I knew it was only a matter of time. I haven't been called in almost 20 years. I just got a notice that I have been called for Jury Duty. For those that don't know me, my HOME is Nashville, TN but I have a business in the Tampa area. Thus I spend most of my time in Florida. Jury Duty is based on where you are registered to vote. So for a little over two weeks, I have to make myself available in Tennessee. Can't set appointments or sales calls. Totally in limbo. Although there is a strong possibility that I won't even have to do anything. Kinda makes it difficult to run a business.
When's the last time you got called for jury duty ? Did you actually get on the jury ? Did you hear a trial ?
Amazingly I’ve only been called for jury duty once and it was almost 20 years ago and a drug trial.
I think I was juror prospect number 11 or 12 and when the attorneys were asking questions it was the same question over and over again. “Do you know a police officer” or “has anyone in your family been affected by drug use”
Except when they got to me it was “what was the last book you read”?
WTF? I was in grad school working on my MBA so I referenced some Econ text.
The defense rejected me. I guess they don’t want smart people on.the jury
Never but my wife did several years ago over one summer.
She was on a federal drug trial and had to travel 1 hour each way to the federal court each day. She was amazed at how stupid other jurors were. Most of the jurors had made their mind up the defendant was guilty even before the trial started.
I am on call for grand jury. So far no call but it is a six month (yes, you read that right) 6 month on call. My job travel is extensive but still, have not had a call though still eligible into July. Thanks Florida. Was on jury about 20 years ago, fascinating really. Guilty after two days. And asked to leave once as I was too corporate for the case.
Only once in my life almost 20 years ago but was on the jury for two trials. The first was about a guy who during a shoot out with police shot and killed a police dog. Just like a murder trial except the victim was a dog. In the other one when we went back to the jury room to deliberate I first when into the mens room and when I came out the others said well since the first thing we have to do is choose who will be foreperson and since you weren't here we chose you!
Once about fifteen years ago. It involved a guy who was on trial for sexually molesting his stepdaughter. It was mostly a "he said, she said" situation. The daughter didn't appear to me to be a Lolita type who might to try to seduce him. Also, the guy was kind of smirking and cocky when he got on the stand. If I was falsely accused of that I would be angry and frightened. I voted to convict him as did the other jurors. The thing that surprised me was that when he was found guilty the mother broke out crying. She cared more about him than she did her own daughter.
I get called for Jury Duty at least every two years regularly. If I have to give a week or so, I don't mind that civic duty. However, if they want me to be available for long trials, I can't really do that. I've been on a trial jury 3 times and was even forced to be foreman once.
My last call was for Federal Grand Jury that requires you to be available once a week for 18 months. I sent evidence of my regular travel and, luckily, was excused from the type of service.
If you need to get out, it is best to be open with them. Also, if you are allowed to reschedule, make the new day around a long holiday weekend. Lawyer and Jugdes like their long weekends too and will be in court less on those weeks.
I haven’t been called in years, but each time I was called I got out of serving by saying I was an essential employee and that my business couldn’t function without my services. I haven’t been called since 2002.
Once or twice but not for years and years. In the old days you had to hang around the courthouse all day, bring a book etc. I hear that the waiting around is online these days. When I was in my early 20's I actually got to the part before they select, and the judge was pitching the case hard to the jury: a really interesting case about insulation products (wtf?), and it would only take 4-6 months! My eyes crossed as I considered how my job would feel about that, and who the fuck would actually sign up for a 4-6 month trial. I looked around at all the old fucks on the jury, and realized "oh these people don't have anything else to do". Then the judge asked who couldn't take this amount of time off and I raised my hand. Donezo.
County Criminal Court while already serving on a Federal Grand Jury. Feds impaneled for 18 months but ours was extended to 22 months. Tried to get out of the county gig by explaining that the Feds already had me but powers that be wouldn't hear of it. County system was report for duty and if not seated that day, you were cut loose. I got lucky as I wasn't seated for a jury so they cut me loose.
Moved to another state a few years later and almost immediately received a questionnaire from the Feds again. Reluctantly completed and returned it but never heard from them again. That was about twenty years ago.
Oh, forgot to mention that the Federal Courthouse within walking distance of a titty bar and some of the lunch breaks were for two, three or more hours.
I have zero respect for people or employers who think they should dodge jury duty. I watched a co-worker get harassed for days by our boss (very toxic entrepreneur) for not getting out of jury duty. The first time I was called, my [toxic butch dyke] boss gave me instruction to claim to have been victimized by every crime conceivable to get out of jury duty. (Katrina his New Orleans before my reporting date.)
Yes, it's a headache and inconvenience, but it is a civil liberty and right to be judged by a jury of our peers; not the dumbest activists or laziest group of fucks that could be assembled. I only know one person who did not actively work to get out of jury duty and he was a card-carrying member of the Socialist Workers' Party of America. It was a homeowner suing his home insurance for denying his Katrina claim for damage to his boathouse. The commie worked his way into jury foreman and worked to ensure that the jury followed his lead to find for the homeowner. The jury foreman for the Trump grand Jury in Georgia was very reminiscent in that they were both activitsts working to obtain a predetermined outcome irrelevant to the fact presented during the proceeding. This is what happens when all the smart people are able to get out of jury duty.
The last time I had jury duty in Massachusetts when I called the phone number provided the day before the recorded message was that my assigned panel would not be necessary and we didn't need to show up and I got credit for jury duty without having to go. Which was nice.
Gammanu - I agree with you about jury duty. It is a violation of law for an employer to take negative action against an employee because they have jury duty as it is against public policy.
Here in Massachusetts it is a criminal offense to blow off jury duty. Periodically, the local courts will summons a bunch of people to court for failure to show up for jury duty. 10-12 years ago, late in the year the Superior Court in the county where I now live was running so low on jurors that they sent a bus to the largest shopping mall in the area and just grabbed residents of that county who were there and brought them straight to the courthouse.
Few months ago. Sat around from 8:30 to about 3:30 with a couple hundred other people. Probably about 50 people got call up to court rooms during the course of the day - not me. I guess some of them got picked. My suggestion- bring noise canceling ear buds and a book to read. They played HGTV all day on a few TVs in the big waiting room.
I got pick for the jury in a civil trial about 15 years ago. I found it to be an interesting process an I was impressed with the judge and court staff.
Got called about a year ago here in Miami (b/f this it had been several years since I’d been called but probably less than 10; can’t really remember) – got selected from the main-room into a court-room for a trial (I don’t recall if there were folks whom didn’t get called into separate court-rooms but seemed a lot/most of the people were being called into particular court-rooms) – once in the court-room the lawyers then proceeded to ask questions for potential jurors – I wasn’t picked and have never served in a jury although I’ve been summoned a handful of times since turning 18.
I was on a grand jury from January -June of 2020 just as covid hit. In this little rural county when you get selected for the grand jury it is 6 months and you meet every Wednesday for about 6-8 hours each week. For the first couple of months they had us crammed into a little conference room but once covid hit in March they had us setup in a large courtroom with us as spread apart as possible.
Other than that I think I have only been called for Jury duty twice in my life and both times I was dismissed from the jury because I knew the attorneys involved.
“… She was amazed at how stupid other jurors were …”
I’ve often wondered/worried if God-forbid I was a defendant in a trial; leaving my destiny in the hands of a group of people that not-only know very-little about the law; but possibly/likely being morons that could be easily swayed; and may likely adjudicate according to their biases (more-so in these supa-divided-times we currently live in).
But I guess being adjudicated solely by a “law professional” such as a single-judge or group of judges, would likely run a greater risk of getting railroaded.
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I think I was juror prospect number 11 or 12 and when the attorneys were asking questions it was the same question over and over again. “Do you know a police officer” or “has anyone in your family been affected by drug use”
Except when they got to me it was “what was the last book you read”?
WTF? I was in grad school working on my MBA so I referenced some Econ text.
The defense rejected me. I guess they don’t want smart people on.the jury
She was on a federal drug trial and had to travel 1 hour each way to the federal court each day. She was amazed at how stupid other jurors were. Most of the jurors had made their mind up the defendant was guilty even before the trial started.
My last call was for Federal Grand Jury that requires you to be available once a week for 18 months. I sent evidence of my regular travel and, luckily, was excused from the type of service.
If you need to get out, it is best to be open with them. Also, if you are allowed to reschedule, make the new day around a long holiday weekend. Lawyer and Jugdes like their long weekends too and will be in court less on those weeks.
Moved to another state a few years later and almost immediately received a questionnaire from the Feds again. Reluctantly completed and returned it but never heard from them again. That was about twenty years ago.
Yes, it's a headache and inconvenience, but it is a civil liberty and right to be judged by a jury of our peers; not the dumbest activists or laziest group of fucks that could be assembled. I only know one person who did not actively work to get out of jury duty and he was a card-carrying member of the Socialist Workers' Party of America. It was a homeowner suing his home insurance for denying his Katrina claim for damage to his boathouse. The commie worked his way into jury foreman and worked to ensure that the jury followed his lead to find for the homeowner. The jury foreman for the Trump grand Jury in Georgia was very reminiscent in that they were both activitsts working to obtain a predetermined outcome irrelevant to the fact presented during the proceeding. This is what happens when all the smart people are able to get out of jury duty.
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Gammanu - I agree with you about jury duty. It is a violation of law for an employer to take negative action against an employee because they have jury duty as it is against public policy.
Here in Massachusetts it is a criminal offense to blow off jury duty. Periodically, the local courts will summons a bunch of people to court for failure to show up for jury duty. 10-12 years ago, late in the year the Superior Court in the county where I now live was running so low on jurors that they sent a bus to the largest shopping mall in the area and just grabbed residents of that county who were there and brought them straight to the courthouse.
My suggestion- bring noise canceling ear buds and a book to read. They played HGTV all day on a few TVs in the big waiting room.
I got pick for the jury in a civil trial about 15 years ago. I found it to be an interesting process an I was impressed with the judge and court staff.
Other than that I think I have only been called for Jury duty twice in my life and both times I was dismissed from the jury because I knew the attorneys involved.
I’ve often wondered/worried if God-forbid I was a defendant in a trial; leaving my destiny in the hands of a group of people that not-only know very-little about the law; but possibly/likely being morons that could be easily swayed; and may likely adjudicate according to their biases (more-so in these supa-divided-times we currently live in).
But I guess being adjudicated solely by a “law professional” such as a single-judge or group of judges, would likely run a greater risk of getting railroaded.