Taking A Dip In The Jury Pool

Personal Experience | 3/14/2017 | blueunicorn6

[Michael.SF.]

Good one!!

I have been called three times. Got off the first time.

Second time I decided to play it straight and honest and let the chips fall where they may. I was selected: Vehicular Manslaughter w/ gross negligence was the case. Both defendants were found guilty.

Now that I have done my civic duty, I will never do it again. Third time I was dismissed. It was a DWI case.

Question: 'Does anyone believe that a law enforcement officers sworn testimony should carry more weight than that of anyone else?

I raised my hand and then stated: 'A police officer's sworn duty is to uphold the law. We pay them a very generous salary to do so and thus have a lot of faith in them. I will take the officer's word over that of a drunk.'

I was dismissed.

[Tennessee Nana]

the $50/day
____________________________________

seriously ???

the last time I was called for jury duty here in SE TN it was $11...

[tflabo]

Prolly if you wore a MAGA hat or shirt they would turn you away at the door.

[Buckeye McFrog]

It was just announced that the jury for the Bill Cosby trial is going to be selected here in Pittsburgh and then bused over to Philly.

I imagine that jury selection will get REALLY wild as people vie for a spot on a celebrity jury.

[BlueLancer]

I've been called for jury duty seven times .. not including the two times, once when I was assigned to Korea and once when in Germany .. but have never made it past the initial screening.

When I fill out the jury member data card, it asks for my occupation: I've been a court stenographer for military courts-martial since 1978, both as active duty and civil service. As part of those duties, I have been involved in well over 5000 military court proceedings. Having lived here in Texas since 1975 and, excepting three one-year tours to Korea and one three year tour to Germany, was never assigned to any state-side post except for Fort Hood, retiring here in 1994, I personally know many of the civilian attorneys and state- and district-court judges in Bell County.

I never get to stay very long after the judge and counsel start looking over the data cards ...

[snarkpup]

Prolly if you wore a MAGA hat or shirt they would turn you away at the door.

I have some nicely decorated and artistic T-Shirts that might be acceptable, except that they have slogans and stuff in languages practically no one would recognize.

[BipolarBob]

Thank you for posting this! At first I thought it would be some insipid vanity but NO! It draws you into the story. It’s more like a documentary. You could make a screenplay out of this or a book. maybe a movie! In fact this should be moved to Breaking News. It’s that important. bookmarked as required reading for all FReepers. Again I wish to thank you for posting on this bandwidth-restricted forum some well deserved wisdom.

[Cementjungle]

Prolly if you wore a MAGA hat or shirt they would turn you away at the door.

Or arrest you for "hate speech"

[NEMDF]

I don’t know what they pay now. I think it was about $35 back when I last did it, so figured it was more by now. I tried to find that answer, but don’t see it/don’t have time to research. I believe the allowance included enough for downtown parking, which was about $10/day at the time.

[AppyPappy]

I got called so late that the conversation went like this:

“Do you know anyone in the room?”
“No your honor”
“Be seated”.

1st degree murder. The guy drove around for 1.5 years with the victim in his trunk. The pictures were horrific.

[blueunicorn6]

Bob: thank you and please take your medicine.

[simpson96]

bookmark

[Veto!]

Husband and I had a summer place in Key Largo, so registered to vote there, in Monroe County, which guaranteed we’d never be called. Monroe County, had for decades never get jurors to show up at court. Fuggedaboutit was their answer to petty crime. Monroe had even seceded from the Union at one point, printed their own money. Ferociously independent, these Keys dwellers.

That was a few decades ago, before the drug trade became large in Monroe County. Perhaps they are actually arresting people now and getting jurors to show up. Probably not, since Prohibition rum runners didn’t make waves in the legal system there.

[Hebrews 11:6]

I've served on several juries over the past forty-five years in both criminal and civil cases. I'm pleased to report that my constant overriding impression of my fellow jurors, with only a single exception, has been how absolutely seriously they take their civic responsibility in attempting to render the proper verdict. For a vivid treatise on that, see Twelve Angry Men (the original version--the remake is rubbish).

For those of you on this thread (you know who you are) who, like my father did, seek to shirk your civic responsibility, I say: Shame on you. If you're ever on trial, you'll certainly hope the jurors deciding your fate are not your scofflaw peers. Additionally, for those who claim to be Christians, please read and consider Romans 13, among other pertinent Scriptures, regarding faithfully rendering unto Caesar. Christian or not, please reconsider next time you're called about becoming part of the solution rather than remaining a problem for the rest of us.

[Gingersnap]

Hilarious and TRUE.

I was once dismissed from a jury because....wait for it...I honestly replied that I listened to Country music on the radio when I listened to radio at all.

That was the reason.

[Michael.SF.]

Since you included me on your cc list, I will say this:

I fulfilled my obligation and I did take it seriously. I was actually the hold out for a considerable period of time.

Two defendants, Vehicular manslaughter w/ gross negligence (a felony) or alternatively just VM (a misdemeanor). One defendant was a young woman, her passenger was killed. He was also her brother. Everyone wanted her to be convicted of VM and the other defendant to be found guilty of VM w/GN.

I argued for both to be convicted of the same level of crime. so was arguing to lower the charge against the second defendant. We argued for 10 hours over two days.

I am of the opinion that everyone should serve on a jury once. If everyone did, not one would serve twice.

[blueunicorn6]

I feel justly shamed by you.

I think I should be in prison.

If I was in prison, would you bring me a cake with a file in it? And I mean a metal file, not some computer file. You could probably saw through prison bars with a computer file but it would take like a bazillion years and I’d be out on good behavior in two or three million years anyway.

[day10]

I just got a Grand Jury summons and am on jury duty for a week in April, May, and June. Lovely.

[Buckeye McFrog]

I just got a Grand Jury summons and am on jury duty for a week in April, May, and June. Lovely.

Tell Hillary I said hi.

[sphinx]

I'm pleased to report that my constant overriding impression of my fellow jurors, with only a single exception, has been how absolutely seriously they take their civic responsibility in attempting to render the proper verdict.

Second that. I've served on two juries. Both were composed of well-educated, quite serious adults who did their level best to render a fair verdict. This was in Washington, DC, but both juries were overwhelmingly white. On one occasion, there was only one black person and no hispanic or asian person amoung the twelve jurors and two alternates. We were all joking about it in the jury room: "Hey, this is DC. Look at us. How did this happen?" The middle-aged black lady was laughing just as hard as anyone else.

Two juries. One acquitted the defendant. The other was a hung jury, after three days of deliberation. In that instance, it was clear to us that, for whatever reason, we were no being presented the real facts of the case. We even sent a note out to the judge asking if we could ask questions. The judge called us into the courtroom, looked us over, smiled and said, "The rules in the District of Columbia allow juries to ask questions with the judge's consent. Some judges allow jury questions. Others do not. I do not." And so back we went. We did not reach a verdict, and I hope Groundhog Day struck that judge and she's rehearing the case to this day.