PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum - Jury duty PIA or proud to serve?

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Quote:

Originally Posted by Diesel911 (Post 3923267)

I wonder if getting out of Jury Duty these days is as easy as wearing a Red Jacket with Make America Great on it.

I just had to do JD again for the second time. First time was back in 07. One sure fire way to get out of it seems to be to tell them you are going on vacation. Everybody who said that in both trials I was in walked. Also apparently helps to be a young cute female who apparently has "social anxiety issues". They don't want you around then either apparently.

The trial I was in this time was early this month. I was dragged into the court room Thursday at noon. Spent the entire afternoon whittling the pool down from 60 to 26 and were informed we had to come back Monday at noon to continue the selection process. They apparently wanted to look thru more jurors.

The case was a firearms case. The idiot had shot up a car and street outside a nightclub in Scottsdale some years ago. They asked a lot of questions about wether or not anyone had any experience with firearms crimes (as a victim) or if anyone they knew had. That got about fifty percent of them excused.

I think the problem was the defendant was black and apart from the judge who was also black everybody else in the court was white or hispanic. Actually not so, there were two blacks in the 26 remaining. My supposition is the Defense attorney and the Judge wanted a more "representative" group of jurors. When the group from Thursday showed up again Monday afternoon the leftovers from Monday's selection process were hanging around outside the court room. There was a third black person there so that makes three total.

We had to wait around for over an hour and were finally called in to the court at about 15:00. The judge thanked us for our service and told us there would be no trial. Evidently the perp had copped a plea.

Not surprising given the witness list that was read out. About four of the perps homies (who had all apparently been "in the system" before reading between the judges lines), and about half the Scottsdale PD.

Given that this is Phoenix, where the citizenry tend to take a dim view of people messing with the second, and the fact that they clearly were not happy with the first group from the jury pool, my assumption is that the perps attorney told him something along the lines of "You better take what you can get because one thing you do not want is for your dumb ass to wind up in front of a jury".

But probably in a more polished lawyerly fashion...

At least it was only two days and I'm not eligible for another two years.

- Peter.

It really depends of both your attitude and your work situation ~ My job paid for the time, they insisted on the service check so for me it was like a mini vacation : I could sleep later, ride my Motocycle every day and plenty of pretty Women to flirt with and no one rushing me through my lunch hour .

One year I did two jury services that were trials, at different times, not sure how that was but it was O.K. .

I met my Sweet Lady during one trial, she was sitting in the front row of the jury box making me lick my lips, one date and we've been a couple since then, 20 + years now so I have no regrets for all the time I spent in the jury room doing nothing (I take books) .

One trial was for prostitution and her pimp showed up as a witness claiming to be a preacher, I was shocked that the 'judge' didn't boot him out, during deliberations a male juror admitted he was one of her clients off the street....

I'm off to read the many pages of comments, I know there will be lots of good comments mixed in with the usual 'I'm too special to be bothered with any Civic Duty' B.S. .

Quote:

Originally Posted by pj67coll (Post 3923320)

Out here you are allowed 2 postponements. So if you walked in and said you had a vacation they are going to ask you why you did not use one of your postponements. But, they tell you to report back to the Jury room and get your postponement.

The also economized here. If you do your jury introduction online you don't have to report in. You call on the pone and if you have to go you go directly to a court room for possible jury selection.

If they don't call you for several days you are done but, you can be asked to serve on a Jury again the next year.

If they keep sending you to court and you don't get picked you still have to call at night to see if you have to show up to another court the next day. You could not get on a Jury again and have to repeat that many many times over depending on if they have gotten a bunch of new jurors or not.

Quote:

Originally Posted by vwnate1 (Post 3923377)

Out here they claim that they pick the names from voters registration. But it was not for 10 years I was called to jury duty and I started being called for jury duty the first year I had a Federal job. Since I was not called the previously 10 years I had been a registered voter I have to believe getting the Federal job was what pulled the trigger on me getting on the Jury Duty list.

I made it to 70 years old this year. I no longer have to go to jury duty. I can just say I am not up to it and no doctors excuse is needed.

Quote:

Originally Posted by MTI (Post 1714650)

Jury duty, other than the draft, is about the only time that our government requires its citizens to "show up." Think about that, it's that important. For those that only see a burden or imposition on their time or personal comfort, then perhaps democracy and the right to jury trial is too hard for you and this just isn't the country for you. :rolleyes:

It turned out to be a health issue for me. My guts hurt for 2 weeks after actually being on a jury and ending up deadlocked. I vowed never again would I serve on a jury although I was called many times and went.

I have served my country far better by not becoming a defendant and not supporting even the happy hippy guy that sells weed and seems like he is really not a drug dealer.

Lastly do you want someone deciding your fate that does not want to be on a jury.

A Serious Duty IMO

However, I simply cannot do it anymore, too bad as I'm retired and have the time .

I'm still with my Sweet whom I met on a case decades ago..... :P .

Nothing like getting tried by strangers who do not know your character and values.

Quote:

Originally Posted by merc lover (Post 4224964)

Nothing like getting tried by strangers who do not know your character and values.

Your character and values have nothing to do with the law, guilt or innocence. You are bat chyt crazy and having people who know you determining your fate would not be advantageous to you.

I served in Brooklyn years ago, a trip and fall case. Sons drunk friend fell up the stairs. Walked home and his brother convinced him to go get x-rays etc and then sue the sons father for injuries.
When we went in to deliberate, all but one juror was a homeowner. It took several hours to convince the sole renter that not everything is the landlord's fault.
We voted homeowner was not liable, much to the chagrin of the drunk's attorney.

Jury duty is just that, like voting. Jurors are the stop gap between the State and citizens, no matter where on the political spectrum one might fall.