thoughts on jury duty

[braumeister]

Last time I checked, most places still use voter rolls as the starting point for sending out notifications for jury duty.
...
Some places/jurisdictions now use drivers license rolls instead/in addition to choose jurors.

Every place I've lived has used both.

I think the biggest improvement to the present jury system would be to provide a comfortable place for prospective jurors to sit while waiting to be called. I've experienced both the good and the bad, and it made a huge difference in my attitude.

 

[scrabbler1]

Besides the 3 times I was called for jury duty, I was called one other time in late 1986. However, I had moved out of Manhattan (and out of NYC) earlier in 1986, so I simply replied to the form that I moved away and that was that. However, jury selection for the Bernhard Goetz subway shooting case was about to take place, and I sometimes wondered if I would have made it onto the jury. I was out of town for 2 week just after the shooting a few days before Christmas of 1984, so I was not exposed to any of the local publicity in the immediate aftermath of the shooting, something which probably would have me a good candidate for getting onto that jury.

 

[Dtail]

When I was working I didn't really feel like going. Now in retirement, I don't mind and if the case has some twists to it, I find it challenging.

 

[gwraigty]

Right now, a really large percentage of jurors are driven by a desire to minimize the negative financial impacts they're suffering as a result of being on a jury and this absolutely affects verdicts. This is not good for anyone who is relying on an impartial and fair jury of their peers. As it stands today, if I were involved in a legal proceeding, I am certain that I would prefer a bench trial to a jury trial.

+1

I served on a jury for 3 days. When we were deliberating, it was a little scary the reasoning that some people had for automatically declaring the defendant guilty, with little to no thought. "Well, he was brought to trial, therefore, he must be guilty." The case was complicated by the fact that the victim had died between the time of the event and the trial. We were assured that the event hadn't contributed to her death. There was no physical evidence, only hearsay, which was allowed. We were given medical reports to study with no professional explanations of the data, that showed the victim had so many illegal drugs in her system at the time of the event, I wondered if the victim knew what planet she was on at the time of the event.

 

[Exit 2024]

I am on Jury Duty currently, started September 30 and will end on November 1, total 5 weeks. Our works the way that all need to check website every evening to see if your number called for next day. Fridays are off. So far I had to go 4 times - 1 for orientation and 3 for jury selection, was not chosen for trail so far and all 4 times I was out of the court by 11 am, so it is not that bad. Will be paid for each show up $12.5, but I am getting paid for that time by my employer anyway, so no any misses on earnings

 

[PawPrint53]

My father lived all but the last two years of his life in Seattle and was never summoned for jury duty. We moved him to Oregon where he got the summons within the first year. As he was 90 and had dementia, he got out of it. I've been called three times and served three times. One of the cases was the (younger) wife of a local TV weather man accusing the (older) ex-wife of battery. That was kind of fun. Not sure how the jury ended up being all middle-aged women--bad defense attorney? Luckily, there was actually a legal reason to find the ex-wife not guilty, and we jumped on it.

 

[Big_Hitter]

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

 

[cbo111]

I would love to serve on a jury. Called up 5 or 6 times. Every time I get asked the questions of "what do/did you do for a living, and do you have relatives in law enforcement?" When I answer "retired military officer, and son is a LT in the Sheriff dept," I am politely excused. Not sure if its these answers or maybe I have a smug look that one of the attorneys does not like.

 

[El Jacinto]

I've never been called upon for jury duty. I imagine that I would be pretty annoyed at having to alter my life for it, especially when I wouldn't trust my future in the hands of some strangers off the street.

 

[Big_Hitter]

I've never been called upon for jury duty. I imagine that I would be pretty annoyed at having to alter my life for it, especially when I wouldn't trust my future in the hands of some strangers off the street.

I have the opposite view - if I were the defendant, I'd want 12 people like myself to be on the jury

 

[COcheesehead]

I've never been called upon for jury duty. I imagine that I would be pretty annoyed at having to alter my life for it, especially when I wouldn't trust my future in the hands of some strangers off the street.

Life sucks in the US. They give you the opportunity to vote even. What a headache.

 

[Big_Hitter]

Life sucks in the US. They give you the opportunity to vote even. What a headache.

yep, sometimes you have to be the backbone of society - I was a juror on a capital murder case 15 years ago - not fun but necessary

 

[COcheesehead]

yep, sometimes you have to be the backbone of society - I was a juror on a capital murder case 15 years ago - not fun but necessary

 

[Chuckanut]

Perhaps we should change the jury duty laws:

If you want to exercise your right to a jury of your peers you must have reported for jury duty or requested that you be called to jury duty before the alleged legal problem began.

If you do not want to do jury duty, anytime you appear in court, a single judge appointed by politicians will decide your guilt or innocence, or in civil cases whether you win or lose.

 

[breger1]

Illinois seems to select based upon Drivers License not voter registration as many places. My FIL was sent a notification and he is only a green card holder. Had to inform the court that he is ineligible based upon citizenship since they do nto seem to check for that.

 

[Lienlord]

Strangely enough, I've never been called for jury duty and I'm 55! I'm registered to vote, and lived in the same house for 25 years. My wife has been called about 3 times. Not sure what I'm doing right but I'll keep it up!

I heard someone say once, "I don't like the idea of being judged by 12 people who weren't smart enough to get out of jury duty!" Haha

 

[Taxman59]

My Mother was summoned to a jury. It was a malpractice case involving a doctor and the delivery of an alcohol fetal syndrome baby. The defense attorney asked the pool to raise their hands if they were insurance agents, or a significant interest in an insurance company. My parents had a significant portion of their assets in an insurance company. She raised her hand. The defense attorney said "it can't be significant, she's ok"! It turns out the defendant's malpractice insurer was the same as the stock my parents had!

The case was cut and dried, the Mother was a heavy drinker and there was no other MD available to catch the baby as it was delivered. The MD was guilty of malpractice (he had been at a party and had a drink about an hour before the baby was delivered, so he shouldn't have participated in any way to help the delivery.) The mother's drinking, (she said it was only a bottle of Jack a day for the last 6 months) was the cause of the baby's problems, so the damages were $0. The MD was suspended from practice and had to undergo training. Justice served.

 

[bigcmagor]

I have the opposite view - if I were the defendant, I'd want 12 people like myself to be on the jury

Geeze, 12 people 6'2" and 260 in a jurors box? Sounds like it would be like the middle seat on an airplane.

 

[Taxman59]

Geeze, 12 people 6'2" and 260 in a jurors box? Sounds like it would be like the middle seat on an airplane.

+100

 

[COcheesehead]

Strangely enough, I've never been called for jury duty and I'm 55! I'm registered to vote, and lived in the same house for 25 years. My wife has been called about 3 times. Not sure what I'm doing right but I'll keep it up!

I heard someone say once, "I don't like the idea of being judged by 12 people who weren't smart enough to get out of jury duty!" Haha

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

 

[jollystomper]

I have been called for jury duty but never served. in my county, you are "on call" for the week - you are placed in a "group", you call a number after 5PM, and they tell you which groups (if any) should show up. Both times I was on call,by Wednesday evening all groups were excused for the balance of the week.

If you have ever seen the TV series "Becker", the episode about him being called to jury duty was hilarious.

 

[cbo111]

I have been called for jury duty but never served. in my county, you are "on call" for the week - you are placed in a "group", you call a number after 5PM, and they tell you which groups (if any) should show up. Both times I was on call,by Wednesday evening all groups were excused for the balance of the week.

If you have ever seen the TV series "Becker", the episode about him being called to jury duty was hilarious.

Not to thread creep, but Becker was a well-written, funny show. I think maybe not given the credit deserved.

 

[Walt34]

Being (now retired) law enforcement I've never served on a jury and probably never will. Especially since I'm over 65 and jury duty if I'm called is now optional. I won't hesitate to decline because of the callous disregard that the courts here have for the value of other people's time.

Where I used to live they actually had a reasonably fair system called "one day or one trial" meaning that you were in a jury pool for one day, and if not called on that day you were exempt for at least two years. In practice it was much longer than that, in 30-odd years of being eligible to be called I was only called once and because of my job was immediately dismissed. I suppose I could have served on a jury for a civil trial, but most juries there were for criminal trials.

In WV I did get called for jury duty and for two weeks I was required to call a phone number every evening after 6:00 PM or so and listen to a recording to see if "my number" had to come in the next day. So for two weeks I couldn't make any definite plans, including going to work at the time. Fortunately supervisors were used to the idiocy and didn't give the employees any grief about it. With a system like that, there is little wonder that people try to get out of jury duty any way they can.

 

[scrabbler1]

Where I used to live they actually had a reasonably fair system called "one day or one trial" meaning that you were in a jury pool for one day, and if not called on that day you were exempt for at least two years. In practice it was much longer than that, in 30-odd years of being eligible to be called I was only called once and because of my job was immediately dismissed. I suppose I could have served on a jury for a civil trial, but most juries there were for criminal trials.

In WV I did get called for jury duty and for two weeks I was required to call a phone number every evening after 6:00 PM or so and listen to a recording to see if "my number" had to come in the next day. So for two weeks I couldn't make any definite plans, including going to work at the time. Fortunately supervisors were used to the idiocy and didn't give the employees any grief about it. With a system like that, there is little wonder that people try to get out of jury duty any way they can.

To me, the phone call-in system I used in 2007, my third jury service, was a big improvement from what we had before - you simply appeared when directed and stuck around every day until they were done with you after a few days if you didn't get on a case. It was also a one-day-or-trial setup, from what I described earlier. It made parking a lot easier, too.

 

[MissMolly]

Last time I checked, most places still use voter roles as the starting point for sending out notifications for jury duty. So, if a person wants to avoid jury duty in those jurisdictions, a foolproof way is to just not vote/register to vote. Some citizens who can't be bothered to sit on a jury and are willing to give up their vote to avoid it--well, it sets up an interesting dynamic.

Some places/jurisdictions now use drivers license rolls instead/in addition to choose jurors. Maybe some places use property ownership records? You'd have to be careful not to inadvertently skew the pool of potential jurors with some of these methods.

I think they use driver's licenses here. We had a kid from Germany stay with us through the student foreign exchange program. While he was here he got his license (apparently it's hard to get them in Germany, but you can transfer a US license). After his year was up and he returned home, a jury summons came in the mail for him.