Posted on 03/22/2012 5:40:43 AM PDT by nuconvert
I agree.
When I was called for jury pool I remember listening to the case descriptions and the list of witnesses. Often times, from the list of witnesses I knew the outcome of the case already, e.g., a wife battering case where the witnesses were the ambulance crew and the emergency room staff.
Potential jurors are asked if they know any witnesses, if they would have preconceptions, if they were related to law enforcement personnel, if they have had experiences that would create impartiality in the current case, etc.
The defense attorneys pick up on those sentiments. I felt you had to either lie, be a poor listener, be emotionally unattached to the world in general, or, as you say, have an agenda to be picked at all.
I have been rejected four times by the defense attorney (never by the prosecution), despite the fact that I try to be as non-threatening as possible while remaining truthful. I would prefer to sit on a jury rather than allowing a bleeding-heart liberal moron to do that important job. Unfortunately, they consistently ask questions about past experiences that evoke answers they don’t want to hear.
Just ask the defense attorney “If he’s not guilty why was he arrested?”. You’re outta there in a millisecond.
I've been on two juries, both capital murder cases.
In both cases the perp was double, triple guilty and the defense lawyers were looking for bleeding hearts to not give the death penalty.
I got booted from one jury for telling the truth about my belief in the death penalty.
I learned my lesson about how to answer the defense lawyers and was accepted for the second one.
On the day the trial was going to begin, the perp cut a deal and took life, because I guess his lawyer figured he would get the needle {and he probably would have but it would have been after 20-30 years of appeals}.
She told Logan and Krieger, the show hosts, the exact day that she pulled this stunt. Turns out the same judge listens to the show. She had her staff track the nitwit down.
She went on the radio, and gave the date of her jury selection and went into detail about the story she gave the judge..not real smart.
She went on the radio, and gave the date of her jury selection and went into detail about the story she gave the judge..not real smart.
Amen. Too bad more of us on the “Right” don’t understand that.
My son is an attorney and he was picked to be on a jury. He, in fact, ended up being the foreman.
After the trial, he asked the defending attorney why he was chosen and not released (he thought as you did, no one would want a lawyer on the jury)? The attorney said he wanted someone that he knew would follow the law, without emotion entering into the decision.
Unless she actually lied to a question, perjury should be out. Dressing funny and acting weird is not a crime.
Attempting to influence a public servant is a crime, really. Wow when is the DA going to arrest everyone else who has talked with a public servant? Any time someone has an interaction with a public servant they are trying to influence them. This DA and the investigator need to find a new line of work.
But I do always carry one of the Gideon New Testaments which fit perfectly in the front shirt pocket. While I do not consider myself a bible thumper, I find that it is helpful to have something sane to read when you are stuck waiting.
For all the people that work so hard to get out of jury duty, which is your obligation as a citizen, just think that someday you may be the one on trial.
I cringe when I hear people talk about shirking their responsibilities by coming up with reasons to get out of it.
I got called for jury duty for a rape case. The woman that was raped had stiffed me twice for an excess of $300. I called the Prosecutor over and told him unless there was a video of the event, I wouldn’t believe a word the woman said because she had lied to me so many times. They excused me. The trial was held and the man was convicted. I didn’t need to be on that jury.
“let’s call the Logan show and tell the world how stupid we are...” “Hold my beer”
Nah - not quite far enough.. Should be:
“Let’s call the Logan show and tell the world how stupid we are...” “Hold my beer while I dial my cell-phone. I’ve got to use the other to steer the car.”
My problem is that I live in Alameda County, CA. My wife and I get called EVERY year like clock work. Invariably we get seated, then they ask about my wife’s work history.. Dept of Justice - you are excused.” Me - engineer - you are excused.
And then juries would be packed with ideological leftists, because those are JUST the people who would disproportionately apply.
I work for a place which pays me my salary if I'm on jury duty, so I don't mind at all. Got called once in 6 years, didn't get to sit on a jury. The way it got explained to me is that, at trial time, if there aren't enough jurors then the defendant gets his charges dismissed. So if there ARE enough jurors, the defendant accepts the plea bargain at the last minute, and the jurors go home.
I was called for jury duty last month. One guy brought a toddler with him. When they asked people to come to window #2 if they felt they had a valid excuse not to serve, he went up there, with child in his arms. He left the jury assembly room after about five minutes, and never returned.
I am annoyed by people that shirk jury duty. Often enough, they’re the same people that bellyache most about the legal system.
Of the times I’ve been called up, I’ve actually made it to a trial only twice, but both times it was a fascinating experience. One was an arson case, and the other was a murder case. It was great stuff.
And this is the problem with the jury system. It could be made much more fair and it isn't. I've been called several times but I know people far older than me who have never been called. It's a simple thing to set aside the names of those who have been called once in a county until you get around to calling everyone in that county. But they don't do it. Neither do they call people who don't drive or vote.
And in my county, the only people who aren't paid for their service are the self-employed--the very people who need reimbursement most. It's a screwed-up system with little regard for those who serve jury duty, so I can't get too riled up about those who think of ways to get out of serving. I'm far more ticked off at those who could make the system better but don't.
[Susan Cole faces charges of first degree perjury and attempting to influence a public servant.]
I think it would be hoot if, before her trial starts, the people called for jury duty, would show up looking like the members of the “Walking Dead”.
But seriously, if she had went through the process, she would have been disqualified anyhow because it wouldn’t take long before they realize she is a nut case.
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