In Michigan, you get a summons for Jury Duty, then you have to call into a phone number where you are told whether or not to show up. Both times I was summoned, I called and never had to show up.
My original home state keeps sending me jury duty notices (I say “keeps sending” but it’s only been twice now, but I’d have thought it should have been none, considering I moved states properly). I keep sending them my driver’s license clearly showing that I reside in a different state. They let me off the hook, of course. But since it has come back twice, and I’ve never gotten a jury duty notice for my current state, I wonder if my information has just never gotten updated and this will keep happening. Despite, y’know, the whole driver’s license, change of address, and voting for years in my current state thing.
In the same amount of time my husband’s been called to jury duty twice in this state, same as my getting called twice for the wrong state, which enforces my opinion that new york probably doesn’t even know I live here. Somehow.
I’ve been called maybe 4 times total. The first two times I called that morning and the automated message told me I wasn’t needed. The next two times I called and explained that I owned a business and my employees would not be paid for the days I was absent, so I was excused.
I was on a Grand Jury several years ago. We met one day a week for three months, which was kind of a pain, but luckily my work was cool about it. It was interesting in that my employer had procedures in place for granting leave for jury duty, but they had apparently never had anyone serve on a grand jury before. The whole “once a week for three months” thing seemed to throw the payroll folks into an absolute tizzy.
Overall I found it an interesting experience. We heard about cases ranging from a shooting in a bar (I had seen that one on the news already), a guy who beat two people to death with a hammer (complete with grisly crime scene photos), to embezzling at the state revenue office.
I got called once, but was scheduled to take my daughter to college in another state that week. I wrote a nice letter to the judge, and he excused me. I suppose it didn’t hurt that he and my wife had worked together years ago…
I’ve been summoned four times, each time I was excused.
The first time, I was summoned in my home town while I was attending college 1,500 miles away. I just called, explained, and was excused.
The second, third and fourth third times, I was summoned within a month of my having moved out of the jurisdiction who issued the summons. In each case, I called, explained that I had moved (and to where), and was excused with a reminder to update my driver’s license address, which I did.
I’ve been called in four times and chosen to serve once. It was a burglary case and the defendant was clearly guilty, so our deliberation was short. The whole thing was over and done in two days.
I was called once (in Florida) but since I am not a US citizen I am not eligible to serve so they let me off after a phone call to the court clerk. You’d think they would check on that before summoning me.
Northern Piper is in Canada, where you are ineligible to serve if you are an officer of the court (and frankly, I think the same rule should apply here too).
I’ve been summoned twice, selected twice and was jury foreman both times, on trials many years apart. First trial was one day, second trial was two days.
I consider it an honor and a citizen’s obligation to serve on a jury.
I was summoned twice and selected once.
It was a two day trial. Assault on a police officer was the main charge with many minor charges accompanying.
If it means anything, I’m 48.
Matthew 22:14
The first time I was called, when I was maybe 19 or 20, I got selected and sat on a trial; it was an civil accident-injury case. It was very interesting seeing the entire process from the ‘inside’.
Since then I’ve been called a number of times over the years, but have only made it as far as the inside of the courtroom one other time; I was on a large panel, but they picked the jury before I made it to voir-dire.
I’ve only been called three or four times in the 35 years since I’ve lived here, and got picked for one (very boring civil) case once.
My husband, on the other hand, who is not a citizen, gets a notice every year like clockwork. I guess because he’s never served they keep trying, never putting two and two together to get “ineligible”.
Got my most recent summons day before yesterday.
First time, called but not picked.
Second time, called but was able to get a medical exemption.
I was on a jury for a murder trial, some dumb kid stabbed a guy in the wrong place with a tiny knife. It was bad luck, but the kid brought it on himself. The defense was going for half self-defense half manslaughter, which didn’t really work.
The interesting thing to me was the layers and layers of laws, definitions and instructions. You would read the written criminal code and it would have a few thing that need defined. Then those definition would need things defined, and so on. When we finally got to the bottom it turned out that even if he only intended to cut the guy up he was on the hook for the whole murder and not some lesser included charge.
The sheriff, who knows me, actually started laughing when I called to ask for the automatic exemption: “We can’t let you on!” he said.
Our approach is different here. No-one connected with the courts, the ministry of justice, or the police are eligible to serve on the jury. Nor are Members of Parliament, Senators, Members of the Legislative Assembly, or former federal Cabinet members. The theory is that the jury is meant to be composed of non-experts. They’re to bring the common sense of the community to the crucial task of judging the case, not the conventional wisdom of people who have worked in the justice system, possibly most of their careers.
When I lived in Massachusetts, I would get summoned maybe once a decade to petit jury service. Most of the times, I would report, sit there and read a book for several hours, and then be dismissed. One time, I was chosen for a murder trial and served for a week.
In the 14 years I’ve lived in New Jersey, I seem to get summoned to grand jury service every year or two (sometimes for the state, other times for the county). Grand jury service here requires a day a week for 20 weeks. Each time, I have appealed the summons on the basis that I am a commissioned salesman, and that a loss of 20 days from my schedule would be the equivalent of a month’s income lost, and thus present an undue hardship. Each time, I have been excused on that basis.
I actually served one time – it was a civil case in Cuyahoga County (Ohio) Court of Common Pleas. Basically a fender-bender. After a week of testimony, it took us an hour or so to decide on a compromise verdict – the victimized couple got about half of what it requested.
I was seated as an alternate juror in U.S. District Court, also in Cuyahoga County. I was “on call” for a year but never got summoned to take my place on the panel. I was also selected at least once for Rocky River Municipal Court, only to be told via phone the night before “reporting day” that the case had been settled.
Since moving to Tippecanoe County (Indiana) I’ve been in the jury pool for two different years. Each time I was sent a letter and asked to call on a certain date, however, I was told that I wouldn’t be needed. So a total of five or six summonses, with one actual trial experience.
I was summoned once, but I was attending college out of state. My family advised the court and I was apparently excused. Didn’t find out about it until after the fact.