First-time jury duty

[SnarkShark]

I have some preconceived notions going in, but figured I'd throw it out here.

Never been called in, but I am on Tuesday. If it wasn't such a busy time of year for me, I'd actually like to be on a jury, because it intrigues me and my employer pays full salary for jury duty and it's unlimited.

Advice? Suggestions? Observations?

 

[Vombatus]

Voir dire: say OJ did it!

Then see what happens.

 

[The Big Ragu]

Your honor, I think I would be PERFECT for this jury. I can tell a criminal just like that! [/snap your fingers]. ... It's all in the distance between the eyes.

 

[lakefront]

I would say bring something to read but most people have their phones now. Enjoy it. People ***** about it for some reason, but it is a great experience. Try not to let any TV law shows affect how you view it, even the best of those are inaccurate. You may not even have to go any further than showing up. I was on a jury as an alternate, you sit through the whole trial and then are left out of the deciding phase. Sort of a let down but someone has to do it. You may be able to take notes depending on where you are or even better ask the witnesses questions.
12 Angry Men was just on the other day, if you have not seen it, a very good movie.

 

[Flip Wilson]

A few years ago, I spent two days at the courthouse but wasn't selected, and last year, I was chosen for a jury on a trial that lasted about a week. There's a lot of downtime. Definitely bring a book. I got in some serious reading time on both those occasions. It's usually quiet in the courthouse, so it was nice to have a chance to read when the county was paying me $30 a day!

 

[Batman]

If you get paid by your employer, the check you get from the city or county at the end of the week is some nice found money. Depending how long you're there it can be enough to take the wife out to a decent dinner.

I think your level of enjoyment might depend, too, on what kind of jury you wind up on. There are lots of kinds. One time I went through voir dire for a criminal trial, didn't get picked, and got to go home on day one. Even caught a mistake in our paper in a brief about the trial, which was fun.
Next time around I actually did end up on a jury for an eminent domain case. A highway project was trying to carve into a guy's restaurant parking lot to build an extra lane; he'd already planned to build a new place up the road and was just trying to get some more money from the state. I learned way more about our county's zoning laws than I ever thought I would and was struggling to stay awake in the jury box for parts of it.

So what kind of court is the jury duty for, Snark?

 

[PCLoadLetter]

Expect a lot of downtime.

I was on a jury several years ago. It was a two day DUI case. In the big picture it was kind of an interesting thing to experience, but in the moment it was crushingly boring. The guy was clearly guilty, but we still got two days of expert testimony.

Just be glad you weren't called for Grand Jury duty. I was an alternate for that a few years ago, leading to the longest day of my life. The legislature decided that anyone on a grand jury needed to know the entire list of state criminal statures. We had to sit in a basement for 8 hours listening to a droning computerized voice read the entire thing, all in legalese.

 

[I Should Coco]

Definitely bring something to read — phone, magazine, whatever. As PC just mentioned, there's LOTS of down time.

Depending on the type of trial, if you're not selected you could be out of there in a few hours. Take the $10-15 and have lunch on the county.

I've never been picked in the three times I was required to report ... but to my surprise, other people I've worked with at newspapers have been selected. It's not an automatic dismissal, especially for a civil trial.

 

[playthrough]

Last time I got a jury notice I begged out due to work, but I hope I get asked again. Because citizenship.

 

[PCLoadLetter]

For sheer entertainment value, it's tough to beat listening to all the prospective jurors explain to the judge why they couldn't serve. My last time there was an older Asian man who kept yelling "I prejudice against CAUCASIAN!!" And like 80% claim to be the sole caretaker for a dying relative.

 

[BTExpress]

Something I didn't know until I researched excuses after a notice came in our mailbox last June.

U.S. citizenship is required.

 

[SpeedTchr]

Well, yeah. We don't want any dirty Commies on our panels.

I served on a federal jury years ago. Ended up as the foreman. Possibly the dullest week of my life. The case was about vendors selling old parts as new to the DoD. Best part was being escorted as a group to a great steakhouse for a meal on the government's dime. Worst part was my fellow jurors. Several said the guy must be guilty or he wouldn't be in court.

 

[PCLoadLetter]

Several said the guy must be guilty or he wouldn't be in court.

My mom was on a jury years ago, and several jurors insisted a guy was guilty because someone had called 9-1-1. I believe she ended up as the lone holdout on a conviction.

She vowed to never, ever end up on a jury again.

 

[cjericho]

Well, yeah. We don't want any dirty Commies on our panels.

I served on a federal jury years ago. Ended up as the foreman. Possibly the dullest week of my life. The case was about vendors selling old parts as new to the DoD. Best part was being escorted as a group to a great steakhouse for a meal on the government's dime. Worst part was my fellow jurors. Several said the guy must be guilty or he wouldn't be in court.

Did you share the ketchup with the other jurors?

 

[cjericho]

Definitely bring something to read — phone, magazine, whatever. As PC just mentioned, there's LOTS of down time.

Depending on the type of trial, if you're not selected you could be out of there in a few hours. Take the $10-15 and have lunch on the county.

I've never been picked in the three times I was required to report ... but to my surprise, other people I've worked with at newspapers have been selected. It's not an automatic dismissal, especially for a civil trial.

Why would working at a newspaper be a cause for dismissal? Someone at a newspaper expected to be biased either way?

 

[The Big Ragu]

OK. My jury duty story. I despise civil court. I have an easier time accepting jury duty for criminal court, because I think it is usually more purposeful. Either someone did something wrong or their freedom is unfairly hanging on the balance. I have never been chosen for a criminal case. On one case I was questioned for, one of the attorneys used an exemption on me (I have no clue why -- I wasn't trying to get off), but then chose a guy who didn't speak English well enough to understand his voir dire questions. Go figure.

The one case I sat on was in civil court. An 18 or 19 year old was suing a nun. Him and his friends were tearing up a neighborhood on motorcycles. He was riding without a license and was on the sidewalk. The nun was backing out of a driveway and hit him. The nun's star witness was a half-blind priest who claimed he saw the whole thing from across the street. The kid's attorney didn't have him testify, which seemed fishy, and we kept being taken out of the courtroom while the attorney's argued things, so it left me with a sense that there was more than what we were being given.

We got to the jury room, and I was thinking, "You have got to be ****ing kidding me? Let's find in favor of the nun and the senile priest and get out of here." But it immediately became clear there were 4 or 5 jurors who were seeing race, not the actual case: A black kid who can't afford his medical bills. Let's help him out.

Immediately, we had a couple of junior Perry Masons, and they started parsing the judge's instructions and interpreting laws that may or may not actually exist, in order to find reasons for why the kid deserved some money. Luckily, me and another person were able to steer it back to the case, and it only took us about an hour. I was fearing wasted days inside that room that I would never be able to get back.

The kid's attorney had sort of a hangdog demeanor. Like he was just beaten down from chasing ambulances to make his mortgage payments. He looked so dejected when we delivered the verdict.

As I was leaving the courthouse, the lawyer for the nun saw me and asked if he could ask a few questions, and I said sure. First question: "What the hell took you so long?" I had to explain to him that they actually made us stick around in the jury room for an extra couple of hours, because they had ordered food for us, and by the time it was delivered and we ate and they brought us back in, the day had gone by.

 

[Liut]

Had to report for the first time about three months ago but wasn't selected. It was for the retrial of sexual abuse case. Heard enough before I was dismissed that made me kind of glad I wasn't picked.

+1 to all who have suggested taking a book.

 

[Baron Scicluna]

I echo taking a book to keep you occupied. A couple of people mentioned using your phones for entertainment. I'd caution against relying on that because one of the two times I was called, we sat in the courtroom and were told that unless we were official court personnel or notified the court that we were working as journalists that we were to keep our phones off.

Both times I was called, it turned out to be for naught. First time, we sat there for a couple of hours, then were told the case was settled. Second time, they just decided they didn't want me for some reason.

 

[Huggy]

I have been called three times, made it to a courtroom once, but never selected. And, oh, yeah, bring a book. My last two trips I polished off Jonah Keri's great Montreal Expos book and Joe Nick Patoski's Willie Nelson bio, each in one day.

 

[Liut]

I echo taking a book to keep you occupied. A couple of people mentioned using your phones for entertainment. I'd caution against relying on that because one of the two times I was called, we sat in the courtroom and were told that unless we were official court personnel or notified the court that we were working as journalists that we were to keep our phones off.

Both times I was called, it turned out to be for naught. First time, we sat there for a couple of hours, then were told the case was settled. Second time, they just decided they didn't want me for some reason.

Your point on phones is a very good one. In my case cited earlier, the judge threatened to hold in contempt anyone who had a phone go off.