FWIW, down here in South Texas, the first thing that happens to a pool of potential jurors is excusing all non-citizens. We’re another DMV state. It was explained to us that the reason the switch from voter registration info was made was that folks figured out they could avoid jury duity by not voting.
Too bad. If someone can’t be bothered to vote, I wouldn’t think of them as a “peer”…
It was Jay Oliva. The case was a personal injury case against a property owner. He explained that his university was a major property owner that frequently was sued in similar cases, and was dismissed.
Annie-Xmas, good for the judge. Deidre gets on my nerves. That’s a really pathetic way for her to try to weasal out of jury duty - News stories about the trial will be read on her husband’s radio show. If reporters and journalists serve jury duty, why would a spouse think she could be excused? Stuck up twit.
Charles served, and Imus at least goes into a jury pool figuring that he will get struck, tries to get struck, or will eventually be excused as too much of a distraction.
I stand corrected, it sounds like they do get called in sometimes. I guess I need to watch more Fox TV.
I live in California and I just registered to vote last week to vote. I’m registered with the DMV also so if I vote just this once will the jury get me? I only registered to vote for the Governor. Will my name stay in a pool forever even if I never vote again? I really don’t want to ever do jury duty. I’m also a student so if my schedule of classes conflicts with jury duty will they excuse or will I have to drop all my classes to go to jury duty for several weeks?
Students are generally exempt from jury duty.
And really, getting out of jury duty is pretty easy. Just show up. If you are actually selected out of the HUGE pool, voir dire gives you an easy way to bail out. I mean, there’s nobody in the court who wants a juror who is pissed off about being there.
It wasn’t Edward Teller, by chance, was it? A brilliant, brilliant man…
I lie awake at night hoping against hope to be someday called for jury duty! 
I figure celebritys aren’t registerd to vote, so don’t get called. And if they did, would get excused due to the added distraction.
In California they pull names from several sources so it’s impossible to avoid pretty much. I think they go by voter registration, phone listings, drivers licenses, PG&E bills, etc. (They actually tell you when you show up for jury duty, but it’s been so long I forgot. I might have a couple of those wrong.)
I don’t get what everyone’s beef is with having to serve. Seems sorta low to try to weasel out of it. Even lower to forgo registering to vote because of it. (“I don’t want any say in the justice of my country, nor do I want any say in who runs it!”) :sad:
I know that this insn’t GQ, but cite? Everyone I went to college and law school with in California went when called. I seem to remember it saying on the notice that school was not an excuse.
blainer, here’s at least one cite, from my own city: Lubbock County - Jury Duty
From the page:
It also applies if you are a “student of public or private secondary school.”
I served on a jury with a local NYC tv reporter, Jay DeDapper. He seemed really pissed off about the whole thing because the trial happened right after Amadou Diallo was killed by the police and there were demonstrations (and arrests) going on down the block at 1 Police Plaza. I went to one of the demonstrations on our lunch break.
He was working the phones during recesses, calling his police contacts and generally looking furious. We were on for a week, and he was an alternate. On Friday, just before we deliberated, one of the jurors was excused and he got stuck deliberating with us. He tried to get us to hurry up so he could leave, but we wound up deliberating until after 5:00. I guess he missed his news broadcast.
I enjoyed that. He really annoyed the hell out of 11 people.
I’m almost embarassed to admit this, but my in-laws (MIL, FIL and SIL) have never, ever registered to vote for that very reason. They have no intention of ever serving on a jury. Too much trouble, you know. They have better things to do. :rolleyes:
They also love to bitch about the way the county/state/country is being run, but they never vote.
My husband, however, is registered and always votes. He’s also been called for jury duty twice. He loves jury duty.
I was in court in Athens once waiting to plead out my couple of cases on the trial calendar, and Peter Buck of R.E.M. was on the panel. This was in the early '90s. The case before mine, which was actually going to trial, was a DUI. The prosecutor, when he got to Buck on the individual voir vire, said something about what a big fan he was. I thought that was pretty tacky.
I think a lot of states have tightened up on who they automatically exempt- in KY, doctors and lawyers used to be (no, I don't have a cite, but I do have a brother in law who's practiced there forever, and that's what he says), but not anymore. I've been called 3 times, but the prosecutors know me, and I always get struck. I'd love to serve, though.The trick it to say you’re prejudiced against all races.
I take it Bryan Eckers likes The Simpsons. So do I Bryan! How ya doin’?
Al Gore did the same thing in the PMRC hearings to Frank Zappa and John Denver!:eek:
I’m doing okay. And I’m not alone in being a Simpsons fan. This place is lousy with 'em.
Not true in KY, anyway. The best I could do was get it put off until the summertime. When I had to take Organic II over during the summer, the judge would only excuse me on the days we had exams, and she promised to let me out if I was in danger of getting on a trial that would take more than a day or two. (I only had to go for two days.)
I don’t know anyone who got it during med school. I’d have paid good money for it durig my surgery months.
Dr. J