darkoz
darkoz
  • Threads: 296
  • Posts: 11419
Joined: Dec 22, 2009
July 8th, 2016 at 7:03:48 AM permalink
I just went through jury duty. I find a lot of people haven't done it and don't understand the process. It may be different per state but I thought I would give a little overview of my experience.

About 60 people were herded into a courtroom where 16 names were pulled out of a hat (actually its a box but you understand the expression) to sit in a typical movie style jury seating area. Those 16 were asked/grilled with a series of common (core) questions (related to who they were and past experiences - not relating to common core education questions). As grillees were found unsuitable, they were politely asked to leave (a situation where being rejected was a moment of joy for almost everyone) and a replacement was called from the rest of the pool.

The entire pool of people were asked to listen closely to the entire process so many of the longwinded explanations would not have to be repeated as replacements for those rejected came up.

Finally, they had whittled it down to the 14 (12 jurors and 2 alternates in case of personal emergencies) that both prosecution and defendant were happy with and the remainder of the people were thanked and released. I was "pooled out" so I never was called or questioned. For the two days I was there I will receive a check in the mail for $80. EDIT: I said $40 originally. It's $40 per day.

All in all, a rather small EV AP move. I made more money bus hustling the Sands years ago.


From the answers most people gave I feel pretty confident (assuming this was a normal sampling of jury pools) that 80% of Americans are unsuited to be jurors. Perhaps they were fraudulently answering to be knocked out of the pool - I have heard of that but you risk perjury charges although I doubt they would ever conduct an investigation unless you had given some ridiculous answer.

Here were some of the ones I heard in the 2 days I was there.

A juror stated if he felt bad for the defendants he would let them go even if guilt was proved beyond a reasonable doubt.

A juror stated having criminal friends or associates denotes guilt as you should be smart enough not to affiliate with criminals (strict instructions from the judge were that no law makes it a crime to have friends who are criminals and that cannot be used in determining guilt)

A juror stated all lawyers were liars and not to be trusted including the one asking her questions.

A juror stated if 11 other jurors felt the person was guilty and he did not, he would go along with the others because he would feel bad for making them all stay longer to deliberate.

A juror stated they could only make a decision of guilt if there was DNA evidence to their satisfaction (this was a case without DNA evidence). When asked if they would give credibility to someone who was an eyewitness to the incident, they said no, not without DNA.

Over fifteen people claimed hardships from family issues to vacations that were non-refundable they would miss (a running joke amongst the remaining pool was we should have all scheduled our non-refundable vacations that week).

Perhaps because it is cliché, perhaps because the defendants in this case were Caucasian, claims of racial bias didn't come up. However, there were some who claimed they could not trust the police.

A legit question was whether anyone had been the victim of a crime and if it would affect their judgement. Being this is NYC, it was no surprise there was a large show of hands.

Surprisingly, teachers would make poor jurors. The few questioned were asked if there is a disruption in class involving a number of students and they cant determine who the guilty party is, whether they seek to punish all the students, guilty and innocent in order to make certain the guilty party is punished and most stated that was the case (that's the complete opposite of our justice system where if the determination of guilt cannot be established then no one is supposed to be punished, not everyone).
Last edited by: darkoz on Jul 8, 2016
For Whom the bus tolls; The bus tolls for thee
terapined
terapined
  • Threads: 89
  • Posts: 6092
Joined: Dec 1, 2012
July 8th, 2016 at 7:40:21 AM permalink
Here is my experience
Tampa FL - Got a letter for jury duty several times
You are assigned a number
The day before you call a phone number with a recording saying which group of numbers have to report the next day
My number was not in the recording so did not have to report
Next year get the letter again, I call per instructions and my number is called
Report next morning
Walk into a huge room with about 200 prospective juror's
Tons of seats and tables with tons of electric outlets and excellent wifi. Everybody is surfing the internet waiting to be called.
Different groups of jurrors are called for several different cases
Finally I was called and sat in on a drug case to pick a potential jury
It was frustrating because the defendant was defending himself and I could tell the judge was frustrated
The defendant made many mistakes defending himself and every time he made a mistake, the potential jury had to walk out
The case never moved along where a jury was picked and we were sent back into the big jury pool room
A judge walks in and says he has 2 month case and wants juror volunteers since it will be a long trial
Very few volunteers so the judge resorts to calling out names
Did not volunteer and my name was not called
Later the day is over and I left.
Pretty boring experience just sitting around waiting to be called upon.
Joeman
Joeman
  • Threads: 36
  • Posts: 2410
Joined: Feb 21, 2014
July 8th, 2016 at 7:47:51 AM permalink
Thanks for the Jury Duty AP report, Darkoz! I was summonsed for Jury Duty for the first time last year. To me, it was an interesting process. I wouldn't say I enjoyed it, but I'm glad I did it, just to see how everything worked. If I never get called again, that would be fine with me.

I would guess there were 600 or so people there on Monday morning. Then throughout the day, "batches" of potential jurors were selected (I guess randomly -- we never saw the actual selection process) for a particular judge for that week's trial(s). I would guess that maybe 5 people for every 1 juror seat were picked for the pool.

In my case, we had about 70 people called, but it was for two separate trials. I was actually selected to sit on one of the juries (6 jurors + 1 alternate). Interestingly enough, a friend I have known for 10 years was selected in the same pool as me, and they sat us right next to each other in voir dire! (Bonus Question: What are the odds of that happening?) My friend did not get selected, and was excused that afternoon.

BTW, my friend is a teacher. :) I'm not sure if she got asked about the disruption situation. I didn't return to the courtroom for voir dire for the second trial, as I had already been selected for the first.

As far as people's answers getting them excused, what stood out to me was that one of the potential jurors said, "I don't trust people of a certain race." It seems that if you say in open court that you are a racist, you don't have to worry about ever serving on a jury!
"Dealer has 'rock'... Pay 'paper!'"
darkoz
darkoz
  • Threads: 296
  • Posts: 11419
Joined: Dec 22, 2009
July 8th, 2016 at 7:49:09 AM permalink
Quote: terapined

Here is my experience
Tampa FL - Got a letter for jury duty several times
You are assigned a number
The day before you call a phone number with a recording saying which group of numbers have to report the next day
My number was not in the recording so did not have to report
Next year get the letter again, I call per instructions and my number is called
Report next morning
Walk into a huge room with about 200 prospective juror's
Tons of seats and tables with tons of electric outlets and excellent wifi. Everybody is surfing the internet waiting to be called.
Different groups of jurrors are called for several different cases
Finally I was called and sat in on a drug case to pick a potential jury
It was frustrating because the defendant was defending himself and I could tell the judge was frustrated
The defendant made many mistakes defending himself and every time he made a mistake, the potential jury had to walk out
The case never moved along where a jury was picked and we were sent back into the big jury pool room
A judge walks in and says he has 2 month case and wants juror volunteers since it will be a long trial
Very few volunteers so the judge resorts to calling out names
Did not volunteer and my name was not called
Later the day is over and I left.
Pretty boring experience just sitting around waiting to be called upon.



Yeah, the part with the letter and dialing to see if my number is called in mirrors mine too as well as the larger room with the excellent wifi. I just cut to the part where the real action was (if you can call watching people get grilled for two days action).
For Whom the bus tolls; The bus tolls for thee
Joeman
Joeman
  • Threads: 36
  • Posts: 2410
Joined: Feb 21, 2014
July 8th, 2016 at 7:55:35 AM permalink
Quote: darkoz

Yeah, the part with the letter and dialing to see if my number is called in mirrors mine too as well as the larger room with the excellent wifi.

Same here.

It is my understanding that enough potential jurors receive a summons for all of the cases scheduled that week. However, these dates are set well in advance, and many cases are settled (plea bargain or whatever) before they get to trial. So, the extra jurors are not needed and don't have to show up if their "number is called."
"Dealer has 'rock'... Pay 'paper!'"
darkoz
darkoz
  • Threads: 296
  • Posts: 11419
Joined: Dec 22, 2009
July 8th, 2016 at 8:01:12 AM permalink
Quote: Joeman

Same here.

It is my understanding that enough potential jurors receive a summons for all of the cases scheduled that week. However, these dates are set well in advance, and many cases are settled (plea bargain or whatever) before they get to trial. So, the extra jurors are not needed and don't have to show up if their "number is called."



That makes sense.

Also, they don't know how many people will send in the postponement letters so I imagine they prep a larger pool of people than needed.
For Whom the bus tolls; The bus tolls for thee
TigerWu
TigerWu
  • Threads: 25
  • Posts: 5509
Joined: May 23, 2016
July 8th, 2016 at 8:13:01 AM permalink
I never got called for jury duty in my entire life and then I got called twice in one year.

The first time I was notified, they said I would be in the jury pool for a week. Got called up to the courtroom once, questioned, and was dismissed for some unknown reason. Got called up again as an alternate, was never questioned, and dismissed. Then they let the entire jury pool go after 2 1/2 days because they didn't need any more juries. I don't remember what I got paid but on top of that my work was paying me for that time as well.

The second time I was notified less than a year later, it was cancelled the day before I needed to show up, so I didn't have to go in.
Wizardofnothing
Wizardofnothing
  • Threads: 121
  • Posts: 3493
Joined: Jul 3, 2015
July 8th, 2016 at 8:17:43 AM permalink
I got called for federal jury duty when I was in collge
It was a far ride and it paid well for college- you got like 60-120 a day I don't remember but I do remember getting mileage reimbursement and it was 170 miles each way. Sat for three days and never got called but got a check rather quickly
No longer hiring, don’t ask because I won’t hire you either
MrV
MrV
  • Threads: 364
  • Posts: 8158
Joined: Feb 13, 2010
July 8th, 2016 at 8:43:48 AM permalink
Rarely would serving on a jury be considered pleasant or fun.

It is a necessary duty imposed upon us.

Kudos to those who serve; a Bronx cheer to those who seek to evade serving.
"What, me worry?"
TwoFeathersATL
TwoFeathersATL
  • Threads: 37
  • Posts: 3616
Joined: May 22, 2013
July 8th, 2016 at 8:56:15 AM permalink
I have been called for State Jury duty a number of times, Federal jury duty once, and most recently.
Never had to serve on a jury yet, never selected as the smaller group from the larger group to go to a separate area to be questioned.

The last call, Federal, came like six weeks in advance. I said Jhit, and made a note on the calendar on the fridge. I noticed that note about a week before the date, and then forgot about it, again. The morning of my 'call to duty', I got out of bed, put on my board shorts, poured a cup of coffee, and started surfing the web for any news of alien invasions while I had slept.

The phone rang, was Sparkles, "Hi Honey, did you remember you had jury duty today?" I hung up on her, yelled 'Jhit ', glanced in the mirror, blew off shower and shave and jumped in the car. It was like time to be there, And I have 25-30 miles to drive thru Atlanta rush hour(s) to get there. Couldn't have made it in Trumps helicopter. So I got on the cell, went thru half a dozen different numbers, automated answering menu selection crap, and eventually got to someone in the Court Clerks office. I explained that I was accidentally derelect in my duty but was 'on my way'. Just check me off as present and I'll be there quick as I can. If I get there too late I will present myself for arrest. The fine print had stated that failure to comply would result in a Bench Warrant for my arrest. Thankfully my servant (public servant, and I'm public), took pity on me and said she would reschedule me for six weeks later, which she did.

Six weeks later I showed up only 10 minutes late, was warned that I really should take these summons seriously. And was sent home about 6 hours later. I was just hoping that 'I'd' get a chance to answer some of their 'standard' questions ;-)
Youuuuuu MIGHT be a 'rascal' if.......(nevermind ;-)...2F
Joeman
Joeman
  • Threads: 36
  • Posts: 2410
Joined: Feb 21, 2014
July 8th, 2016 at 9:02:27 AM permalink
Quote: MrV

Rarely would serving on a jury be considered pleasant or fun.

I agree, but I am glad that I did it, just to see the inner workings of the court system.

Basically, as a Law & Order fan, it was interesting to view the process with the lens of "That's just like it is on Law & Order," vs. "That's nothing like it is on Law & Order." Now, when I watch the reruns, I find myself saying things like, "That's not right. No judge would let a jury hear that."

But yeah, the process, especially the waiting and sitting through the actual trial (which was a boring burglary/selling stolen property case) was not what I would call fun. However, I have to give props to the Clerk of Courts, and the individual court personnel we worked with. They tried to make things as pleasant as possible given the circumstances.

The the "emcee" in the big room was entertaining. He cracked a few jokes while giving us instructions & explanations. He was pretty good, too. I've paid to see worse comedy acts. The bailiff for our courtroom was courteous & pleasant, and the judge made sure there were always snacks and goodies in the jury room.
"Dealer has 'rock'... Pay 'paper!'"
MrGoldenSun
MrGoldenSun
  • Threads: 3
  • Posts: 252
Joined: Apr 1, 2016
July 8th, 2016 at 12:04:01 PM permalink
Quote: Joeman

The the "emcee" in the big room was entertaining. He cracked a few jokes while giving us instructions & explanations. He was pretty good, too.



The only time I went was while I was in Atlanta, and our emcee was good too.
charliepatrick
charliepatrick
  • Threads: 39
  • Posts: 2946
Joined: Jun 17, 2011
July 8th, 2016 at 12:32:17 PM permalink
I live in the UK and have been on a jury twice. The system seems to be that you are assigned a two-week slot many months beforehand (so can appeal for an alternate date by giving dates you ARE available).

On Monday morning perhaps 80 of us went in and received an introduction video on workings, what was expected etc. They then called a list of names for each case (and I guess others sent home). They called in 30 for our case as were then explained it would last six weeks and were given an opportunity to opt out in a written note. Eventually the 12 of us were picked.

The case was drug related, I know nothing about drugs (have never smoked etc.) so it was educational. At times we were sent out but we had a good judge who kept things moving and made a good summary at the end. It also seemed we had an attentive jury as many of us asked questions (you write a note and put your hand up). At the end it took us nearly four days to come to our conclusions. I found it fascinating trying to piece together the evidence, together with my notes, as to which of the five did what and to what degree on the various counts.

We did bump into other juries and one of them was on a murder case, which also lasted several weeks and eventually made the newspapers. So in hindsight I'm glad I got the drugs one instead. The other advantage, there were a few nice pubs in Winchester.
JB
Administrator
JB
  • Threads: 334
  • Posts: 2089
Joined: Oct 14, 2009
July 8th, 2016 at 2:22:36 PM permalink
I was very recently selected as a prospective juror for a federal case. It was my first exposure to any kind of jury duty (state or federal). There were about 80 of us in the pool, from which 28 were randomly selected to sit in the jury box for the voir dire questioning, of which I was one. After the voir dire, the lawyers decided who they didn't want on their jury, and I was excused. I'm still "on call" for 5 months, though.
Ibeatyouraces
Ibeatyouraces
  • Threads: 68
  • Posts: 11933
Joined: Jan 12, 2010
July 8th, 2016 at 2:29:13 PM permalink
Do you have to be a registered voter to get called for this?
DUHHIIIIIIIII HEARD THAT!
JB
Administrator
JB
  • Threads: 334
  • Posts: 2089
Joined: Oct 14, 2009
July 8th, 2016 at 2:32:19 PM permalink
Quote: Ibeatyouraces

Do you have to be a registered voter to get called for this?


I'm not a registered voter, so, no. They found me because I have a driver's license.
TwoFeathersATL
TwoFeathersATL
  • Threads: 37
  • Posts: 3616
Joined: May 22, 2013
July 8th, 2016 at 2:51:58 PM permalink
Illegal aliens should have to serve jury duty just like me......
Maybe illegal aliens should never be allowed to serve jury duty like I am allowed/demanded.
I'm looking for some spot I'm a winner here, can't find it.

I found it.
I am a citizen of the USA, I was born here.
Both my parents were born here.
All four of their parents were born here.
All eight of their parents were born here.
Then it get's a little foggy about exactly who had what child with what father.....
One of my great great grandmothers ( or grandfathers ) may have been a serious bitch and/or a$$hole, or both. I think that is the only logical explanation for why I am here/now. ;-)

May also explain why I've never actually served on a jury.
Maybe not..
Youuuuuu MIGHT be a 'rascal' if.......(nevermind ;-)...2F
Doc
Doc
  • Threads: 46
  • Posts: 7287
Joined: Feb 27, 2010
July 8th, 2016 at 3:18:02 PM permalink
Jury duty experiences have been discussed around this forum before. I posted mine here in a thread almost two years ago.
MrV
MrV
  • Threads: 364
  • Posts: 8158
Joined: Feb 13, 2010
July 8th, 2016 at 3:34:59 PM permalink
Quote: Ibeatyouraces

Do you have to be a registered voter to get called for this?



That used to be the case, but no more.

Now they select via driver's license.
"What, me worry?"
TwoFeathersATL
TwoFeathersATL
  • Threads: 37
  • Posts: 3616
Joined: May 22, 2013
July 8th, 2016 at 4:39:44 PM permalink
Quote: Doc

Jury duty experiences have been discussed around this forum before. I posted mine here in a thread almost two years ago.

Doc, I re-read your experience via the link. You still 'the man' in this kid's sandbox.
Youuuuuu MIGHT be a 'rascal' if.......(nevermind ;-)...2F
TwoFeathersATL
TwoFeathersATL
  • Threads: 37
  • Posts: 3616
Joined: May 22, 2013
July 8th, 2016 at 4:54:33 PM permalink
Quote: MrV

That used to be the case, but no more.

Now they select via driver's license.

I thought they were giving drivers licenses to anyone that didn't trip over the the little rise thingy at the door that keeps rainwater out. Of course it takes hours to jump thru all the hoops. But if you are are a good 'hoop jumper' , IE got nothing better to do with your day, they will give you a drivers license. Now apparently if you have a drivers license you get to vote. And if you get to vote you get to sit on a jury, that jury which is supposed to be a jury of my peers should I happen to find myself as a defendent, again. A jury of 'my peers' is a joke at this point.


I just want to cuss now. Or put together a bunch of those goofy symbols x&%[£¥^{ like that. Pls pardon, it's not that I become frustrated easily, it's that I've had enough!

Oh, just 2F ;-)
Youuuuuu MIGHT be a 'rascal' if.......(nevermind ;-)...2F
zippyboy
zippyboy
  • Threads: 2
  • Posts: 1124
Joined: Jan 19, 2011
July 8th, 2016 at 5:27:12 PM permalink
Quote: MrV

Rarely would serving on a jury be considered pleasant or fun....Kudos to those who serve; a Bronx cheer to those who seek to evade serving.


I got to serve on a jury in 2007 or so in a fascinating case that opened up my eyes that real life court dramas are nothing like on Law and Order at all.

Small town case with 2 defendants charged with assault and unlawful imprisonment.

Facts: high school girl goes to a party Friday night, drinks too much and gets raped and smacked around in a back bedroom by high school kid. Girl comes home and tells her mother, who in turn tells the girl's father. Father and his friends hatch a plan Saturday morning to seek revenge on the rapist by luring him to a known drug house to sell him coke and beat him senseless. Rapist doesn't know the father or friends, but with the girl's help, the plan comes together around 10am Sunday morning. The father can't be a part of it because he had to be at work by 9am Sunday, but the father's friends are there to confront the rapist when he arrives for the promised coke. Kid gets ambushed by the father's friends, beaten badly and restrained while the father is called to come and participate. The father leaves work and arrives at the drug house just as the kid frees himself and is running across the yard. Neighbors who were called as witnesses say it was a loud commotion, but the father was absent throughout the ordeal since he was at work. Neighbors called police, who came and took rapist into custody, as well as the father and his vengeance-seeking friends.

Our jury sat through 3 days of testimony, lots of photos of the interior and exterior of the house, neighborhood, cars, etc. All witnesses claim beating was with fists even though the prosecutor introduced all kinds of false evidence into the case trying to sway the jury's minds about what weapons "could have" been used, like broom handle, claw hammer, baseball bat. None of those items had blood on them, and injuries to rapist were inconsistent with claw hammer use (obviously, or this would've been a murder trial). Yet the slimy prosecutor brought them to court anyway because they were present in the house, and the judge allowed it. We had a good laugh in the jury room over what a sneaky prick the prosecutor was (and he still practices in this small town today) and we of course acquitted the father, who wasn't even there the entire time. (why was the father even arrested if the police acknowledge he wasn't there? why was the father in court? is it okay for the prosecutor to lie under oath about the father's presence, and weapons used, just to persuade the jury to deliver a guilty verdict? why didn't prosecutor just rely on actual evidence? are all prosecutors such sneaky, lying, manipulative a-holes and get away with it? was the judge in on it?

Our jury reluctantly gave guilty verdict to co-defendant, who held rapist for father's arrival for "wrongful imprisonment" charge. Apparently it's okay to hold a rapist for police to arrive, but not for the father to arrive. Who knew? He also caught the assault charge. No idea what his sentence was. The rapist and rest of father's friends got their own trials on which I was not a jury member.

Later that night that the trial ended, I called up the father, whose name I found in our phone book. I explained the jury's outlook, and got more details about the night in question from him. Four years ago, I eventually met one of the "friends" from that night, who is a known drug dealer, and who's house was used for the beating. I remembered his name from the trial, so I just walked up and introduced myself as a jury member back then, and he opened up with more details that never appeared in the trial, or the jury had been ushered from the room during that time. I asked him about the false "weapons" that were so obviously not used to beat the rapist, and he admitted they only used fists, and had a helluva time doing it too. He spent some time in jail, but he's always in-and-out of county jail all the time, so it was no big deal to him.
"Poker sure is an easy game to beat if you have the roll to keep rebuying."
RogerKint
RogerKint
  • Threads: 15
  • Posts: 1916
Joined: Dec 5, 2011
July 8th, 2016 at 6:58:48 PM permalink
The interview process for jury duty was one of the worst experiences of my life. The lawyers grilled us for two days before finally choosing. One potential juror didn't come back after lunch and the judge set a trial date for her on the spot. Not sure what the charges were. Another guy said he wouldn't be able to come back the next day because of transportation issues and the judge threatened him with some legal consequence if he didn't. All this made me a nervous wreck. I was afraid to go take a piss or slouch in my bench out of fear of getting hanged at dawn. The defendant was black and the first potential juror who tried to allude to the fact that he was racist was completely made a fool by the judge. Judge went off "You're obviously just saying that to get out of jury duty. It's not going to work." This was followed by a lecture on how we have the best system in the world and we should all want to serve on the jury. I found myself envious of the defendant because I would have the right to remain silent and not have to tell everyone what my favorite ice cream is or whether driving a prostitute to work is considered pimping, or not.
100% risk of ruin
AxelWolf
AxelWolf
  • Threads: 164
  • Posts: 22272
Joined: Oct 10, 2012
July 9th, 2016 at 12:08:53 AM permalink
Quote: RogerKint

I found myself envious of the defendant because I would have the right to remain silent and not have to tell everyone what my favorite ice cream is or whether driving a prostitute to work is considered pimping, or not.

No. A real pimp knows she should be walking.
I suggest this ringtone for you. Warning mildly explicit language
♪♪Now you swear and kick and beg us That you're not a gamblin' man Then you find you're back in Vegas With a handle in your hand♪♪ Your black cards can make you money So you hide them when you're able In the land of casinos and money You must put them on the table♪♪ You go back Jack do it again roulette wheels turinin' 'round and 'round♪♪ You go back Jack do it again♪♪
RogerKint
RogerKint
  • Threads: 15
  • Posts: 1916
Joined: Dec 5, 2011
July 9th, 2016 at 12:27:04 AM permalink
Quote: AxelWolf

No. A real pimp knows she should be walking.
I suggest this ringtone for you. Warning mildly explicit language



What's a rihanna? Im from the old skool.

100% risk of ruin
  • Jump to: