How Often are You Called for Jury Duty?

[clifp]

Once in 51 years. Not sure why so seldom.

 

[clifp]

You were on a suckers list. The folks who programmed the Houston jury summons used a random number generator that was flawed plus they used the same seed for every run, so they always got the same list of people whenever they needed jurors.

This was eventually figured out and fixed. All my computer science buddies laughed about this at the time, since it succinctly explained why they were always being called up for jury duty.

Great story. How come this never happens for publishers clearing house lottery winners.

 

[scrabbler1]

Just to add to one of my JD stories when I got on a case the first time I served back in 1987.

It was a bit topsy-turvy at times. I appeared at Central Jury on a Monday and my name was finally called in the afternoon to report to a small room. Once there, we were told we would be bussed to the nearby criminal courthouse which was a relief for me because I worked in the insurance industry and felt that would hurt my chance to get on a civil case.

I was the 6th juror seated for the shoplifting case (6 jurors plus one alternate) and we were told to report the next morning at 10:30 AM, something I liked because it beat getting up at 7 AM to get a train to go to work. The drive was only about 10-15 minutes and we had reserved parking once we got on a case.

That first day (Tuesday), the prosecution presented its case. The next day was Veterans Day so the courts were closed. I went back to work. The next day, Thursday, we get there and the judge tells us the case cannot continue that day or the next day (Friday) for undisclosed reasons. (I found out later that the defense lawyer may have had a back injury but I never did find out.) We got credit for a day of jury service so I was free for the rest of the day. I had to return Monday for the case to continue.

I then went back to work Friday, surprising everyone there again because I was still "on" jury duty. I told them I would not be in the office the following Monday.

On Monday, the defense presented its case before we broke for lunch. The judge told us we jurors would be treated to lunch in a nice eatery even though we were not yet in deliberations because of the way we had been jerked around. Isolated in a dining room, we played a joke on the court officers with us to be "pretending" to discuss the case even though we really weren't.

After lunch, we heard closing arguments, deliberated for about an hour and convicted the woman. Afterwards, the judge brought us into his chamber and told us about her past of repeated shoplifting charges and would be be doing some jail time. He also told us that the defendant's friend who testified on her behalf and had a subsequent shoplifting arrest herself but not with the defendant appeared before the same judge on that charge!

After the judge released us, the ADA, a young man in his 20s like me, asked me to give him a critique of his performance. He also gave me some insight about why he chose certain jurors (he wanted educated people) and why the defense lawyer kept the few eligible women off the jury (he wanted inexperienced shoppers who could buy the defendant's BS story). However, I was an experienced shopper, unlike the ADA and my fellow jurors who were mainly older men, and in the deliberations I was able to punch a big hole in the defendant's story which convinced a wavering juror into convicting her.

The next day I returned to work and life went back to normal.

 

[DougViages]

I have been called for JD in May

It's my third or fourth time in 36.5 years since turning 21. I'm thinking that I'll come prepared: A portble rocking chair, knitting, and a shawl. Then I'll sit there cackling and murmuring "guillotine them".

 

[two4theroad]

My jury calls have been patchy. Almost annually during the 90's, and then only a couple times in the next 10 years. I was called for grand jury once and served a 6 month term. The summons was delivered by the local sheriff! When everyone called did not show up, the judge sent the law after them. It was a very interesting experience and I learned a lot.
Once I was called and seated in the jury waiting room next to one of the judges from our county as well as one of the defense attorneys. That lets you know it is random....
For some reason I get picked often when called.
I have served on one civil case, 1 burglary with weapons, 2 DUI's (one with a death involved) one child custody (the saddest one), and a robbery/cocaine case. The common denominator on them all was the frightening ignorance of what is supposed to be a jury of our peers. Each time there were a few people who understood the law, listened to the case and applied logic in reaching their decision but the majority of the panel was unable or unwilling to do this. Truly frightening.
I know how OJ got off! The ridiculous reasons why some people choose guilty or not are staggering to me. One woman was going to let a DUI off because she did not want the man's family to have to bear the shame....two men on grand jury wanted to no bill a peace officer just because he WAS a cop and one the men's son-in-law was a cop. Luckily 10 out of 12 differed and he was eventually convicted of the crime.
I have come away from all this believing that we should all serve to the best of our ability when called because there needs to be SOME smart people left in the jury pool, not just the ones too dumb to get out of it! And you or yours might be in need of an intelligent jury someday.
2fer

 

[Texas Proud]

Theoretically that's true in Texas. **However** San Antonio has six distinct courts and each jury call is independent of the other. I was in a jury pool three times in one year because they were all different courts. Traffic court was the most fun. We enjoyed the long line of people trying to [-]wiggle out of[/-] negotiate their penalty without a jury trial. At the end of a very long day only one jury was seated. The defendant took one look at the jury and decided [-]he was totally screwed[/-] it was best to quickly accept the plea deal and get out of there. I was surprised the plea deal was still on the table; but, what the heck - it was a nice afternoon to sit in a downtown pub and have a cold beer.

From what I understand... most plea offers are good up to when the jury is coming back with a verdict... better to have a sure thing than a possible loss...

The jury can be a crap shoot... my last jury I was on I knew we were hung in the first 5 minutes... it was an armed robbery... I was the forman and was going through the charge... trying to get the easy stuff out of the way... we all agree he was robbed, check... we all agree it was at this location, check, we all agree there was a gun... check.. WHAT You do not? Why, there wa zero testimony that there was not a gun.... well, all you have a good day... I started to read my book.... wasted the rest of the day and the whole next day...

 

[Westernskies]

Been called for jury duty twice in 30 years, but never for the trials I wanted to be on....

 

[Orchidflower]

You were on a suckers list. The folks who programmed the Houston jury summons used a random number generator that was flawed plus they used the same seed for every run, so they always got the same list of people whenever they needed jurors.

This was eventually figured out and fixed. All my computer science buddies laughed about this at the time, since it succinctly explained why they were always being called up for jury duty.

Good my guess was confirmed, thanks LOL!

Amazingly, the mere 7 years I just spent in Illinois got me one jury duty request which I got out of cause I was taking care of an elderly dementia'd mother. Someone really wants me to serve on jury duty I think.

 

[TromboneAl]

I don't know if this is right, but last time I reported I ask about all the folks that did not seem to show up. The clerk said there was really nothing they could do about it as the notice does not go out registered mail, and there is no way to prove you got it.

Jenny now lives in Kansas City, so when her jury duty summons came recently (here in California), I ignored it to see what would happen.

Today she got a letter (here) that says (paraphrased): "You didn't appear. Please use the space below to explain why." Scary language about contempt of court, fines, imprisonment, and capital punishment appears at the bottom.

I guess I'll let them know she moved, but it would be interesting to see if things escalate if I ignore this mail also.

 

[Redbugdave]

I usually get a notice to jury duty about once a year. And I also think that I am on some kind of sucker's list. If they are getting the names from the vast pool of vehicle registrations...then about half the people driving cars in SC must not be registered. The last time, I gave notice in writing that I was going to be out of state and was excused. We had plans that week and was worried it would make us break our reservations. But, they sent notice 2 days before leaving saying I was excused. PITA.

However..I don't think I would make a very good jurist. I think most lawyers want a jury that has people that are fairly young, pretty liberal and side leaning, and easily swayed.

And I hear a good felony on your record will make them leave you alone from now on...

 

[TromboneAl]

And I hear a good felony on your record will make them leave you alone from now on...

Yeah, but that only works if you get caught.

 

[Leonidas]

Yeah, but that only works if you get caught.

Just burglarize the mayor's house, or set fire to the limo, you're a shoe-in.

I got a question about this jury duty thing. I've been called a time or two, but it doesn't bother me all that much. However, I spent a career relying on good citizens to come down to the court house and do their thing. IMHO, unless you get on some 2 week long federal conspiracy case, it's not such a big thing.

So why the repeated threads here about jury duty?

Is it because of all the waiting, or that you get called and never serve? Or is it just because of the gubmint imposing its evil will on you?

 

[powerplay]

Just burglarize the mayor's house, or set fire to the limo, you're a shoe-in.

I got a question about this jury duty thing. I've been called a time or two, but it doesn't bother me all that much. However, I spent a career relying on good citizens to come down to the court house and do their thing. IMHO, unless you get on some 2 week long federal conspiracy case, it's not such a big thing.

So why the repeated threads here about jury duty?

Is it because of all the waiting, or that you get called and never serve? Or is it just because of the gubmint imposing its evil will on you?

I've only served once and was not called to be on a jury. I would like to go through the experience of being on a jury at least once as I think it would be a real first hand education as to how the justice system works. Others who are called yearly obviously have had a different experience and hold a different opinion.

 

[braumeister]

Is it because of all the waiting, or that you get called and never serve? Or is it just because of the gubmint imposing its evil will on you?

I don't think anyone has a problem with serving on a jury, but spending days of tedium in the jury pool waiting room gets old very quickly.

Based on the one trial I actually served on, I would rather enjoy doing it again.

 

[ERD50]

So why the repeated threads here about jury duty?

Is it because of all the waiting, or that you get called and never serve? Or is it just because of the gubmint imposing its evil will on you?

For me it's just curiosity. I've never been called, don't know why. If I was called once, they'd probably never call me again, but so far we don't know that either.

If I actually was called and served, I think it would drive me bonkers to not be able to interrupt and say "wait a minute, what did you mean by xyz? I need to know exactly what you meant if I'm going to make a rational decision on this." I guess you can ask for clarifications/transcripts after in deliberations, but I'd have a hard time keeping everything straight with a bunch of loose ends going on.

My SIL served a while back. She was saddened that everyone else seemed more interested in getting out by the close on Friday than making sure the individual's fate was fairly considered.

But if I was asked to serve, I'd do it. It would have been a major pain while working, and an inconvenience even now, but that is our system and it does make some kind of sense, so I need to step up and support it.

edit/add: I see ~ 20% never served, so I guess it's not that unusual.

-ERD50

 

[RetiredGypsy]

I've only ever been called once, but was dismissed before the day came.

I don't think we'd have such a problem, if they fixed the pay, and made sure parking was adequate (you know you're going to have a large pool of jurors on a daily basis, why would you not plan for this when building or expanding? I mean, really.).

For a very short time a few years ago there was a television show about juror deliberation. The full episode I caught, a kid was drunk, drove his car into a ditch in a construction zone and killed a passenger. A few of the jurors: "Well, I had a relative who drank and drive all the time, and they never killed no one. So: not guilty!"

The snippets of other episodes I caught weren't any better. If that's what it's really like, I couldn't be a room with those people and not wind up shattering eardrums.

 

[TromboneAl]

So why the repeated threads here about jury duty?

I have a partially irrational fear of jury duty. I know it's selfish, but since I get called once a year, the fear is that instead of waking up leisurely, practicing piano, doing stuff around the house, and going for a bike ride, I have to drive 35 miles, find a parking spot, then sit in a noisy jury pool room through the following (exaggerated example of the worst case situation):

An official spends 30 minutes explaining how to fill out the postcard that we all received, just for those who haven't filled them out yet. Things like "Where it says 'address' enter your address." Someone raises his hand and says "We're moving next week, which address should I enter?"

She then spends 10 minutes explaining where you are allowed to park, and the manner in which you need to display the juror card on your dashboard. Then everyone hands in the cards, and after 15 minutes the official comes out and calls up the people who filled out the cards incorrectly.

I have to fill out forms and listen to the same jury orientation video from last year. TV programs then play on the monitors while I wait with the other potential jurors and try to read my book.

She says "This is going to be a six week trial, and I'm going to hand out some more forms.

Later it's up to the trial rooms, but things aren't ready, so we have to sit in the hall. No reading is allowed during the jury selection, so you have to listen to the judge repeat the same verbatim instructions to each new prospective juror. It's now near noon, so everyone has to go home and come back the next day to continue.

And so on.

 

[MichaelB]

I was called once and served. A murder trial. Rather, a retrial. The crime was committed in 1996, the suspect tried in 2003. The jury was unable to reach a unanimous verdict. Retried in 2004, when I served, and found guilty. Two months trial, 4 days sequestered in jury deliberations.

The US judicial system is unlike any other. Notwithstanding the constant criticism, it gives (IMHO) every advantage to those suspected of or charged with criminal activity.

An example would be the case I served on. The guilty man appealed and presented new evidence, last year (2010) a judge threw out the verdict due to lawyer incompetence, and he was just retried. The result was another deadlocked jury. Given that he admitted to committing the crime, the DA's office has indicated their intention to retry once again.

 

[Nodak]

The jury I was on was a complete and utter waste of time and money that was obviously a lawyer's attempt to enrich himself. It's too long a story to relate here. suffice it to say that on the second day of the trial the judge threw the case out and dismissed the jury.

 

[Major Tom]

I was only called 3 times in 10 years when living in So Cal. Back then you could be excused if your employer didn't pay for jury duty. No such luck now.

Since moving to Northern California, I have been called twice in just over 2 years. Spent 3 days in jury selection the first time and didn't make it to the jury (very entertaining judge though - reminded me of Judge Harry T Stone in Night Court). This time (a few days ago) I checked the website on the day to find that my pool didn't have to go in, so I'm free for another year.