I Got Called for Jury Duty!

[Mossman]

I'm glad they picked me, because I can spot a guilty person a MILE away... and I'm gonna tell them that, too... just so they'll know they've got a pro on the job!

[mickey]

My late wife once got picked for jury duty & it scared her half to death.
But when it was over they turned her loose without picking her to serve on a jury, and that pissed her off no end!

[PoodlesAgain]

Spouse did too, a few years ago, grand jury.
Her conclusion: there is no limit to stupidity.

Well we knew that, but it was painfully obvious there. Stupid people doing stupid stuff, I think, more than evil behavior, unlike, say, a white collar perp knowing full well what is going on, and work the system.

[thepezident]

I was called to Federal Jury Duty in Philadelphia in Feb of 2019.
It was a sex/age discrimination case.
Since I was more than 50 miles from courthouse I was able to stay at a hotel.

I have to say it was fascinating and I'm glad I was picked.

At the end, the judge allowed us to ask him any questions. We learned that during the selection process...only the first 14 I think are in play.
He pointed out that the woman in the last row that said she had a problem with police was never going to be picked anyhow.
They are just there in case the first 14 all somehow have problems with the police etc...

We found for the plaintiffs.

2 older, part-time male cops were passed over for 2 fulltime positions that went to younger females.
It was clear to all of us on the jury that the older males goofed off on the job and had performance issues.
The woman were on top of their game. They got the jobs.

Showed up Monday morning. Was listening to testimony by 10am.
Listened to testimony all day Tuesday.
Closing arguments Wednesday morning. We deliberated for about 40 minutes.
Was on the road shortly after lunch Wednesday.

One guy said he was on a local child molestation case and that was NOT enjoyable.
He said the jurors had to be escorted out to their cars.

But a case like i had.....would definitely recommend the experience.

[andrewsrea]

I was called about two dozen times when I lived in PA (because i was an active voter), once in MO. I was dismissed the majority of times, sometimes not until mid-day.

I served on the jury of a civil case, which was a contractor who was hurt on the job at a client's house and was suing for neglect. Basically they had basement steps from the older home which were tricky to navigate and he sprained his ankle. He was seeking $50K. Based on lawyer antics, my counter parts were ready to award the $50K. I convinced the jury to ask the bailiff to ask the judge three questions which were not addressed: 1.) what was in the contract regarding liability, 2.) did the plaintiff have contractor's insurance (which includes medical) and 3.) does the plaintiff have a history of suing his clients. They would not permit the last question, but his contract stated he was insured (implying contractor liability) and he had let his insurance lapse. The jury quickly turned for the defendants ( an older couple). Afterwards the judge thanked us for deliberating and told us off the record, the plaintiff sues his clients often.

In 1998, was subpoenaed to testify under oath that union picketers were endangering children where I worked. Security caught on camera that a picketer threw his 6 year old son in front of my minivan as I was attempting to enter work. If I had been a few milliseconds slower to brake, I would have ran him over. Due to my sworn affidavit the court issued an injunction that only three picketers could be on the line at a time and they had to be non-minor union employee of the company. Oh and the wife of the guy who endangered his child, saw the video on the news and divorced her husband. His whole family disowned him.

[Rollin Hand]

I got called once, and the process was interesting, but I was ultimately dismissed. The case was.an assault case -- three guys charged with beating the living poop out of someone and pretty severely messing him up.. I was game to do the trial, but wasn't chosen.

The weird part was that a significant portion of the pool all worked at one government agency.

[glasshand]

I'm glad they picked me, because I can spot a guilty person a MILE away... and I'm gonna tell them that, too... just so they'll know they've got a pro on the job!

It works even better if you point and shout "He's guilty as hell! I can tell just from looking at him!" and they tell you, "Sir, that's the bailiff."

Seriously, though, I ended up serving jury duty on a criminal case a few years back, and I didn't regret it at all. Sure, spending two days in a stuffy, dingy courthouse was not exactly my idea of a Mediterranean vacation, but everyone involved took it very seriously (despite the fact that it was a fairly minor crime) and it was worthwhile to be part of the process. FWIW, we ended up finding the defendant guilty on some counts and not guilty on others, because we felt that the evidence provided did not rise to the appropriate level of proof for those charges.

A funny postscript to my jury duty story: a year or so later, I was at a high school reunion, and one of my classmates came up to me and said, "You convicted my client!" Turns out he was handling the guy's appeal, and while reading the trial transcript, he ran across my name and said, "Hey, I know that guy..."

[tlarson58]

I've been dismissed both times my name was drawn. Nuts.

Along with voting, jury duty is a bastion of our system. Count me in.

[honyock]

Every time I've gone, I've been released at like 10am or earlier because they struck a plea deal or something before we even get called to the courtroom.

The last time they filed for a continuance so we showed up and were let out so quick I didn't even have to pay for the parking garage. (Ridiculous that they don't have free parking for jurors and there is no free parking anywhere within a mile+ of the downtown.)

Sent from my SM-G998U using Tapatalk

[Mossman]

Thanks for sharing all your interesting jury duty stories. To be honest, I groaned when I saw the letter, but I admit, it could be interesting. I've never been selected for jury duty before, so I guess it was only a matter of time before my number came up. It seems about as hassle-free as they can make it, though... Probably due to Covid. I just have to be on call for up to 5 days from the start of the trial, and they'll call me if they need me. It doesn't sound like a situation where I'll have to wait around all day just to be dismissed... Unless when they call me, they make me wait around all day just to be dismissed.

[PoodlesAgain]

I used to get a call to jury letter every other year, and I would ink the "non-citizen" checkmark and return the form, but since I became a citizen, and also moved, nothing.

It may actually be a zip code thing, population is much less in the new locale... but we have an equal or greater share of idiots!

[Chocol8]

Go in wearing a BLM shirt and a MAGA hat. Bring a rope with you and repeatedly practice typing a noose, untie it and do it again.

There isn't a DA or defense attorney in the country that would allow you to be selected for the jury.

[PoodlesAgain]

Go in wearing a BLM shirt and a MAGA hat. Bring a rope with you and repeatedly practice typing a noose, untie it and do it again.

There isn't a DA or defense attorney in the country that would allow you to be selected for the jury.

I think a pirate outfit and matching talk is simpler, and ought to do it. Or a Trekkie one as a back-up. Hmm.. what did the Heaven's Gate folks wore again..?

[andrewsrea]

I've been dismissed both times my name was drawn. Nuts.

Along with voting, jury duty is a bastion of our system. Count me in.

I could not have said it better, Tommy!

[Flatline]

My wife has been picked many times. I have only ever gotten picked once, but at the time i was a college student and it was finals week so they let me off the hook for that.

[glasshand]

It doesn't sound like a situation where I'll have to wait around all day just to be dismissed... Unless when they call me, they make me wait around all day just to be dismissed.

Honestly, there is something like a 90% chance that you will not actually serve on a jury; you'll either go and sit around all day and never be called up, or they'll call you up and the case will get dropped or there will be a plea bargain or something while you're on your way to the courtroom, or you'll make it to the courtroom and they'll agree on a jury before they ever get around to you personally, or any of a million other things.

The last time I went, I went in on Thursday and sat around for most of the day before they said that they weren't going to seat any more juries that day, and they never started trials on Friday, so we might as well all just go home!

But it's worth doing anyway. Not to get all video-montage-of-eagles-and-flags-as-patriotic-music-swells, but someone once made the point to me that jury duty is also an expression of democratic government: power begins and ends with the people. We elect legislators, and then things are out of our hands for a long time, as the legislators make laws, police enforce them, and judges rule on them, but ultimately things come back to the conscience of the individual citizens.

[redman]

@Mossman just say kill them all and let God sort them out.

[Mossman]

Go in wearing a BLM shirt and a MAGA hat. Bring a rope with you and repeatedly practice typing a noose, untie it and do it again.

There isn't a DA or defense attorney in the country that would allow you to be selected for the jury.

I think just the incongruity of a BLM shirt and a MAGA hat would be enough to put me on the B-list, at least.

I think a pirate outfit and matching talk is simpler, and ought to do it. Or a Trekkie one as a back-up. Hmm.. what did the Heaven's Gate folks wore again..?

I do have an original series Star Trek uniform... Well, the shirt, anyway (not a red shirt, either). I used to have a full-on Klingon costume that I made myself, but that got lost somewhere along my travels. That would have gotten me excused from jury duty for sure! But I suspect somebody's tried something like that before, as I've already been instructed that my dress should be "business casual".

[Mossman]

Honestly, there is something like a 90% chance that you will not actually serve on a jury; you'll either go and sit around all day and never be called up, or they'll call you up and the case will get dropped or there will be a plea bargain or something while you're on your way to the courtroom, or you'll make it to the courtroom and they'll agree on a jury before they ever get around to you personally, or any of a million other things.

The last time I went, I went in on Thursday and sat around for most of the day before they said that they weren't going to seat any more juries that day, and they never started trials on Friday, so we might as well all just go home!

Yeah, that's the impression I got from the courthouse literature itself. I have to check in to the website every evening starting the Friday before the trial starts, and every day that week (or until the trial ends, whichever comes first), to see if I have to report to the courthouse, but they did say it's likely that I'll not get called in.

But it's worth doing anyway. Not to get all video-montage-of-eagles-and-flags-as-patriotic-music-swells, but someone once made the point to me that jury duty is also an expression of democratic government: power begins and ends with the people. We elect legislators, and then things are out of our hands for a long time, as the legislators make laws, police enforce them, and judges rule on them, but ultimately things come back to the conscience of the individual citizens.

Yeah, I totally agree... Despite my joking, I don't begrudge executing this civic responsibility. It's part living in a free society.

[Morrison]

I was on a grand jury a few years ago. Two days a week for 6 months. Personally I loved it. Heard interesting cases and got to miss a lot of work, my boss was so pissed lol.

[mickey]

I was on a grand jury a few years ago. Two days a week for 6 months. Personally I loved it. Heard interesting cases and got to miss a lot of work, my boss was so pissed lol.

You have reminded me, my dad got picked for a Federal Grand Jury and basically disappeared for about 6 months!!!
Glad that never happened to me! Once you pass 65, you are too old for jury duty.

[Stoli]

I was on a jury about five years ago for an attempted murder trial with I think 18 or so other charges (possession of firearm by felon, carjacking, shooting an innocent bystander) all centered around the same crime. The trial itself took about two days and then we (the jury) met for about a half a day to noodle through all the charges and convicted the guy on 17 charges. The whole case was basically a gangbanger trying to steal another gangbangers car, shooting him, and then accidentally shooting someone else. There was some grainy video and pretty much overwhelming witness testimony, medical evidence, and police testimony. I was not looking forward to doing it at all. I think you will definitely learn a great deal from the experience and I thought that all of us that served on the jury were serious and listened intently. I was exhausted by the time we got through and did not sleep well while the trial was going on or for a couple of days after.

Oddly enough, I got picked for that one but got thrown out of a group that was going to hear a case about some dude that was habitually stealing steaks from Walmart. This was a local trial prosecuted by the DA so all of the charges were based on state law. No Federal law involved. Only time that I have ever received a jury summons.