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

me ^ | Feb. 6, 2002 | me

[altura]

Okay, you figure out what your duty is and I'll do the same.

But it's a little rude to call my opinion b.s.

[Revelation 911]

Ive found reading a book about the Bible codes or Revelation usually does the trick - but who would you rather impart justice - a conservative or a liberal who will milk the off days and let a guilty perp roam the streets. If we are going to make a difference - we need not only effect the booth , but the jury panel as well

[Revelation 911]

I had one a few years back - the guy was up on statutory rape - & the victim was literally one week from being eighteen. -

[RightFin]

I have been called three times for jury duty -- and was selected all 3 times. I can tell you the things you can say to make sure you ARE on jury duty!

I served twice in San Antonio -- once a civil trial about a home improvement lawsuit (was pretty boring) and once on a criminal trial for a DWI -- found him guilty. I thought the process was pretty impressive and really enjoyed serving! I learned a lot about our court system, especially on the latter trial.

My 3rd time was in our small Iowa town for a DWI. I was the 56th person in line as a potential juror but was quickly moved forward when the judge asked us if anyone had any reason they could NOT serve. About half the courtroom either knew the man on trial or was related to him. Others were excused because they said they had a pre-formed opinion of the case. A few more were excused because they were friends of or related to the county attorney or the defending attorney! The last bunch left because they claimed they really disliked the police officer in question on the case (he had a reputation of "overreacting" to people who drank and drive. I really liked the guy and was sorry when he resigned from our town).

I honestly thought I wouldn't be chosen when I told them I had previously served on a DWI in San Antonio and we found the defendant quite guilty. But I was picked! I was later appalled when I found out that some of the jurors WANTED to be on the jury because they hated the cop so much! I was the lone juror who wouldn't give up. All the others wanted to let the drunk driver off - even though he admitted he was pretty drunk when he was pulled over. We finally agreed to a guilty verdict on the drunk driving, but not-guilty on the open container (I had to give in on that one).

[Ada Coddington]

Tell them you are a political activist. Worked for me.

[linn37]

cramps and heavy bleeding,it always got me out of gym class

[RightFin]

My last comment here:

I would hope that if I went on trial, I would have a jury of honest people and not someone who didn't want to be there. When someone goes to trial, it's not sudden -- months and sometimes years of preparation have been put into it and it all comes down to 12 people sitting in a box and ready to listen to all the hard work that went into putting the case together.

I speak from semi-experience. Last year, I was charged with two serious misdemeanors - of which I was 100% innocent. It was an experience I will never forget as long as I live, and I have to admit that before that happened, I DID think that if someone was charged then there must be something to it... I no longer think this way. I used to scoff at the phrase "mental anguish" but now I understand it.

If I had taken it to a jury (all the attorneys said it was such a ludicrous case and there was no doubt I would be acquitted), it would've cost me thousands of dollars, not to mention the "mental anguish" I would've had to go through.

As it turned out, the entire case was totally dropped. My attorney even told the county attorney that "In all his years of practicing law, this woman is the most innocent I have ever met!" He put his own reputation on the line by saying that -- he'd never met me before this!

If I had ended up in a trial, I would've been praying for good and decent jurors -- people who would happily give up their time to serve.

[Ada Coddington]

I've heard that lawyers don't like to sit engineers in juries--too much logical thinking going on. You can't persuade an engineer with emotional appeals.

The Nichols jury was set to acquit on all charges when the lone holdout juror, an engineer, badgered them for 2 days to come in with a compromise verdict. As engineers are usually not permitted on cases where technical stuff is entered into evidence, his inclusion raised a few eyebrows.

[RepubMommy]

I'm curious as to why two small children trumps financial difficulty. There are babysitters out there, after all. Perhaps his/her financial difficulties include feeding and clothing children, and this interruption in employment will not only cut down that ability financially, but could even end said employment

There are babysitters out there? Do you have any children? All of my relatives work during the week, and I wouldn't leave a 3 year old, and a 3 month old with just anyone, sorry. When the time comes that they are in school full time, I will gladly serve on a jury panel if needed. Until then, my priorities lies within being home with my kids.

[lds23]

Some years back, I spent about 12 weeks as a juror at a murder trial. Besides the sadness and horror of the details, it was a fascinating experience. Learned a lot about evidence procedure (autopsy, evidence collection & processing), legal procedure (lots of sidebars that I later learned were trying to suppress evidence, e.g., a lie detector test), police triangulation methods in questioning (asking similar questions from different points of view from different officers at different times), etc.

Perhaps the most enlightening was I gained a significant respect for the jury process. We all sat in the same room hearing the same stuff. But it was amazing how we spent days discussing how each person thought different things were significant, and interpretations thereof.

I strongly encourage you to do your civic duty: the system needs reasonable people of reasonable character in order for it to work. There are too many people complaining about the system, and too few trying to make it work.

[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.