Jury Duty dress code

[sengsational]

I've never been interested in serving as a juror. Here they send out the notice and tell you to call back before midnight on such-and-such a date. I stay up late and call two minutes before the deadline and the automated system tells me I'm dismissed. From what I've learned from my work compatriots over the years, they'd almost certainly dismiss me anyway, but waste a day sitting around downtown.

 

[Calico]

I can't imagine showing up to court as a prospective juror in anything other than clean, neat, respectful attire. It would be business casual level, but certainly no t-shirts or jeans or flip flops.

The same goes for church. I am not a churchgoer, but when I went as a young person with my grandmother I dressed appropriately for the setting.

I attended a funeral service for a dear colleague four years ago, and I couldn't believe the number of people who arrived dressed in the most sloppy attire, including t-shirts, jeans, sneakers.

Re: the one time I was called for consideration to serve on a jury, I was excused because the defendant's lawyer asked if anyone felt they could not be objective about his client (who was charged with drunk driving). I raised my hand and said that I could in no way be objective. When my two nieces were 6 and 4 years old, a relative drove them around town while drunk out of his gourd. It's a miracle the children survived.

I was excused, but at least I was respectfully attired.

 

[COcheesehead]

I was called twice. First time I made it all the way into the jury box and was the last person dismissed.
Second time didn’t make it past the random phone call pool.
I dressed business casual the first time. I respect the courts.

 

[aaronc879]

I've never been interested in serving as a juror. Here they send out the notice and tell you to call back before midnight on such-and-such a date. I stay up late and call two minutes before the deadline and the automated system tells me I'm dismissed. From what I've learned from my work compatriots over the years, they'd almost certainly dismiss me anyway, but waste a day sitting around downtown.

Back when I was working full time I would have loved to serve on a jury. Give me a month long murder trial. I would have gotten my full pay for just sitting in a temperature controlled room all day. I was doing hard factory work for a living so jury duty would be a paid vacation.

 

[USGrant1962]

Personally, I found being on a jury very interesting. I learned a lot about the law, and realized how ignorant I am of many legal concepts.

I found it very interesting and, as I said above, I did 4 or 5 trials over 3 months on Federal jury duty.

I have in my head that I did 5 trials, but one of them might have been the all day voir dire. So there was:

• Attempted murder of a DA (I was kicked out in voir dire)
• Bar fight - in federal court because it was an Alabama-Tennessee game, the plaintiff was from Alabama, was in a bar fight and sued the bar in Tennessee. Every single witness on both sides in that one was lying through their teeth.
• Multi-agency drug bust. Guy claimed he was just sittin' on the couch and had nothing to do with it and "they" were framing him.
• Age discrimination suit against the state. Prison guard claimed that he was not promoted due to age discrimination - but the guy that was promoted was about the same age. Guy came off as a jackass, which is probably why he was not promoted. We had an "older" jury member that was mostly interested contact info for the guys lawyer so he could do his own age discrimination suit! That was fun in the jury room.
• At least one other civil case I can't remember.

Thinking back, it was actually quite an interesting experience. I would do it again.

In October, I filled out the on-line questionnaire from the US District Court, so I expect I'll get a jury summons sometime in the next few months. However, I'm fairly confident that I will never be picked for a jury.

... From what I've learned from my work compatriots over the years, they'd almost certainly dismiss me anyway, but waste a day sitting around downtown.

From my experience in Federal court, unless it is a big trial there are no actual voir dire interviews. Apparently the lawyers just look over whatever information you submit when put in the jury pool and decide to object or not. For 5 or 6 trials I only got called in for voir dire once - the others just said show up. I suspect that for routine stuff the lawyers don't get to crazy about specific jury characteristics.

So, at least for Federal court, if you get called into a jury pool don't be surprised if you serve.

 

[Gumby]

You are correct that they don't have individual voir dire in the US District Court (unlike the Connecticut Superior Court), but I'm betting that lawyers for criminal defendants, especially, are going to be unwilling to take a chance on a juror who is a retired assistant attorney general and former naval officer, which they would learn from the juror questionnaire. Anyway, when they call, I'm happy to drive in and do my civic duty.

 

[ncbill]

only picked once after showing up in the morning.

but then kicked out during voir dire since the alleged crime took place on a main road literally right outside my neighborhood.

based on my prior experience it will be at least another decade before I receive another summons for jury duty.

 

[scrabbler1]

Back when I was working full time I would have loved to serve on a jury. Give me a month long murder trial. I would have gotten my full pay for just sitting in a temperature controlled room all day. I was doing hard factory work for a living so jury duty would be a paid vacation.

The first 2 times of the 3 I was called for jury duty, I was working full-time. The first time, after getting picked for a jury at the end of the first day, the judge didn't start his cases until 10 AM. This meant I could sleep in because I had a 20-minute drive to the courthouse instead of an hour+ on the LIRR and subway after getting up at 7 AM. And we had reserved parking for jurors so we didn't have to park far away from the building. I also got home an hour earlier than usual.

The second time, the case was resolved via plea bargain while jury selection was still in progress. I was among those still being questioned but we all got sent back to central jury where after 3 days in there I was dismissed. Both times I got paid in full and was spared the awful commute to NYC on the trains.

The third time, I was working part-time but the one day I reported to the courthouse happened to coincide with one of the days I worked that week, so I still got paid in full. Still beat a trip to Jersey City, NJ, on the trains.

 

[SecondAttempt]

Most jurors get paid. In my county it is $25/day plus mileage.

I hope the judges get paid the same.

When I've been on jury duty most people seem to dress pretty casual but no shorts. But that was Tucson where lawyer friends have told me how they were shocked at how casual the courts are. The summons should tell you the minimum. On the Big Island in Hawaii they say no shorts, no slippers (flip flops), and no tank tops. Jeans and t-shirts are allowed. I'm pretty sure there are people here whose Sunday best are t-shirt, jeans, and flip flops.

They go out of their way to make it difficult to say anything that will get you out of jury duty. But one thing they must ask is whether you can be fair and impartial. A friend of mine figured out how to always get out of jury duty in Tucson where there were a lot of drug smuggling trials. He simply said he had a family and could not be impartial. On one occasion the judge questioned him privately and he asked "can you provide me and my family the same security you get for the rest of my life?" He was dismissed.

I have enjoyed my 2 times on juries so I have never tried to get out of it. But I think I'd use my friend's tactic for a trial involving gangs, drug dealers, or others with an extended organization.

 

[SecondAttempt]

Since we are telling stories...

I was on a jury for a criminal trial of a guy for BAC (blood alcohol content), basically DUI when the BAC is well above the legal limit. The guy ran into a fire engine truck parked behind an accidents with lights flashing at 3 AM. The accident had happened about 3 years before.

The City was prosecuting him for the BAC. The problem was, he was pretty severely injured in the accident and was taken to the hospital where he spent a considerable amount of time. On arrival at the hospital they drew blood for treatment purposes and detected no alcohol.

There was no doubt about the basic facts that he hit the fire engine, admitted to have had a couple of drinks, etc. But the negative alcohol test weighed heavily with us.
The prosecutor's argument was that DUI tests are wrong all the time (oh really?) and that we should disregard the negative result. She tried to claim false negatives happen all the time. As a scientist this was pretty insulting.

We all thought the guy was guilty but acquitted based on the evidence. After the verdict the judge asked if we would be willing to answer questions from the lawyers. It was really just the prosecutor but the defense attorney hung around. She kept saying "absence of evidence is not evidence of absence" and actually got pretty abusive toward us. I pointed out that she did not present absence of evidence but rather evidence of absence based on a negative alcohol test. She just glared at me and actually stormed out of the room after that.

It turned out the guy was suing the City for the accident and his medical bills. They needed the conviction to support their civil defense. I think that is why the prosecutor got so angry with us.

This was in Tucson in the mid 90s. The Tucson crime lab actually got in some pretty serious trouble a couple of years later when a juror who happened to be a chemistry professor pointed out to a judge that the crime lab's procedures were seriously flawed and highly biased to conviction. Basically they had no controls in place against human error (or dare I say, human evidence tampering by the crime lab which was controlled by the police). Thousands of DUI cases were dismissed and I think convictions reversed. It was a big local story at the time but I can't find much about it now.

 

[Ronstar]

I called in to the court's automated jury line last night to get instructions for jury service to begin Monday. No cases for the next 2 weeks, so I'm dismissed already. Same thing as what happened last time a couple of years ago.

 

[MichaelB]

I called in to the court's automated jury line last night to get instructions for jury service to begin Monday. No cases for the next 2 weeks, so I'm dismissed already. Same thing as what happened last time a couple of years ago.

Good thing you didn’t get any new clothes ..

 

[agh1]

I served on a jury this week. Everyone was in jeans. Pre-covid there would have been a good amount of business casual mixed in but that doesn't seem to be the case anymore.

The shocker was the lead defense attorney. He looked like he borrowed his suit jacket because it did not match his pants and it did not fit. It was not only too small but the sleeves were about 5 inches too short.

 

[aaronc879]

I served on a jury this week. Everyone was in jeans. Pre-covid there would have been a good amount of business casual mixed in but that doesn't seem to be the case anymore.

The shocker was the lead defense attorney. He looked like he borrowed his suit jacket because it did not match his pants and it did not fit. It was not only too small but the sleeves were about 5 inches too short.

Could be a Public Defender straight out of school with no money yet.

 

[kgtest]

I called in to the court's automated jury line last night to get instructions for jury service to begin Monday. No cases for the next 2 weeks, so I'm dismissed already. Same thing as what happened last time a couple of years ago.

You are lucky. The first time I was called I was dismissed immediately. The second time I ended up being an alternate on a civil case. But the last time I was called I ended up being selected to a jury of 14 (12 primary and 2 alternate juror's) for a 2nd degree Murder charge (amongst others...there were 14 in total, including attempted murder of an unborn fetus).

I won't tell the verdict, but after 2 weeks of evidence and LOTS of testimony I can say I never want to be a juror on another criminal case like that ever again. It was exhausting, and an unfortunate event in society with no real clear winners in my eyes.

Many of the lesser charges hinged on the 2nd degree murder charge, I did find that interesting. So if you cannot convict on 2nd degree murder, bssically it was an all or nothing prosecution, and the burden of proof, is always on the prosecution.

The next time I am interviewed for juror and they ask me if I ever watch crime tv shows like CSI I will tell them, I watch them all day every day which may likely skew my reality of the actual real justice system hehehe. That MIGHT work in terms of dodging the obligation


Some court theatrics... WE lost a juror because they were interacting with Reddit during the trial. As a juror there was strict guidance to not use social media or discuss the case as we were going through the trial days. Apparently one of the juror's broke that and, somehow, someway they knew it and she was removed from the jury and one of our 2 alternate's was then elevated to juror.

I was selected to be the "head' or "lead" juror that essentially handed over our verdict to the courts, as well as confirmed to the clerks that we were done deliberating. Beyond that, I did help eliminate some reasonable doubt that some folks did not realize they were having about some of the facts of the case. Their minds were playing tricks on them, in turn they believed that facts that were actually heresay evidence, were facts, but as we walked back through the evidence they were wrightly suaded to a less biased decision.

We had to leave the court room at one point becuase it was dangerous to be in their. Apparently a defendant being tried seperately but involved in the same case we were involved with a couple floors above, and there was an outburst of sorts. Family and friends sort of causing ruckus, apparently people were tackled and temporarily restrained.

It was interesting to see the underworld of the city I live in, the crookedness of certain scenarios, and the grim choices that some young adults have to make.

I noticed my neighbor was driving up to the courhouse as well. We live near our county line on the outskirts and its a good 20min drive into the city to get to the courthouse. By about the fifth day I had noticed I kept passing his truck on my way in. I would see the same truck when I dropped off my kids at daycare...it had some distinct vinyl graphics. Then I started parking in a different lot, and noticed that same truck parked in that lot on the second week of trial.

My guess, is that he was part of the connected trial to the case that I was a part of. Maybe someday I will ask if I see him.

I will say at one point during the trial, NONE of us Juror's felt safe and we had to kind of bring that up to the clerks. We had all went dark on our social media and started discussing that amongst ourselves one morning. It wasn't a coincidence. some witness intimidation going on as some of the juror's left for their vehicles and arrived in the morning during trial. Me specifically but a couple other's as well.

At the end of the day, all of this never swayed the unanimous set of facts we all understood to be true, vs heresay etc. There was LOIT's of discussion about heresay, and we needed multiple clarifications on that topic alone.

Interesting part of my life. I feel like I could write a crime story.

 

[Koolau]

Personally, I found being on a jury very interesting. I learned a lot about the law, and realized how ignorant I am of many legal concepts.

The jury I served on confirmed my suspicion that it's nothing like you see on TV - with constant objections, histrionics and "learned council." The jury spent HOURS waiting for the judge to hear arguments BEFORE we were seated. This process happened two or three times each long day (of 2.5 days.) IOW, everything that might be contested was settled BEFORE we were seated for a session. The defense made exactly ONE objection during the time the Jury was seated.

Sadly, I walked away thinking the only "smart" person in the trial was the defense attorney. The police "used" people and were able to do so because of human weaknesses. Their recorded police badgering of witnesses was laced with the worst profanity I've ever heard. The threats against witnesses were horrendous and vile. The ADA was barely fit to present his case. The judge was new and barely adequate (based on the many hours it took to prepare for a few questions/presentations by DA and Defense.)

I'm certain it was all legal and probably pretty normal when you consider just how vile people caught up in drugs can be. I just wasn't prepared to see/hear the police sound more disgusting than the people they manipulated. I guess I learned a lot about the way things w*rk. I thank God that I never got into drugs. It's not a happy place to be.

 

[Ncc1701]

If you don't want to get chosen, don't shave, don't comb your hair and wear the clothes that you wear while painting the house. I swear I always do this and have NEVER been chosen.

 

[MarieIG]

DH went in for (grand) jury duty today. (Neat slacks, shoes and pull over sweater.)

DH is a naturalized citizen, stepped up to the plate and volunteered to serve 9-5 for the next four weeks, however not all of the volunteers were chosen (a lottery method) and he was discharged.

I am proud of my DH.

 

[Gumby]

....
I am proud of my DH.

As you should be.

 

[Koolau]

DH went in for (grand) jury duty today. (Neat slacks, shoes and pull over sweater.)

DH is a naturalized citizen, stepped up to the plate and volunteered to serve 9-5 for the next four weeks, however not all of the volunteers were chosen (a lottery method) and he was discharged.

I am proud of my DH.

As you should be.

Indeed!

We need people who are dedicated to keeping our system of justice in place. Thank your DH (from us) for his willingness.

 

[2017ish]

You are correct that they don't have individual voir dire in the US District Court (unlike the Connecticut Superior Court), but I'm betting that lawyers for criminal defendants, especially, are going to be unwilling to take a chance on a juror who is a retired assistant attorney general and former naval officer, which they would learn from the juror questionnaire. Anyway, when they call, I'm happy to drive in and do my civic duty.

When I lived in Missouri, attorneys had the option of declining jury duty. During my years in Illinois, we were, along with convicted felons, excluded altogether.

I think that lawyers are eligible in TN, but even with my commercial litigation background, I have a hard time imagining that I'd ever make it into a panel...

Back to the main topic, I would not wear my everyday clothes (running shorts, t-shirt, and flip flops). Nice jeans and decent shirt would have been the comfortable middle of most panels that I saw over the years.

 

[Gonz]

I overdressed the first time. Once I seen everyone else I toned it down a bit the next day.

Ever since it has been my loose fitting BDUs,with sneakers or walking shoes and long sleeve shirt. Clean and smell nice.

Better take a warm jacket or layered clothes. I carried backpack(and laptop). I don't know about other courthouses but ours keep the courtrooms very cold. I've seen people shaking uncontrollably including myself the first time.

I assume it's to keep you awake.
Also it's good to have an idea of what the jury waiting area is like. We have a game room and an area with cubicles for people who need to work. Very good wifi as well.

Electrical outlets every three feet or so along wall and for each cubicle.

Be prepared for a long day.

 

[Gonz]

Jeans, t-shirt, sneakers.

You are the one doing the public service here. Everyone else is getting paid or is the dirtbag on trial.

We get paid $20/day and parking validation now that I'm retired.

One of the company benefits where I worked is continued 8hr./day regular pay for jury duty. Had to give the company my $20/day.

 

[nubill]

If you don't want to get chosen, don't shave, don't comb your hair and wear the clothes that you wear while painting the house. I swear I always do this and have NEVER been chosen.

When I have been called to jury duty. I wore a white collar shirt and a tie. Reminiscent of the William Foster character in the movie Falling Down starring Michael Douglas. I also had a pair of Buddy Holley glasses which I wore. Since my occupation was an Engineer and Defense Attorneys think Engineers are judgmental, I was never selected to serve.

 

[dheb]

The jury summons should state what. is acceptable & unacceptable attire. That info may also be found on the court's website.


_B

The last time I was called, the instructions (which I'm copying directly from their web site, hence the 'all caps') were: "NO UNIFORMS, SHORTS, CUT-OFF JEANS, T-SHIRTS WITH LOGOS, TANK OR HALTER TOPS, GYM CLOTHES, PAJAMAS, OR HATS" I'm sorry, but the First Amendment is valid even in a courtroom, and if I feel like wearing a hat or a shirt with a "LOGO" it's my right to do so.