Have you ever been called for jury duty?

In My Humble Opinion
1

This topic got me thinking, how many here have ever been summoned for jury duty.
Probably a ton, I’m guessing. I know it’s a common thing. Even I got one twice before, although the first one didn’t come until I was deep into my 20s.

How long did it take? If you weren’t chosen, were you dismissed right away or were you one of the last ones to be dismissed?
And if you were chosen, what was it for? What kind of trial? What was the result? Did your jury team take a long time?

This stuff intrigues me. I didn’t go either time I got one because of disability.

2

I got a summons but I’m ineligible to serve, being a lawyer.

3

I got called three times. The first time, I was rejected (one day). The second time, they settled (two days).

The last time – this May – I was put on the jury (seven days), though they eventually settled, mostly because they were too stupid to settle before; the evidence had absolutely no doubt – reasonable or unreasonable – that they were guilty.

4

I don’t know where you are, but here in New York, lawyers are not ineligible.

In fact, I know a (then) sitting federal (District Court) judge who not only got called for jury duty, but ended up on a jury, for a criminal trial in New York County.

Also, at one point, the mayor of the city at the time, Rudy Giuliani, got called for jury duty and had to show up, although I don’t think he got put on a jury, despite the fact that he was the mayor and a lawyer (former US attorney).

5

I’ve been several times.
Incredibly boring way to spend the day.
Only once dd I make it to jury selection and then I was rejected. I have no idea why.

Last time I was excused because I was self-employed as a pet sitter. I explained that I couldn’t just ‘take a day off’ in my job.

I’m probably due to be called again, it’s been a few years.

6

I was summoned several times, and picked once. I was summoned to Civil Court, where they announced that the case was dismissed BUT they said they needed a larger pool for a Criminal Court case, so we were taken there. I was the 12th one picked, and it was a murder trial.

It was absolutely horrifying. The defendant had beaten his girlfriend to death in their bedroom. The prosecutor had video of the scene and photos of the victim’s injuries. The autopsy report was the worst – her spleen had been cut in half from when he had kicked her.

The trial lasted four days, and it took us about two hours to find him guilty. The initial straw vote was unanimous, but we all felt we should spend more than five minutes making a decision, so we reviewed the evidence for the rest of the two hours. It was a solid case, with no doubt in our minds that he was guilty.

I hope to never go through something like that again.

7

Twice. First one selected and interviewed, dismissed. Second time not chosen.

8

Never, and I’ve only ever known one person in my life who has.

9

I’ve only been called once and had just started a job after being unemployed for several months, so I didn’t have to go. (Of course, I’ve probably just jinxed myself…)

I always wonder if any lawyer would even want me as a juror–my uncle was a cop and my son-in-law was an MP. I have no idea what they’d be looking for (or not) in a juror though.

10

Did you have any lingering difficulties because of it? Nightmares? Paranoia? Mistrust?

11

Called often but only came close to being picked once; and the weenie of a client saw the writing on the wall and copped a plea before we were actually formed. I just know too many lawyers to really have any hope of getting a real seat.

12

I’ve been summoned a total of three times. The first two times, I was not empaneled. By the third time, I was a bona fide physician… and only then was I empaneled. :smack: The judge who greeted the whole jury pool told us that there used to be a law in that state that doctors, lawyers, and clergy were exempt, but that law had been removed, and that he himself had served on a jury when he was a practicing attorney.

13

I was called once a year or three ago. It was the third or fourth time I had been called. Irritating, but I’m not one of those people that abhor jury duty. So I didn’t try to get out of it.

Much to my amazement, I was picked. Here’s the case as best as I can remember:

Police arrived at a home to perform a court-ordered eviction. The house appeared to be deserted. The knock on door, no answer. Then they use the PA system on the cruisers to get the tenant to come out (they see a curtain flicker or some such, anyway they are confident the guy is inside). No answer. Bang on door. No answer. 45 mins. go by. No answer. The police arm themselves with automatic weapons and make a forced entry. (Why they did this I don’t remember… I didn’t know that cops could do that to serve an eviction notice. But I digress).

First cop through the door encounters a man pointing a handgun at him. The man does not fire and the police officer immediately retreats without firing his weapon. Standoff ensues. An hour later the police use teargas to drive him outside, where they arrest him. Man is charged with several crimes and goes to trial.

Both police and the man agree on the sequence of events, but the tenant claims that he is hard of hearing and simply did not hear the police until the door was knocked open. He claims he didn’t know they were police and immediately grabbed his gun, thinking it was a break-in. He claimed the cop retreated before he could register the uniform [and how lucky are both men not to have been shot!]. When he realized it was the police (after looking out his window), he claims that he didn’t want to leave for fear of being shot—said he saw a guy in a ghillie suit in the trees nearby—knowing that he had pointed a gun at one of the officers.

We found him guilty. During the first part of the trial when the prosecution was questioning witnesses, the defendant was wearing one of those hearing aids that look like an old-school Walkman. But when he was called to the stand he forgot the device on the table. The judge, who was very quiet and soft-spoken, asked him if he needed the hearing aid—and the defendant heard him. That was the kicker. If it wasn’t for that little exchange we likely would have believed his side of the story.

It was an interesting experience. It took two days, it was more boring than anything. Free coffee and I knew one of the other jurors so we chatted while in the jury room.

The guy we found guilty, who was, IIRC, 63, was sentenced to 5 years in prison. We learned during the trial that his son owned the property and had decided to raze the building because the land had bad drainage and would flood in the winter. The defendant had almost no income and would have been homeless. Sad story. But still… he pulled a gun on a uniformed cop and didn’t get killed. Very, very lucky to have lived, especially since the lead officer was carrying a ready-to-fire M-16.

I’m not dying to do it again, but I certainly wouldn’t complain if called again.

14

Called a few years ago and served on a jury (not guilty… we believed he was defending himself but not long ago I researched the case and there was a statement by the police how disappointed they were in us for our verdict, so maybe we made the wrong call?)

I’m up for it again soon and I’m super annoyed. I really liked my time as a juror, but it was also very convenient for me (my job paid me, court was closer than work, plenty of free parking, no kid, good weather). While there are several court houses practically within walking distance of my house, I have to go fairly far away and pay to park and I don’t think my current job will pay me. Plus driving in December in New England is always a gamble. It might not snow until February, or we could have just enough that it makes driving a nightmare but not enough courthouses are closed.

15

Several times.

I come back from the lunch break drunk (y’ever notice how many bars there are nearby the criminal courts?) and I’ve never been picked.

16

I’ve been picked at least five times, and have served on three juries. Had a ball.

The most recent summons was last Thursday for King County. Going to have to get my Dr. to write an excuse as at 86 YO I’m not quite up to facing all those Seattle hills on foot. Bummer.

17

Never. I lived for 4+ years in Philly after turning 21, then 2 in NYC, then 4 in Urbana, IL. Since then I have lived in Canada, most of the time not a citizen. I think I would now be considered too old.

My daughter in NYC has been called several times and sat once. The jury was hung and once they discovered that they immediately struck her from the panel.

18

Called three times.

Been picked for two trials (well one trial where we had a case to consider. The other was more along the lines: the defense attorney argues “the guy is still crazy and should stay locked up at the mental health facility, here’s the reports to prove it.” Prosecution? “We agree with the defense, the defendant is still fracking crazy.” Would the jury please go back and sign the paper saying the verdict is the guy is still crazy? If y’all don’t take too long we’ll all be out of here for an early lunch. Thanks.)

Third time sat outside the courtroom about 4 hours while all the potential defendants plea bargained their way out. Judge called us in thanked us for showing up. Said we were the leverage to get stuff settled as everyone knew he had a jury ready to go for anyone not wanting the plea bargains.

19

I was called once when I was a teacher, and at that time (several decades ago) teachers were excused. Then later when I was a SAHM, and was excused again. Third time was the charm and I actually was selected for the jury.

The defendant was accused of three things: Burglary, possessing stolen property, and assault on a police officer. There was no doubt as to the second charge, since he was apprehended fleeing in a car from a warehouse with things that didn’t belong to him. That took about 2 minutes. The third charge we found him not guilty because the two police officers involved were inconsistent in their testimony and we figured they just tacked that on. The real problem was the burglary charge. Most of us thought he was also guilty of that, but unfortunately a few people thought he could have been just picking the stuff up for the actual thief. So we were a hung jury on that charge.

Some years later I served on a grand jury. It was one day a week for 16 weeks. I already had a planned vacation, and the court let me skip attending for that week. Most days we were done before noon and I would go into work for the afternoon. A couple of days we took until mid-afternoon and I just went home after that. This was actually quite interesting, and there were actually a few cases where we didn’t give the prosecution the indictment he or she was looking for.

In both cases I found the experience to be very interesting and would gladly serve again if called.

20

Several times:

I was a Grand Juror (it takes six weeks of your time which is not fun).

I was called for Petit Jury several times. One time I took the Judge aside and said I didn’t get paid for Jury Duty (which was true at the time) and it would be a hardship so he let me go. A second time I didn’t get called but had to wait for two days. A third time I got called and was picked for a case but (luckily?) I knew one of the Defendants. He was a doctor who had treated my Mother and sister. They asked if anyone knew the Defandants and I raised my hand. They put me on the stand and asked me how. I told them and they let me go.

I am sure I was called for Jury Duty at least one or two more times besides that but forget the details.