Who here has served on jury duty and has a good excuse to get off?

me ^ | Feb. 6, 2002 | me

[Nachum]

The county of Los Angeles refused to accept the excuses I put down. As in the days of the military draft, I have been called into service. Worse yet, the judge won't let me off after I explained my financial duress in a possible two week criminal trial. Now we come to JURY SELECTOION. I have to think of a good line to tell the prosecuting and defense attorney to convice them that I would be a poor choice to sit on their jury.

So- I am asking my fellow FReepers if they have had similar experience and can give guidance, a good retort, or tactic. I am counting on you!

[weikel]

I got mine delayed but am not really sure how to get out its much harder than it used to be any advice.

[balrog666]

In fact, I'm thinking very seriously of removing my name from the voting rolls just so I won't be called again.

For precisely that reason, Florida now calls up citizens based on drivers licenses instead of voter rolls.

[floriduh voter]

All you have to be is too opinionated and the plaintiff or criminal's atty will ask that you be dropped from jury selection. If you have legal experience definitely you know too much at least here in Fla. If you have ever been sued or sued anyone, that can excuse you. Depends upon your knowledge and life experience.

[riley1992]

The adventure was a BLAST...you should try to come to NY and see how cool the NYPD are!!!!

I would love to, I have never been out there. Bail money might be a good idea, though. LOL

[JavaTheHutt]

Here's a good one. It has been tried and tested with 100% positive results:
Tell them you want to be on the jury, that you would be a great juror. When they ask why you would be such a great juror, your response should be "I can spot a guilty person, (snap your fingers) just like that. I don't even have to hear a word about the case. I'll know if they're guilty just by looking at them."
I know 6 people who have used this, some with slight variations such as "I would be a great juror, I raised 4 boys. I can tell when someone's lying to me just by looking at them. I'll be able to tell you if they're guilty the second they walk into the room."
Everyone I know who has used this has been thanked and excused from serving on jury duty.

[JavaTheHutt]

I would seriously hate to be put on trial in this country.
Our legal system has evolved into one where a jury trial means that you are being judged by a group of 8 people who weren't smart enough to get out of jury duty.
I did my patriotic duty when I was called. I reported for jury duty, was selected and served on the jury.
For 2 1/2 weeks, I paid more for the cost of parking downtown than I was paid for my service on the jury, because the county wouldn't validate parking and didn't provide a parking lot for jurists. I sat in an incredibly hot building with broken air conditioning during a August heatwave.
We weren't allowed to leave the building, so lunch was provided for us, two pieces of bread with a slice of baloney and a slice of cheese, a luke warm half pint of milk, and a piece of fruit. The prisoners were eating better than we were.
As an independent contractor, I didn't have the luxury of knowing my employer would make up the difference between my jury pay and my regular paycheck. I just lost 2 1/2 weeks of income.
Never again. I will do anything necessary to avoid serving on jury duty again.

[luckyluke]

*Why* are you looking for excuses? You demand the right to a fair trial before a jury of your peers, yet when it comes to being on a jury yourself, you complain. Why?

If the judge rejected your financial duress argument, maybe that's because it wasn't good enough. Personally I don't think poor people should be automatically exempted from jury duty. It is one of the prices you pay for living in a free country. If you don't like it, vote to change the law or move to Afghanistan.

[cajungirl]

I guess you got a point there. I too don't get paid but never had to go that long. I have wondered about folks who end up on a jury like the OJ one,,who could afford that kind of time. I do think it would be better for the jury pool if the income was made equal to what you lost but of course the bums who don't work would want more as they deserve more. I don't know,,

[Bill Davis FR]

just tell them you are a member of the vast right wing conspiracy and that you vote for the republicans

[jpl]

IMHO, any American that can serve on a jury and deliberately avoids it has no business complaining about our system. President Lincoln believed that jury duty was the most important civic responsiblity an American could perform, even more important than voting. I agree with him.

[TOMH1]

The county I live in has a "1 Day-1 Trial" system. That is. Unless you are put into a jury the first day, that's it. Go Home.

If you get on a jury, you get to go home when it is completed, regardless of how long it lasts.

I don't think the Feds do that.

Anyone have opinions on Grand Juries, Fed, State, or county? I think some of them can last a year.

I am over sixty years old and have only been called twice. Other people I know have been called a whole bunch of times.

[JavaTheHutt]

I was truly excited to be called for jury duty. I felt patriotic going down to serve, and even masked my enthusiasm as much as possible because I was afraid of being dismissed for appearing too eager.
I don't think I would be allowed to serve on a jury now though. I served active duty in the Army during the Gulf War, serve in the National Guard now, and because of various right wing/conservative/christian groups that I belong to, I would probably be dismissed at the first opportunity.

[cmsgop]

I didn't say I believe that, I was saying that's what people can tell the lawyers to get out of jury duty. Hence, I surrounded the statement with quotation marks.

Ooops!

LOL!!!!

[1Old Pro]

Any good one liners?

1) Rush Limbaugh is God (during attorney interviews of the jury)
2) I believe in jury nullification

[TK21]

just serve- chances are they won't pick you anyway- will it really kill you to give something back?

[connectthedots]

I would say without hesitation in open court, "Your Honor, I have personal knowledge that you and the prosecutor are corrupt to the core. Neither of you can be trusted because you are both racketeers." In my county, this is true and I can prove it, and all the judges know it. They would never dare hold me in contempt for making such a statement.

[connectthedots]

Always remember that Prosecutors and Defense Attorney's want morons as jurors as they are much easier to manipulate.

Actually they want morons as jurors because it is easier to explain things to people with their same level of intelligence.

[<1/1,000,000th%]

My wife returns the notification letter and states that she's the primary caregiver for our kids and can't afford to pay someone to watch them. She gets out of jury duty every time without having to go down to the courthouse.

I always go because I find it fascinating. I've been on two juries and I'm frightened by some of the people who are allowed to walk around and drive cars in this country.

[coloradan]

Slavery is a good example because it's one of the last in which the institution was ended because of jury nullification. (More specifically, not slavery but the practice of charging people who had helped escaped slaves reach freedom.)

It might also be towards the end of the era in which the general population was famailiar with the concept of jury nullification.

If you insist on a more contemporary example, I wouldn't convict someone who illegally sat at the front of a bus, despite her skin color.

[Poohbah]

It's very simple. Bring in some literature from the Fully Informed Jury Association (I'm sure they have stuff you can download) and make certain the lawyers and/or judge are aware that you have it. Let them see it, or if necessary ask them about it. I guarantee you, you'll have zero chance of being allowed on a jury.

Better yet, just wear a t-shirt with "FIJA" on it in big letters. Just don't tell the judge that it stands for "Frickin' Idiots Join AOL."

[E Rocc]

As a citizen, you have an obligation to serve on a jury if called. Is two weeks of your life to much to ask?

This ties into my suggestion, a reference to the 13th Amendment.

I saw something similar to this work once. >:)

-Eric

[E Rocc]

All you have to be is too opinionated and the plaintiff or criminal's atty will ask that you be dropped from jury selection. If you have legal experience definitely you know too much at least here in Fla. If you have ever been sued or sued anyone, that can excuse you. Depends upon your knowledge and life experience.

I managed to get kicked off by both prosecutors and defense attorneys (different cases) in a week. The first was probably because of my Metallica hockey jersey :snicker:. The second because I said I knew a lot of cops well and would believe them over and above their client.

-Eric

[E Rocc]

If the judge rejected your financial duress argument, maybe that's because it wasn't good enough.

I got stuck on federal once (almost impossible to get out of). They were talking about a possible reschedule and one of the other people told a clerk they had surgery scheduled soon.

He very arrogantly said "This is more important!". I told him that :deleted:holes like him were the reason so many people hated lawyers. Haven't been called again in 10 years >:).

-Eric

[gunnedah]

Tell them you would have a tendacy to believe the prosecution and could not be impartial. That you are fed up with crime and tired of the crooks being released.If they make you stay after that no Defense Attorney would let you be seated, but I think they would have to release you then.

[Unbeliever]

How about "I'm moving to cuba, because I prefer a police state that won't waste my time with trifling little civil responsibilities."

[SunnyUsa]

"Our legal system has evolved into one where a jury trial means that you are being judged by a group of 8 people who weren't smart enough to get out of jury duty."

That is a scarey & (true) thought!

bump to read later!

[falfa]

Isn't that just the point? When sane, rational members of society con their way out of the jury system, it leaves our justice system in the hands of citizens who will produce such atrocities as the O.J. verdict and multimillion dollar settlements for clutzes who spill coffee in their own laps.

It's kind of like voting, if you don't participate, shut up about the outcomes!

[riley1992]

Are you saying you have absolutely no close friends or family you could impose upon for a few days to do what is right?

All of my family and friends work full time. Would you have them take a vacation to do this? Get real.

[Redcloak]

Report for duty in a Star Fleet uniform and insist upon speaking only in Klingon. The courts been through that sort of thing before and I doubt that they're anxious to repeat the experience.

[woollyone]

The one liner that prompted the miss-trail that I sat on was; "I can be a fair and impartial juror, if I can hear both sides of the case".

Of course the defendant isn't required to testify, but this jurors continued stance on the issue prompted teh prosecutor to ask him, during the voir dire process; "So, do you still wan tto hear bot sides of the case?"
Judge promptly declared a mis-trial.

Interesting to note, that when I was there, I didn't meet one conservative in the pool. The system needs conservative voices who know the rights of jurors, the law and are willing to be bold. Do your duty!

...and don't forget to wash your hands afterwards

[cardinal4]

I replied that I not only believed in the death penalty for first degree murderers but that it should be applied for third time felonies as well. I was immediately dismissed from the panel.

Judging by your moniker,Im guessing you come from the same state that gave Willie Horton a furlough from Walpole.

[cardinal4]

I replied that I not only believed in the death penalty for first degree murderers but that it should be applied for third time felonies as well. I was immediately dismissed from the panel.

Judging by your moniker,Im guessing you come from the same state that gave Willie Horton a furlough from Walpole.

[Cogadh na Sith]

Any good one liners?

Sure:

I've been on jury duty and I never need an excuse to get off!

Yeaaaaaaah, Baybee! Yeaaaaaaah!

Shagadelic!

[jrg]

I own a "Kill 'em All, Let God Sort 'em Out" t-shirt. Wear it to the jury selection, you won't be picked.

[Unbeliever]

Never again. I will do anything necessary to avoid serving on jury duty again.

I hope for your sake you are never the victim of mistaken identity.

[SamAdams76]

Therefore I also came from the state that helped get George Bush elected president (the elder) in 1988. It was the Willie Horton thing that helped Bush beat Dukakis. I'm still breathing a sigh of relief that Dukakis never became president. It would have been disasterous. Even more so then Bill Clinton because unlike Clinton, Dukakis actually believed in all that liberal crap.

[wtc911]

With all the people who complained about the results of the jury trial of Junta, the hockey dad and the results of the jury trial in the OJ case you come up with calling someone who sees societal duty as important a goody-two-shoes.

The typical, and usually correct, conservative complaint is against those in society who take but don't give back. Jury duty is one way to give back.

If the original poster has legitimate cause for excusal then it will be given. If he is simply lazy then screw him.

[calmseas]

Who here has served on jury duty and has a good excuse to get off?

My first impulse is "What does getting off have to do with jury duty?" (Sorry, bad pun.)

[Zon]

I am not convinced that what you describe is the proper mode of conduct for jurors.

What I described was that jurors should judge the facts and the law -- jury nullification being one option. Do you think jurors should judge the facts and the law?

"The bottom line is: if the jury agrees with you/plaintiff you're right and win the case. If the jury disagree with you/plaintiff you're wrong and lose the case." 209

[cardinal4]

Willie Horton had a lot to do with Dukakis's failure in 1988,however I feel he was doomed the second he put that tank helmet on.

[BuckeyeOhio]

Ok, here is what happened to me. First of all, hope you have some college education. They don't want anyone smart on juries. Secondly, if you are in the insurance business, they don't want you on a jury. They were going to put me on a criminal case (shooting) and I asked if they were going to show pictures of blood. They said yes, I said no way, I would pass out (have severe vegal reflux). The judge asked me if I couldn't do it and I said an unconscious person in jury box wouldn't be good for trial. I was excused. Next time I was served, I told them I was in insurance business and couldn't stand the sight of blood. Never been called since. However, I still had to SIT thru one week at court in the selection room even tho I was not chosen.

[Saundra Duffy]

I was on a jury once but I got full pay from my employer so it wasn't a hardship. It was a wrongful death suit against doctors and a hospital. See this young man (26) was having simple eye surgery and the anesthesiologist caused his death. Turns out the anesthesiologist was a spaced out drug addict who before the trial had killed himself. Anyway, we ended up awarding almost a million dollars to the widow. It took a few weeks. It's our duty. Now that I think of it, this case would have made a great story for a book and/or movie. For victory & freedom!!!