Posted on 11/06/2023 7:34:54 PM PST by ggrrrrr23456
I served on jury duty today.
The prosecutor asked the question, "Does anyone not want to be here for jury duty today?"\
I raised my hand.
I then went on record saying that my view of the process had been clouded by what I consider to be an abuse and politicization of the judicial system in NY, GA, and Washington D.C.
The judge, who I don't doubt is an honorable chap doing his duty, gave a speech about the importance of jury duty, how it was a responsibility and privilege that had been fought for by our Founding Fathers through blood, sweat and tears.
25 years ago, that would have made sense. But now, not so much.
Is anyone else facing the same challenge with their jury duty service?
In my area, people are paid $10 a day when on a jury.
Few employers help with it as they can's afford to, so people can be financially ruined if on a long case.
I worked for a large company that made up the difference.
I commuted 227 miles a day to work, the courthouse is a block from my house, so I actually wanted to be called.
I only was once.
You couldn't pay for the entertainment that case offered.
The prosecutor and cops did a miserable job.I felt there was reasonable doubt and was going to vote to acquit.
Then the idiot defendant was given a chance to talk,and there was NO doubt.
He admitted to his crimes, plus several others the cops and prosecutor didn't know about. The evidence on his kidnapping a guy was poor. He started off with, "I didn't mean to kidnap that guy, but I had to."
And then he went on to describe how they had stolen propane bottle from convenience stores and more.
The other jurors were as astonished as I was.
We went to deliberate.
The captain asked if we all knew how we were going to vote. We did.
Then she called for the vote, but another juror said we should take at least a few minutes to make it look like we had "deliberated".
So we did, chatting about other things.
Then we convicted him.
I know the feeling of getting called multiple times. I was called several times and no one else I know were called even once. I think it was the federal grand jury got me out for several years.
Grand jury was interesting since you only heard the prosecution, so they don’t beat a case to death. It was also in New York so Kennedy airport and smugglers.
Or use Larry David's response to a prosecuting attorney on "Curb Your Enthusiasm":
Prosecutor: "Do you think that as a juror you can be fair and impartial?"
David: "I don't think so as the defendant is a negro."
Good grief. If they prepared the defendant for his time on the stand, he likely didn't absorb it and began blathering.
His attorney probably had his head in his hands, even if he was a court appointed attorney.
What I got from my employer was a pittance, so yeah. That could be a real hardship for some people.
Lol. I could only watch one episode of the show.
It wasn’t bad, but it just felt insanely awkward.
Every moment was awkward. I guess he’s really like that though.
I’ll bet the trials down there were interesting in New York and Kennedy...
BTW, I also own a 4Runner.
Thanks for sharing.
It was, even after all these years...cathartic! (I used an old word processor, and I can’t open the file of the letter I wrote to the Jury of Commissioners...but I remember I made the effort not to break out the flamethrower...)
I should clarify - I did *not* make that statement in an attempt to get out of jury duty. I had taken an oath to tell the truth at the beginning of the day, and since they asked why I did not want to be there, I told the truth. They did not release me because of the truthful statement that I made.
Sounds like someone wanted ‘three hots and a cot’.
Free Republic
Free - We can’t have anyone thinking about Freedom
Republic - That outdated concept
I haven’t heard that expression in forever!
I was called for jury duty twice. Both times we were dismissed due to plea deals just before the trial was to start.
damn, yeah, that’s abuse...
I got called for Federal Jury Duty, but...I didn’t go
it was 100mi away and i was sick
100% (People told me all kinds of horror stories about Federal Jury Duty)
When you are on a jury you likely have the most power that you ever have as a lowly citizen of this country. If you think someone is being railroaded unfairly, nothing can make you vote to convict. Sadly, they never pick me.
I served 2x. Both were civil trials.
In one, a man with a neck brace was seeking damages from a farmer whose cow he had hit at night, supposedly injuring himself and his family. To me this was open and shut: farmer had done everything he could to maintain his fences. Was in no way responsible. A cow just flat-out broke through a perfectly good fence. I got the sense that ALL the other jurors thought the same, but we bent over backwards to do “justice” and make sure we had looked at all evidence and statements. Ruled for farmer.
In the other, a woman had gotten her hand caught in a basket-making machine. I told the judge I had to leave on Thurs, 2 days away, for a speech in Chicago. He said we’d be done way before then. So I stayed. Upshot was that neither atty asked the right questions to help us understand the case. I thought, and others agreed, that the woman was an illegal. Company people were arrogant, woman was un sympathetic. But it dragged on and when on Wed afternoon we were nowhere near finished, I pleaded with the judge who let me go and used the substitute. I talked to someone later who said they came to the same conclusion I would have had. I think it was she didn’t deserve the settlement because she wasn’t following procedures, but can’t quite recall.
ANYWAY, my takeaway was that juries were attempting to be extremely fair and thorough, that they understood when one side or another was dodging an issue, and they knew when they were being played. I found it a rewarding experience.
I have had three tours of Circuit Court jury duty-felonies, and sat on a dozen or more trials, everything from murder, to drugs, 1st degree assaults, to civil cases. I have encountered smart juries with people who wanted to do the right thing and I have encountered people who lied who had no intentions of finding anyone guilty and I have encountered jurors who decided that they knew better than the law what needed to be enforced and not enforced.
I have sat under great judges who took care of their jury pools and didn’t let attorneys abuse the jurors and waste their time and I have sat under a judge who was so whipped by the attorneys it was sad and he cared nothing about the people serving on the juries. We had one trial where the lady next to me was about to go into a diabetic coma because the judge started at 9:00am and hadn’t stopped for lunch going on 1:30pm. During a break where we were not allowed to leave the box I got a bailiffs attention and she told him, I have to eat soon or its not going to be pretty, he got her some candy, told the judge and he kept going for another hour, pretty crappy way to treat people.
I could still serve on a jury at the state level and hear cases with impartiality. That being said I would be hard pressed to set on any federal jury. I just don’t believe anything that comes from the mouth of a federal prosecutor or federal law enforcement. If they will lie multiple times to a FISA court judge, get caught and not face any punishment, what will they do in Podunk USA courtroom?
I have often contemplated what I would tell the judge in a federal courtroom. There would always be a reasonable doubt in my mind.
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