So I did my civic duty yesterday. Thoughts and observations: 1. Certain people live for jury duty, because they have no life otherwise. 2. On every panel, there will be at least one person missing (in the bathroom or at the snack bar) when it is time to walk into the courtroom. 3. Many people who serve jury duty are imbiciles, and it scares me that they are deciding the fates of people on trial. The good news is that I have perfected my method of how to never be selected for a jury: Speak up during voir doir! My case yesterday was a woman accused of stealing from her employer. The value of what was stolen was <$200, so she faced a maximum of 6 months in jail and a $2000 fine. Everyone who spoke up during voir doir was dismissed, including me. One guy, when asked by the prosecutor if he could stay within the guidelines of the sentence range, answered "hell no!". When asked why, he said "stealin' is stealin' - they ought to lock them up longer. When the judge asked this guy "what about a single mom with no money who steals food for her children", homey replied "stealin' is stealin. Lock 'em up!'". I took that as carte blanche to do whatever the hell I wanted to. The defense attorney asked me if I had ever witnessed thievery by employees at my workplace. I replied "I witness it on a daily basis. Not only do employees steal, they are encouraged to do so by their superiors who then help them cover it up! The next thing I heard was "juror 17, you are dismissed". That was at 11:30AM. Had lunch at Treebeards and then stopped for a couple of cold ones on the way home. It was a fun day.
I've only had to go once, but it definitely seemed like they wanted the r****ded ones to actually be on the jury. Anyone that showed even a hint of intelligence during the questioning was kicked off.
Yesterday, anyone who opened their mouth was not picked. It didn't matter what came out of their mouth. Anyone who said something during voir doir was dismissed. The jury was 6 people....the first 6 in order who didn't say anything.
I had it about 6 months ago and I didn't go. I never heard anything else about it. Then, last week I got a letter from them and when I saw 'jury assembly' on the envelope, I freaked out and thought, "oh, hell...they finally caught me." Nope, they didn't. It was just another summons. I'm thinking I'll skip again....
I was at a jury selection once were the group was asked, "Who listens to the Jim Rome Show"? I and a few others raised our hand. I was not selected.
You are a bad citizen! Bad bad BAAAAD!! Seriously....jerky duty can be fun, but only if you get loaded beforehand!
I've been around the legal establishment for almost a decade and I was unaware that it was broken, except for the fact that people concoct elaborate schemes to get out of it because of an irrational fear of it. If you're really worried by number 3, then why are you trying to get yourself not selected? Sorry, I just don't like it when people go to ridiculous lengths to avoid jury duty as if it is some sort of horrendous plague - often times it seems to me that the energy people expend on getting out of it dwarfs that of just serving your time and being done with it; I've been on juries; it's not that bad, first, and second, if you were on trial you'd probably want the same courtesy.
I agree... But, for anyone who still doesn't care and needs to know the way out, I concur with the advice given in this thread. Speak up, say something ridiculous, etc. ESPECIALLY if you are one of the first 12-15 numbers - they do go in order sometimes. That'll definitely get you dismissed.
I had a friend who said that he would ask to be on the jury, because he was excellent at judging people. He would claim that usually just by looking at someone he could tell all about them. He was dismissed.
ABSOLUTELY. each lawyer is given a designated number of "strikes" they can use to eliminate prospective jurors from the selection. the more you say, the more likely you are to be "struck" because eventually you're going to say something that makes either the prosecution or defense strike you. the person who says very little has given each side little reason to want to eliminate them.. so they get picked by default usually.
YOu're right but it's a little more complex than that. What the initial round of questioning is about is to find out if they can strike you for cause, i.e. there's a reason that you can't or won't be impartial, be it religious beliefs or a conflict or some time of prejudice (I got dismissed for cause because I was friendly with the judge and the clerk, who is one of my closest friends, on the case earlier this year). After that what they usually do (and it varies) are being struck for peremptory challenges - where the lawyers get to strike people who they don't think are favorable to their case.
question: never been to jury duty but do they not ask the same question(s) to everyone? if so, how could one "not say anything?"
In most jurisdictions you get 1 or 2 shots to not show up, and your name just goes back into the jury pool with one of your "automatic postponements" that you usually get taken out. After that point, the next time you get a summons, you get the "you have to show up, last chance, or a warrant will be issued for your arrest" summons, in which case you should probably go.
I hope I never find myself in a situation where I am judged by my peers. I too have sat on jury duty and sometimes think being judged by a judge would be better, as long as it's not Ted Poe.
I wasn't aware it was broken either. Other than maybe rich people able to get off, though that didn't help the Enron folks. Only one time I was called to go to a criminal trial. Some chick had broken into a house and stolen something. I was disappointed that they cancelled the trial for whatever reason and I had to go back to work. I think it's more fun to be on a jury than at work.
