Jury duty...I didn't get picked

[ModernRifle]

I was just released from my two week commitment to the jury process.
The first week I was selected to sit on a Violation of a No Contact Order with a second count of a threat. We were unanimous on the first and hung on the second.

We were all asked about experience with DV, relation to LE, and our ability to follow the law. I started as #19 candidate and was seated as #5 Juror. A lot of folks were dismissed ..

I always wondered about the "jury of the peers" thing. I think that would require a jury with a long rap sheet and a history of violence.

 

[Watchdog]

Got my summons...100 got called (me included) to be interviewed for jury selection. I won't attempt to spell the French term for this process.

It's voir dire.

 

[memphisjim1]

Three times in my life I have been called to jury duty, showed up only to get dismissed. Back in my Army days, late '68 as I recall, I was tagged for Court Martial duty but was preemptorily challenged off. I must be blessed with a "Hang the ******s" look 'cause it sure wasn't anything I said.

 

[e3mrk]

I have never been called but I would tell Them that unless the Defendant told Me to My Face that He was guilty I could not come up with a Guilty verdict.
There have been too many cases of some poor Guy spending half His life in Prison or being executed only to be found not Guilty leter,I could not live with My conscience if that were to happen with a Jury I was on.

 

[DWalt]

The most ridiculous case I was called for jury duty about involved an unlicensed dog, in a City court. The defendant was indigent and did not speak English, but somehow or other, he got a fine for having an unlicensed dog. I have no idea how or why such a trivial case was elevated to a full jury court trial. I didn't get chosen for that jury, but would have liked to have been. I would have voted for acquittal for sure.

 

[soFlaNative]

I never get picked either and I always tell them, I can tell if they are "Guilty" just by looking at them.

The phrase " Get a rope " usually gets me removed from the jury pool.

Guess that whole "innocent until proven guilty" thing no longer matters.

 

[oldtimer63]

Mail was delivered at 4:30pm 13 June. In the mail was my notice for jury duty. It has been a couple of years so no big surprise. What was a surprise was that I was to report at 8:30am 15 June. I really don't mind doing my duty but less than 40 hours notice ain't hacking it! Called their number, no body there after 4 on Saturday. I had 2 Doctors appointments scheduled for Monday. Can't call to canx and don't want to pay for a no show. Went to the internet and found another phone number that turned out to be an automated system. I was able to postpone my jury duty until next month. Called them Monday morning and was told that it was a computer error. Right!

 

[chaparrito]

Somehow, I have never been summoned. I reckon that makes me the winner.

 

[Broke Hoss]

As explained to me by an attorney:

No one is "picked" for a jury. Both sides get a certain number of strikes to remove people from the jury pool. These strikes are used to remove those likely to be less sympathetic to their sides. Therefore, the jury is made up of those not stricken by either side. A more proper term would be "I was left over for the jury"

 

[Buckingham]

I have been called up three times. The only time I served brought me two lasting memories. One, I was very impressed with my fellow jury members. They noticed things that I missed in the trial and had some very cogent points. Two, I was less than impressed with their knowledge of current investigative procedures. I blame too much dadgum TV. Notice, whenever a hidden camera shows a burglary in progress. Do you not see almost every single bad guy wearing gloves? So why would you discount other evidence in the case because the LEOs couldn't find any fingerprints?

 

[kantuck]

Somehow, I have never been summoned. I reckon that makes me the winner.

Here in my area you must own real estate to be on the look & see list. It ticks me off when I see people that don't pay their taxes that are a potential juror. I also dislike the idea that an illiterate person can serve. Someone pays people to present a case then it gets heard by a non reader, or other no comprende type, come on. Might have made sense years ago but not now. Those folks are NOT my peers.
The jury pay is another rant for me. It's a bad thing, esp. for self employed -or anyone for that matter that att'ys can constantly reschedule the trials then these people trying to make a living get to come down for the $12.50 they pay these days here. Kinda sad they build these monstrously expensive new court houses then the only one in the room getting a ridiculous payday is the juror!
Tell me whats patriotic about jury pay? I get it as to serving but not when it's a playground for tort costs that make it hard to buy insurance of any kind and this argument could go on & on...

 

[Engine 21]

Before I retired, I received several notices over the years to report for jury duty. As a responsible citizen, I always reported at the date and time required. I would greet the court officers with "good morning" and they would reply "what are you doing here?". I said "I got a jury summons". They said "didn't you call in and tell them?" I said I had and the admins didn't listen - told me just to report. I was dismissed. The second time it happened one of the judges got involved and behind a closed door raised his voice - something about the admins needing retraining. That Judge was the one who recognized me as an "expert witness" as I had testified in his court as a fire investigator on an arson case. He said I had so much metal on me I rattled when I walked. The courts' Chief Administrator sheepishly called me over and said I was dismissed from jury duty for the second time and to ignore any further notices. I said I would be happy to serve on a jury. He said "not in a hundred years". I guess I had that "get a rope" look.

 

[DWalt]

While it's not all that strange that both my wife and I have received jury summons at least 10 times each over the last 45+ years, all of them (except the unlicensed dog case I earlier mentioned) have involved DUI cases. And neither one of us have ever been selected to serve on a jury. We were both professionals, and both of us have advanced college degrees. Therefore, I guess we are poison to be on a jury, at least for DUI and unlicensed dog charges.

Can you imagine what it would do to upset your life to be selected for duty in a trial like O. J. Simpson's? Or some interminable Federal case?

 

[the ringo kid]

Alltho summoned several times in the last few years, I explain in a timely fashion that I'm perscribed powerful pain medication and don't trust my own judgement at times, let alone deciding someone else's fate.

That was my case the first time I was picked. I was sick and under the enfuence of meds--they made me Jury Forman.

 

[Art Doc]

Jurors are carefully profiled by lawyers based on age, sex, children, employment, education, experience, etc. Been a crime victim? You will never get on a criminal case. Have experience in a technical field? You will never be seated on an asbestos case. Relative in law enforcement? Lawyer? This will get you excused from many cases. Most prospective jurors are excused for reasons they never know. Something in the profile makes one lawyer or the other want you gone.

They want jurors without bias, meaning no training or work experience relevant to the case.

With five college degrees in five different fields of study, 44 years experience working at numerous different jobs, and having been a victim of several types of property and violent crimes I have too much experience and knowledge to ever be seated.

 

[fiasconva]

Do you think wearing your Jack Daniels hat helped any?

 

[Kinman]

I've been called to jury duty at least three or four times, I turned them down once when I was going camping that particular week they said that they could subpeona me and all I said was "Your really gonna get a quality jurer that way." They gave me an extension. Another time I sat on a jury and was elected foreman, it was interesting. One other time I got down to the final selection on a federal trial that looked to be very interesting but was turned down and went home. I never minded being called to jury duty as we had a negotiated deal with the company that they would pay us while we sat on a jury, if sent home you just went back to work, that was a good system. On the other hand folks like my wife are taking a dead loss on the day if called in for jury duty, I could understand someone being very bitter about being called in. It is however just one of those little things that living in this country represents...a jury of your peers. Some folks think that professional jurers might be a better answer and would speed up the entire prosecution process, especially in certain criminal cases. I'm no expert but there were some people on the jury I worked on that had no business being there and just wanted to go home as soon as possible.

 

[HOUSTON RICK]

"And Mr. Houston Rick what do you do for a living?"

"Why I am an attor-"

"You may go! Now!"

 

[BC38]

I've been summoned and reported 3 times, and seated once - because both lawyers used up their all their challenges and dismissed as many people as they were being allowed to before they got to me.

The one thing I figured out about the process, is that the lawyers DO NOT want anybody with an opinion or the tendency to think for themselves on the jury. They want people who have no opinions and of their own and are easily swayed. Regardless of what your opinion is on any topic they ask you about, if your have a firmly held opinion one or the other of the lawyers isn't going to like it and you're gone.

As a result, most cases seem to be decided by people who believe everything they read on the internet or see on TV, and / or have nothing better to do than sit and listen to the liars, OOPS, I mean lawyers. Whoever puts on the better and more convincing show wins - and truth has nothing to do with it.

What a great "justice" system THAT is, eh? I guess its still the best there is though...

 

[Wyo]

The phrase " Get a rope " usually gets me removed from the jury pool.

I assume you're just joking here, but I can assure you that a crack like that in my courtroom would earn you a jail cell for the duration of the trial. No joke!