a DUI/DWI case. She was pretty hot, and I figured out where she works, so I had that going for me.

I don't know if you're trying to get on or not get picked. I think you got to be a bit outspoken to not be picked. I think we got out around 3pm or 4pm.

[R0ckets03]

Speak up if you ever make it as far as voir dire (sp?)!

I've been selected multiple times onto a jury. All boring stuff. One time some idiot was suing Shell for wrongful termination. You could tell his case was frivolous from the beginning. The dude was just pissed and wanted some money from Shell. Anyways, we didn't award him squat.

I was stuck on that freakin jury for 4 days I think. Should have spoken up during jury selection when the attorney for Shell asked all of us if we would be biased at all due to high gas prices at the time. I should have said "umm...yeah you bet your ass i will!" Bet that would have gotten me kicked out.

[Uprising]

I've been summoned 3 times, all three times though I was no longer in Houston and was a student.

So I was exempt from driving back down to Houston.

[Poloshirtbandit]

Originally Posted by Kam I don't know if you're trying to get on or not get picked. I think you got to be a bit outspoken to not be picked. I think we got out around 3pm or 4pm.

I've only gone once and didn't get picked. I noticed this as well, mine was a possesion case. They asked for opinions on drug laws. The people that didn't talk much during the question part got picked. The more outspoken people didn't.

[QdoubleA]

Don't want to get picked? 3 simple words, "I hate everybody"

[Garner]

If you have the option, drive a small car or motorcycle. That parking lot is terribly small.

Bring a book, you will be glad you did.

[Hammer755]

Originally Posted by Yao11 I've been summoned for a case this week. Any advice for someone who's never done jury duty before? How many hours a day on average does this last? All advice is appreciated.

Depends on a lot of things, such as the court you were summoned to, the number of cases on the docket, the number of jurors who show up, and the specific case that you may get called for. You may sit there for a few hours and your number never even comes up and you get to go home. Or you may go in, get asked a couple of questions by the attorneys or judge and be dismissed by one side or the other.

I was summoned for jury duty in the federal court downtown a few years back and was selected to be on the panel of a wrongful death case where the family was suing the Harris Co. Sheriff's department in a civil case. I had to drive downtown every day for 3 weeks before the judge declared a hung jury, as we could not come to an agreement. It was very interesting

I had no chance of escaping this jury. The man who was killed had a little boy and I had 2 sons about his age, so the prosecution felt I would be sympathetic to their side. Their case was also heavily reliant on DNA evidence, so they felt my background as an engineer would benefit them as well. On the flip side, I was one of the few people who didn't express any kind of disdain or negative experiences with law enforcement organizations, so the defense felt I would be sympathetic to their side. I had a bulls-eye on my back the second I walked into the courtroom.

[greenhippos]

Originally Posted by R0ckets03 Speak up if you ever make it as far as voir dire (sp?)! I've been selected multiple times onto a jury. All boring stuff. One time some idiot was suing Shell for wrongful termination. You could tell his case was frivolous from the beginning. The dude was just pissed and wanted some money from Shell. Anyways, we didn't award him squat. I was stuck on that freakin jury for 4 days I think. Should have spoken up during jury selection when the attorney for Shell asked all of us if we would be biased at all due to high gas prices at the time. I should have said "umm...yeah you bet your ass i will!" Bet that would have gotten me kicked out.

I've been summoned one time in Montgomery county for a 1st degree murder case, there were about 120 of us in the courtroom being seeded through for the jury. I was the 4th person called, trial lasted 6 days from 8am-5pm every day. I was joking to the person next to me about wanting to be on the jury to see what it was all like, we were both picked. Of course this was before we were told the circumstances of the case, it was actually a pretty rough week, with the pictures and testimony from about 6 witnesses.

[Cannonball]

I've been summoned 4 times in the last 10 years but I've never been selected. One was a high profile murder case where they'd already selected 10 jurors from previous jury pools. Another was a guy who had inappropriate contact with a minor under the age of 16 and it was implied that the alleged victim was a boy. One of the reasons I didn't get picked for that one is that they asked if we'd have a problem convicting somebody where the only evidence was the eyewitness testimony of one individual. I let it be known that I would have a problem with that. I don't know if I would've gotten chosen anyway, but I'm sure my answer didn't help.

I like to ride the light rail into downtown when I have jury duty.

[RocketManJosh]

Just got off a 2 week case ... How it runs is totally up to the judge but we went 915am-415pm with 2 20 min breaks and an hour and a half for lunch ... Seems like u are hardly there, but it beats work!

[Dei]

Originally Posted by Kam My court case involved some chick in a DUI/DWI case. She was pretty hot, and I figured out where she works, so I had that going for me.

And we see why the justice system doesn't work.

[Kam]

Originally Posted by Dei And we see why the justice system doesn't work.

I took it serious. For real.