ever since my dad became a citizen he has wanted to serve but is never picked mainly due to his job/education i've never been picked as well but i would be interested in serving like a criminal case not a civil type case. closest i've been in the 3 times i have been ask to go is i sat in the court room and was asked my name and what I do. The case was about a trust fund and there were two parties claiming ownership after the original owner passed away without specifying who would take it over. the lawyer asked me what I was doing I said Oh I am in school right now at UCLA...he looks at me and asks my major: Oh economics and some finance and then he asks me to leave...First person out of there then I had to go sit back in the room...thats probably the part I hate the most I have these people making small talk when all I would want to do is take a nap if I have to be there. But I wouldnt mind serving a criminal case provided it wasnt a prolonged case (like 4 days+)
this is the first time I am saying this: If I could rep you, I would. Jury Duty can be an exciting experience if you go into it with the right-minded attitude. First of all, you're getting paid at work to take a day off and go downtown and engage in something you normally wouldn't do. it's an adventure. you get to pretend like you are a lawyer or a judge and this would be your every day life. Then, you are reminded that you are a citizen just like everyone else through the humbling experience of jury selection, sure it can be a bit boring and monotonous, but you are a part of the process!
Thing is....often times you're not. The stipend you get barely covers parking. And it's less than the lawyer charges to photocopy the day's briefings!
been on several juries, i get a summons every couple of years it seems. I have always enjoyed the process and serving. Last time though I was in questioning for a big murder trial. I found a great way to get out of that one, but it is completely true and legit. I have a problem with seeing blood. I let them know and I was automatically dismissed. They did not want me passing out in the jury box after they showed the crime scene photos. It obviously won't work on a minor or civil case but it worked for this one. The sad thing is they never got the trial started one of the witnesses had held conversations with the victims family and it was considered a mistrial. Jefferson County pay around $11 for the first day and 40$ a day after the first day. It was 11 for all when I first started but they had trouble getting some people to come back on Tuesday in so they upped it. I have had days where I showed up for the pool with 1200 other people, not been picked, told to come back tomorrow and had the rest of the day off. I made the 40 bucks for doing nothing. Came back on Tuesday and had the same thing. Came back on Wednesday and got sent to a court, when we arrived they had settled. Came back on Thursday and didn't go anywhere again. Did not have to return Friday. So I made $130 for doing almost nothing for 4 days.
work I am referring to when your job covers a certain amount of days at jury duty. my job would cover 10 straight days, aka two weeks if neccessary.
I was only summoned for jury duty once. I was only there 2 hours before they released everyone because the weather was bad. Odd reason, but there you go.
I was just summoned for the first time a couple of weeks ago. I got there, submitted my form, sat in the room for about 15 minutes, and then the Bailiff came out and said "I can't disclose too much info, but you guys are incredibly lucky." 5 minutes later, they let us all go because all the case on the docket that day were settled out of court. Pretty nifty.
Last time I almost got picked but was dropped on the final elimination. All the bogus questions I kept asking paid off. Anyway, this was at about 1:30 or so and when the bailiff gave me my note for work, he put the exit time as 4pm. He smiled and said “enjoy the rest of your day off.” Awesome.
If you or someone you know should go in front of a jury, let's just hope you are not judged by these people:
I'm a contractor. I lose lots of money each day I'm not billing my customers. It would financially ruin me. OK, not really, but it would suck.
and you can tell the courts this when you get summoned for Jury Duty. hopefully they would understand your financial hardship. I just don't see the point of intentionally trying to get out of JD.
I was summoned twice...I put down that I was in school and got waived...the second time, I called and told them I needed an interpreter and the lady told me to not worry about it. Haven't been summoned ever since...
I love jury duty. I'm salaried, so I'm paid regardless. Go in, read my book, and then, hopefully, be given a position of immense power over the lives and fortunes of the people who have come to court. Besides that, I know I can make a more wise decision than most of the nitwits who serve. I can vouch for this. The jury would vote her way or not at all.
So you're okay with me with telling them, hoping they understand and then let me get out of jury duty. So it's not really the fact that I'm not in jury duty that bothers you but that I'm not telling them?
I've been on 3 juries and been jury foreman twice. Loved every second of it. I enjoy the judicial process and have an open mind so I like to think I'm a great juror. I'd do it for a living if we had a paid jury system.
I really hope this is a joke. You may not realize this, but each side generally only has 30 minutes in a criminal case to voir dire the panel. With a felony panel of 65 people you don't even get 30 seconds a person to find out what you need to find out about your potential jurors. In every jury panel I've ever voir dired there is always at least 1 person who asks a lot of questions. If they are legit, fine, I'm happy to answer them. But if you are asking bogus questions just to make sure you get off the panel you are thwarting our ability to find fair jurors to sit on a jury. It is selfish and wrong - someone's life is on the line regardless if you are a prosecutor or defense attorney and for jurors to "ask bogus questions" to get off the panel is wasting everyone's time.
See, that's what I'm talking about. Everyone should be jumping for joy when they get chosen. I still think it's a sad truth that people like to brag how their "system" gets them off from contributing to the JUSTICE system. Thank you for your advice, sir. Now, please don't shrink my head.
