Jury Duty

[AZK]

In the mail today came a summons for jury duty. I've been lucky enough that I rarely get called, and have not actually been selected for any actual trials. My daughter and ex-husband used to get called all the time. How about you? Have you ever actually served on a jury?

 

[Cherylndesigns]

Oh man - I used to get called regularly. What a pain - well, I guess some people love to do their civic duty, but I always tried to get out of it. I managed to get out of it every time.

 

[Kythe]

I have been called once but was off work dealing with depression at the time. The case was a really gruesome murder trial. Thankfully the judge relieved me of the duty.

 

[tanteva]

This is actually something I've been wondering about. We don't have this here in Sweden. I've seen this on TV and in movies, jury selections, I mean. Can anyone get summoned, I'm guessing citizens of a certain age? And you have to show up? Or is it considered an honour so everyone just show up because of that? As I've understand it the attorney and the prosecution has a selection of people to pick out the jurors from, and they have a right to say no to a certain amount each, at least that's how I've seen in movies.

Do you get any training for this in school? I mean it's serious things, and people should really know exactly what's expected of them. I wouldn't feel safe if I knew any moron could be on the jury. LOL

Here in Sweden we have a mixture of professional (educated) judges and something that's called "nämndemän", which are a sort of elected laymen in court.

 

[faerywings]

I have been called countless times but have never served. The first few times my kids were babies and I was able to get out of it b/c of childcare reasons. The next few times, I was dealing with Lyme and my Dr wrote me out since it would have been a bad idea for the person on trial- I couldn't keep a thought in my head for more than a minute. I am sure I will get called up again soon. It might be interesting to be on a jury but considering I can't decide what to make for dinner most days, I am not sure I would be any good.

My brother was on a Grand Jury for 6 months a few years ago and he thought it was fascinating.

 

[faerywings]

This is actually something I've been wondering about. We don't have this here in Sweden. I've seen this on TV and in movies, jury selections, I mean. Can anyone get summoned, I'm guessing citizens of a certain age? And you have to show up? Or is it considered an honour so everyone just show up because of that? As I've understand it the attorney and the prosecution has a selection of people to pick out the jurors from, and they have a right to say no to a certain amount each, at least that's how I've seen in movies.

Do you get any training for this in school? I mean it's serious things, and people should really know exactly what's expected of them. I wouldn't feel safe if I knew any moron could be on the jury. LOL

Here in Sweden we have a mixture of professional (educated) judges and something that's called "nämndemän", which are a sort of elected laymen in court.

If you get a Jury Summons you are legally required to show up unless you ask for an exemption- in my case, it was either childcare or medical exemptions. I *think* the summons come from voter registration roles but I could be wrong about that, so the minimum age would be 18. The Constitution requires a speedy trial by an impartial jury- colloquially referred to a jury of your peers so you would get a jury in the district or county where you are being charged.
No training for it. We barely get Civics Classes in our schools anymore, I know my kids didn't get much other than the three branches of the Federal govt nothing on the differences between federal/state/local levels.

 

[AZK]

If you get a Jury Summons you are legally required to show up unless you ask for an exemption- in my case, it was either childcare or medical exemptions. I *think* the summons come from voter registration roles but I could be wrong about that, so the minimum age would be 18. The Constitution requires a speedy trial by an impartial jury- colloquially referred to a jury of your peers so you would get a jury in the district or county where you are being charged.
No training for it. We barely get Civics Classes in our schools anymore, I know my kids didn't get much other than the three branches of the Federal govt nothing on the differences between federal/state/local levels.

@tanteva You're right, Chris, as a registered voter you are expected to serve if called, but allowances can be made for certain reasons. The last time I was called was about 5 years ago for a federal trial regarding some doctors who were accused of money laundering or insurance fraud or something. The attorneys on both sides ask potential jurors all sorts of questions and are allowed to refuse a potential juror if they don't think they can be fair. The judge in the case spent a LOT of time educating the potential jurors on what was expected. It was fascinating and boring at the same time, lol.

 

[VickiStegall]

I've been called once but didn't end up having to serve.

 

[scrap-genie]

I once spent a week in the jury pool of the county common pleas court and we served on two cases. I've been called twice to the suburb's municipal court. Once we assembled but while we waited the attorneys reached a deal. The other time we did hear the case. Recently I got a county summons for jury duty but found I could opt out now based on my age. One advantage of being old.

 

[scribler]

I've been summoned for Jury Duty three or four times. Once, I was actually asked to go back to the court room but then they setttled before we actually went anywhere. That is as close as I've come.

How jury duty is handled varies from state to state and the type of court you are asked to serve on. For example, in Florida, if you are called for jury duty you can actually request to postpone until a different date. Both time I've requested it has been granted automatically. The second time, I guess they really didn't need me cause I was never requested to come in.

I live near a Federal Court and if you are called to serve in that court, you have to call in every night for a specific period of time to see if you are needed the next day. Such a pain.

I don't know how it is now but in NM, but it used to work in a similar fashion. You had to call in every night for a month to see if you were needed the next day. However, if you had to go up to the courthouse, you got paid minimum wage for every hour you were at the courthouse. It was a little bonus for my mom. She worked for a company that paid you if you had to serve on a jury. However, they no longer requested employees submit their jury pay because the processing cost was more than the small daily amounts most states pay you to serve. (In Florida, it's like $8 and you only get that if you actually miss work to serve.) So she got to keep her minimum wage pay and still receive her regular wages.

 

[veer]

Fortunately, never been called up here, but a colleague of mine has been called up.

 

[CookingMyLife]

I have been called about 4+ times back when I was 'between marriages'. 3 times for local cases, one I served on - a case where the defendant chose not to have an attorney and called his jail buddy to be a witness about his drug case. Unanimously guilty. One where I was called and did not make it through the final cut was a murder trial and I was glad I wasn't chosen.

I also served on a federal case which was about 4 months and as I was working for the State of MD my boss was glad to give me the time off and pay me. Fortunately this case while serious involving two deaths in a car accident, also came back with an unanimous verdict against the plaintiffs. The only bad part for me was the endless sitting and if one person had to use the toilet, all of us had to leave. At least that gave us a time to stretch and walk.

I always valued the opportunity to participate in the jury process as a citizen and hope if I ever have to face a trial that I will have citizens who take this duty seriously too.

 

[faerywings]

Hi Maureen!! How have you been, so good to see you here!