My own exposure to the jury system was very, very frightening. Even a physician who was serving on the jury was just a drooling incoherent moron. “Trial by peers” is irretrievably broken in this country thanks to cultural decay, political correctness and public schooling.
In other words, your fate is in the hands of 12 people who are too stupid to get out of jury duty. :-)
The practice you described goes back to ancient Greece. If citizens didn’t show up for public assembly, government-owned slaves rounded them up and hit them with brushes or whips with paint on them to show that they hadn’t fulfilled their civic duty.
I’d love to serve on a jury at some point, but my bosses would shoot me dead before allowing it, and of course, they pay zero days to be away.
So, I go when summoned and torpedo myself off the jury. In all probability, though, I’d never survive all the preemptory challenges and actually sit on a trial. As stated, the jurors that actually get seated are pretty marginal individuals, by and large. There are notable exceptions.
Anyway, just so that you know here is the foolproof way to spend the least amount of time in the court room:
1. When you’re called from the pool to go into the court room for the interview process, DO NOT claim financial hardship EVEN if they say this is a long case— like a murder case. Just shut up and stay there. If you say you can’t do a long case they’ll just keep sending you back to the pool and trying you out on other cases until they find something that fits your schedule.
You want to get out of there fast. Getting called into five different court rooms is not the way.
2. Once you’re in the court room you will be asked a series of questions designed to determine your biases. Do not be an a-hole about it. Just casually mention that your brother is Department of Justice, your godfather was the captain of your hometown police department and your best friend was in the Secret Service before he joined the FBI.
You will be GONE in the first round of preemptory challenges.
Just like 18th century Royal Navy press gangs.
And I’ve never been called for jury duty!
Harvey?
They might both get dragged in for jury duty!
Court Clerk: “Gotcha; you are now in the jury pool!”
Smart, busy Citizen: “Pardon, señor; no sprechen zie Platsenglisher. Mein Gringo Card no es realimente!”
Dedham, Mass June 2. [1921] - Seizure of 200 talesman from the streets and homes of Norfolk County was ordered by the court tonight in order to hasten the work of obtaining a jury to try Niccola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti for murder of a paymaster and his guard at South Braintree a year ago. The venire of nearly 500 had been exhausted to find only seven jurors.
When the Sheriff asked for instructions as to how many talesman he should seize, the court invited suggestions from counsel.
Jeremiah J. McAnarney, for the defense, protested that this method of obtraining (sic) talesmen left no opportunity for the defense to inform itself on prospective jurors, but the court held that it was as fair for the defense as for the prosecution. District Attorney Katzman urged that talesmen be brought in without delay. The court upheld him, and the defense reserved the right to save exceptions.
The District Attorney said he had twenty-nine peremptory (sic) challenges left and estimated a similar number for the defense. He suggested that 125 talesmen be brought in. The Sheriff recommend that he be given until tomorrow morning to get them. The then ordered him to seize 200 and report with them at 10 o'clock tomorrow morning.
From the NYT of June 3, 1921