thoughts on jury duty

[socca]

In a bench trial, a judge (a well-trained and well-paid professional) delivers the verdict. In a jury trial, a bunch of untrained and poorly-paid amateurs deliver the verdict. My proposal is for an intermediate class of potential jurors who are moderately well-trained and moderately well-paid. It was obvious to me in my single experience with voir dire that anyone who didn't want to be a juror could easily avoid this service by manufacturing a bias when questioned by an attorney (e.g. "I have a gut feeling that the defendant is guilty" or "the defendant is obviously guilty of something.") Why even include these people in the system in the first place?

In my case, I was actually willing to serve as a juror because it was only a one-day criminal trial scheduled for the next day. It would have been interesting to see how the whole process works from start to finish. I wasn't selected as a juror, which was also great.

The "America, Love It or Leave It" folks missed the point: can the current American judicial system be changed to be less of a burden on the citizens while retaining its "fairness"? Just how much more "fairness" the jury system provides is an interesting question far above my pay grade .

 

[bushpilot]

Never been called, hoping to never be called. I consider forced "service" a form of slavery.

 

[dixonge]

Capability-wise, there's just no way I would ever be able to be a competent juror. Only after age 50 or so did I get the diagnosis, but my ADHD means that, well, I would have a near-impossible time paying attention. Who would want me on *their* jury?

 

[cooch96]

jury duty is great - it's one of the only opportunities we get to judge laws, as well as facts

+1

It’s also one of the only times your vote has any reasonable chance of mattering.

 

[RobbieB]

Capability-wise, there's just no way I would ever be able to be a competent juror. Only after age 50 or so did I get the diagnosis, but my ADHD means that, well, I would have a near-impossible time paying attention. Who would want me on *their* jury?

Then you will always be excused. Just send in your diagnosis with the summons and you won't even have to show up.

 

[Car-Guy]

It can be a PIA, especially if you are still working and "nobody" is going to cover for you while you are away. Work stacks up... But as a retiree, I don't have a problem with it and I have been called several times since I retired. I think at 70 I can start to "Opt Out" but I probably won't.

I have often thought it would be best to have a mix of professional jurors (1 or 2) and those from the general jury pool (10 or 11) per jury panel. The professionals could act as the jury foreman and help facilitate/guide the deliberation process but everyone on the panel would have an equal vote.

 

[cooch96]

Its not as easy to get out of as you might think.

My experience differs. During voire dire I’ve seen folks get excused for saying they hate thieves, believed in the jury evaluating the justness of laws (jury nullification), claiming they had a to travel over the weekend, and stating they had to take care of an invalid relative. I wonder how fast someone would get excused for saying, “I never did trust [insert ethnicity, gender, religion... here].”

My boss once said he got excused because he claimed bias due to fatherhood (the case was about child molestation). If being something as common as a parent can make one biased, then anyone determined to renege their civil duty shouldn’t have to burn too many brain cells.

 

[CoolRich59]

It would help if they sent you to the court closest to your house instead of the one that is 2 hours each way.

That was my thought. Cook County has several courthouses in the suburbs. You just call and tell them that you're willing to serve but need to be assigned to one of the suburban courts.

 

[MarieIG]

One thing that I notice these days is that people talk a lot about their rights, but not about their concomitant obligations or duties. Should you be charged with a crime, you have a right to a jury of your peers. To make that right a reality, someone else has a duty to be a juror. And, in turn, to afford someone else their right to a jury trial, you have a duty to obey the summons to jury duty when you are called.

+1

 

[unclemick]

Jury duty is just that, a duty. A requirement of citizenship.

Yep. One hour drive in New Orleans. Less in Kansas. Impaneled but never selected. Just too opinionated I guess.

heh heh heh -

 

[dixonge]

Then you will always be excused. Just send in your diagnosis with the summons and you won't even have to show up.

I'm not sure I have that on paper any more, but 'we live in Mexico' usually works lol

 

[athena53]

I almost wish I could get on a jury, especially now that I'm retired. I was called only twice in my life. The first time I was thrown out on a peremptory challenge because it was a civil lawsuit and I worked in property-casualty insurance. The second time I didn't even get to voir dire before they empaneled a jury. That was a DWI; I could have gotten off by telling them my Ex was an alcoholic (AND I've seen plenty of Large Loss Reports reporting the damage done by drunk drivers) but I like to think I could be fair. And I suppose I'd never get on a medical malpractice case because my sister is a doctor.

I'm a bit cynical about "jury of your peers". I agree with the earlier comment that most attorneys are looking for people easily swayed.

 

[scrabbler1]

I almost wish I could get on a jury, especially now that I'm retired. I was called only twice in my life. The first time I was thrown out on a peremptory challenge because it was a civil lawsuit and I worked in property-casualty insurance. The second time I didn't even get to voir dire before they empaneled a jury. That was a DWI; I could have gotten off by telling them my Ex was an alcoholic (AND I've seen plenty of Large Loss Reports reporting the damage done by drunk drivers) but I like to think I could be fair. And I suppose I'd never get on a medical malpractice case because my sister is a doctor.

I'm a bit cynical about "jury of your peers". I agree with the earlier comment that most attorneys are looking for people easily swayed.

Your 2 experiences are very similar to mine. My 2007 jury service, the one where the 2 yakkety lawyers babbled the whole day to pick 6 jurors plus an alternate from nearly 30 jurors (I was among the few never questioned), was a workplace accident. I was working in the P/C insurance industry at the time, although not for an actual insurance company, and wondered if that would get me excused if they ever asked me about it. And my 1996 jury service, the case which had a plea bargain the morning after some jury questioning had begun (and I was among those being questioned, though not extensively, yet), was a DWI case. I don't know if my insurance background would have gotten me excused or not.