Got tabbed for Jury Duty!

[LeeRevell]

Whew, dodged the old bullet again!  I was summoned for Jury Duty for May 15, Friday (Tomorrow).  Went onto the County Clerk website tonight, to find out my status.  Holy Moly, what a stupidly designed website!  First the one in the mailed form was not active, and they sent me to another site.  That one is so difficult to navigate you need to be very computer savvy to get around!  Took me three tries.  Hard to get where you need to go, and the 'candidate ID' number needed to login is hidden on the form - it  is NOT the 'pool number'.

I finally got what I needed to know, that I am released, my pool number was higher than those selected.
I did use their phone call in number just to verify, as the 'Status' on the website still isn't very clear.
So, I don't have to go in after all!  I will be at Mom's tomorrow.

 

[ccbreder]

Jury duty is the most important thing we can do. More important than even voting.

 

[Spaceman Spiff]

I just got a questionaire for Federal District Court jury duty.  This will be the 5th time in 40 years if I am selected for the pool (been on 2 juries).  When I was first called up 40 years ago, the jury pool was stuck 8 hours a day for 2 weeks in a room with no air conditioning in July.  That was not fun.  Last time, they picked all the juries they needed on the first Monday and sent everyone not selected home.  Much better.  This time I have a laptop, so I will have something to do.

I agree with ccbreder.  This is important.  If I ever have to be judged, I don't want a jury of people too dumb to get out of jury duty!

-- Spiff

 

[Canine]

Ive wondered about this. A jury summons goes to your motor vehicle registered address. Or license I guess. For me, I don't live in the same state and don't use a mail forwarding service as I thought I had everything converted to online bill pay and banking. I supposed I could be in contempt if I never saw it and it went past the response date. Hmmm, maybe better think about that. Always something it seems...

 

[LeeRevell]

I don't mind serving on a jury. On a prior thread I detailed my failed experiences with two different jury duty events. After much wasted time, I was 'let go' from each. I learned, the judge and both Legal Beagles want NOTHING to do with a juror who actually knows something about the subject of the trial.

 

[GotSmart]

The last time I was called up, was 20 years ago. After sitting for 3 hours, I went to the clerk, showed her my ID and told her I had 3 children and was unemployed. I had a job interview in one hour, and I had to go. She smiled and told me the judge would understand.

 

[ccbreder]

I have had the opposite experience of Lee. Served on three different juries over 15 years. Was not dismissed for knowledge, and served with some intelligent people.

 

[VJG1977]

I've been called in three times.  The first time they filled the pool before they got to me.  The next two time, I was in the juror pool but never got selected to serve on a jury.  I did notice that during the selection process, if you stated that you had followed the case in the news and had formed an opinion you were passed over.  

 

[LeeRevell]

I was considering walking in and saying, "Lets hang this guy, I have a hot lunch date!"
Next case might be my own........

 

[Optimistic Paranoid]

Mention the words "jury nullification" where either the judge or prosecutor can hear you and see how fast you get sent home.

Regards
John

 

[vanman2300]

If anyone is nervous about missing the notice and being in contempt just don't register to vote and voila you become invisible to the court. But I doubt they would hassle you if you explained nicely to them why you never responded.

 

[GotSmart]

Mention the words "jury nullification" where either the judge or prosecutor can hear you and see how fast you get sent home.

Regards
John

So the instructions given a jury are not consistent with what the law really allows...

https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/jury_nullification

[font=Georgia, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif]Jury Nullification[/font]

[font=Verdana, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]
A jury's knowing and deliberate rejection of the evidence or refusal to apply the law either because the jury wants to send a message about some social issue that is larger than the case itself, or because the result dictated by law is contrary to the jury's sense of justice, morality, or fairness. 
Jury nullification is a discretionary act, and is not a legally sanctioned function of the jury.  It is considered to be inconsistent with the jury's duty to return a verdict based solely on the law and the facts of the case.  The jury does not have a right to nulification, and counsel is not permitted to present the concept of jury nullification to the jury.  However, jury verdicts of acquittal are unassailable even where the verdict is inconsistent with the weight of the evidence and instruction of the law.
See U.S. v. Thomas, 116 F.3d 606 (2d Cir. 1997).
[/font]

 

[Optimistic Paranoid]

If anyone is nervous about missing the notice and being in contempt just don't register to vote and voila you become invisible to the court. But I doubt they would hassle you if you explained nicely to them why you never responded.

Not necessarily true.  It varies from state to state.  Many states use the list of driver's licenses from the DMV as well as the voting rolls.

Regards
John

http://lifehacker.com/eight-myths-about-jury-duty-debunked-1538152456

 

[Spaceman Spiff]

If anyone is nervous about missing the notice and being in contempt just don't register to vote and voila you become invisible to the court. 

Minnesota used to use voter registrations but they were sued a number of years ago, the claim being that it biased the jury pool.  They now use a number of lists, including but not limited to:  licenses (drivers, hunting, fishing, vocational, ...), voting, census, registrations, etc.  -- Spiff

 

[dogear52]

I just renewed my MO DL but my truck and CT were registered in SD a few months ago, so if the last MO city I lived in (presently KC) summons me and I'm 1,500 miles away, I hope it would be easy to get waived. Maybe I should go ahead and get a SD DL on my way out West.

 

[VanLifeCrisis]

i talked to a mail carrier here. they now have to get a sig saying you recieved it. if they cant get that, a sheriff is sent to try. but they need to confirm you recieve it like a summons here now. makes sense there would be a ton of oblivious people arrested if they bench warrant you for not getting mail.

 

[TrainChaser]

I've just been doing a SEARCH for what happens when you're on the road and called for jury duty. My sister just called and she has spent two whole days being questioned for several juries, so I was wondering.

Looking around online, the states that I looked at (western) seem to be getting a bit peeved about people not showing up. Some states have fewer than 50% of the people show up. Most of them seem to appear as a bench warrant, so if you get pulled over for a bad tail light, they nail you; and it also shows up in background checks (like if you decided to rent an apartment for winter). The fines seem to range from $500 to $1,500, possibly with the added thrill of 3 to 5 days in jail, and sometimes community service.

Several of them indicate that if you're 70 or over, you can get out of jury duty more easily. It's probably a guarantee if you say you can't hear very well.

Jury nullification was the reason the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution (Prohibition) was repealed 14 years after it was passed. People were better educated in those days, and knew that they could vote against a law that they thought was a bad one, thus nullifying the conviction. It happened so much that the courts couldn't get convictions, so they gave up and finally repealed it.

Many judges are against jury nullification and will actually tell the jurors that they can't do it. However, Supreme Court Justice Sonya Sotomayor supports jury nullification. Someone said, "If we don't have jury nullification, why do we need juries? The courts could just let computers make decisions."

 

[jimindenver]

The first time I was called I sat for a week before being selected into a pool for a case that turned out to be a murder of a gay person, a hate crime really even though it wasn't called that at the time. I knew I wouldn't make it onto the jury. I am gay. I bowled on the police athletic league and likely knew the arresting officers. I also had a pretty strong feeling of what should of happened to the bastard were it proven that he was guilty. The prosecution tried to keep me but the defense used one of their limited number of exemptions to make sure I wasn't on the jury. It wouldn't have mattered since the guy pleaded guilty for a deal the next day.

After that I was called up year after year until I complained to the clerk that no one I knew had been called up while I had for 10 years straight. I didn't get called up again for 15 years until 5 years ago. Once I found out I didn't have to go via the web, twice I had to go down and wait while they called out numbers for each case that came in. Last time was last year so I should be safe this year.

 

[Every Road Leads Home]

I'm 36 and have never been called. I'm a registered voter, have a drivers license, hunting and fishing licenses almost every year since I was 12, Contractor's license, insurance adjuster's license, a registered LLC. What's wrong with me?!

 

[ArtW]

I've been called 3 times, and disqualified every time