Jury Duty

[JoeBlank]

I've been called for jury duty twice. The first time I ended up on a two day rape trial. The second time we were sent home before lunch.

Surprised I was picked for the rape trial, since I am an attorney, but I specialize in workers compensation so it didn't make much difference. Still, the usual fear is that other jury members will defer to the lawyer, presuming they know better. I declined to be jury foreman for this reason, wanted to be sure everyone was making up their own minds.

 

[mojo1701]

How to get out of Jury Duty, by George Carlin -

"You're honor, I'd be great for jury duty, because I can tell the guilty *snap* - just like that!"

Or go the Homer Simpson route:

"The trick is to say you're prejudiced against all races."

 

[Nifft]

What kind of person wants to avoid jury duty?

Does the phrase "play god with people's lives" mean nothing to you?!

-- N

 

[diaglo]

What kind of person wants to avoid jury duty?

Does the phrase "play god with people's lives" mean nothing to you?!

-- N

that's not jury duty... that's a surgeon. just ask one. they will tell you how much of a god they are.

 

[WayneLigon]

How to get out of Jury Duty, by George Carlin -

"You're honor, I'd be great for jury duty, because I can tell the guilty *snap* - just like that!"

"When the time comes, I will simply cast Detect Evil and Zone of Truth and solve the whole thing!"

I've been on Jury Duty twice. The first time I sat in the waiting room and read almost all day as they called us in, asked us questions, etc; I wasn't picked for any jury and they didn't call me back after the third day of this.

The second time, I was picked to be on the jury. It took us, oh, three days. One and a half days of testimony and one and a half days of arguing amonst ourselves It was a medical malpractice case and both sides acted like they had something to hide. The doctor was stiff, evasive, and very uncooperative. The plaintiff was erratic, she didn't tell the same story twice, etc.

We deliberated for hours each day and finally had to tell the judge we could not come to a decision. She told us to come to one. We went back the next day and we argued all day long. Finally the judge accepted that we were a hung jury and we left.

It was a fascinating process and I'd gladly do it again. State agencies have a special code for time spent on jury duty, so we get compensated the same as if we were at work, plus the cash allotment they give us.

 

[Jdvn1]

What kind of person wants to avoid jury duty?

Does the phrase "play god with people's lives" mean nothing to you?!

-- N

In this area, jury duty barely pays enough to cover for parking, and you're not getting paid at work, so it really sucks. You're basically just losing money.

 

[Hijinks]

I got $17 a day for being on a jury. Luckily, my employer paid my regular wage also. But they didn't have to do that; I've known people who were called for jury duty, their employer wouldn't pay their wages, they told the judge that, and the judge still made them sit on juries that took more than 2 weeks. I don't know how they can do that with any conscience - people have bills, dangit.

 

[JimAde]

I've been a registered voter for 20 years and I've NEVER been called for jury duty. Is that unusual?

My wife's been called twice just since we've been together (10 years).

 

[GlassJaw]

I've been called for jury duty 3 times and had to report twice. The 3rd time I had moved out of the state.

The first time was in Providence. At that time in RI, if you were called in Prov, you had to report for 2 weeks straightm, regardless if you were on a trial!! They kept everyone in a big "pool" and each day, if a trial came up, they would randomly pick people to go into jury selection. I got picked for one trial (some kind of assault and battery case) but the next morning they settled out of court.

The second time I reported was just for one day. I didn't get picked and they let everyone leave around 2:00 in the afternoon.

 

[diaglo]

I've been a registered voter for 20 years and I've NEVER been called for jury duty. Is that unusual?

My wife's been called twice just since we've been together (10 years).

every single time we vote my wife or i get called.