I’m a registered voter and have a driver’s license. I was called when I was 21 and was excused for cause, it was a civil slip-and-fall case and my Aunt was a plaintiff in a slip-and-fall case.
Since then, nothing. Lately I’ve been feeling guilty as other co-workers seem to get summon’s every couple of years.
On one hand I want to know if I’ve been permanently barred for some reason and on the other hand I don’t want them to look me up and say, “Oh, yes, we’ll put you back on the list then, the top of the list.”
Anyone else NOT getting called for jury duty even though they’re registered to vote and have a driver’s license in California? Anywhere?
I’ve been a registered voter and driver in the same state for greater than 30 years and I just got my first summons to jury duty today, and I expect that’s only because I now live in a county with very few residents. I used to live in the most populous county in the state, so I just randomly didn’t get called. I’ve always had a bit of a complex about it, so now I feel better.
So, how can I get out of it?
No, I’m just kidding. I don’t do anything during normal human hours anyway, so I might as well do nothing at the courthouse and gain some civics points while I’m at it. I wonder if they might just skip over me when they see that 60-mile round trip commute, though.
Got jury duty after 28 years of never being called (in Minnesota). It was for a case involving a double shotgun murder of a father and his ten-year old son from a middle-of-the night break-in. I was the last person seated and ended up being an alternate. It was VERY interesting.
I’m a licensed driver, registered voter, property tax payer, all in good standing. I’ve never been called for jury duty. I’ve always wanted to be on a jury.
I’ve been a registered voter in CA for 18 years. I’ve gotten one summons. I had to defer it once, and then finally appeared. I was empaneled, and I was really enthusiastic about the possibility of being on a jury (and said as much) because I work in law and thought it would be neat to observe from the other side.
Then they got to the point in the questioning where they needed to know if anyone had ever had a negative experience with a police officer, since the only two witnesses in the case were going to be the arresting officers. Guess who had to raise his hand?
That was about…oh, six years ago, maybe? I haven’t seen a summons since.
I’ve been registered to vote since 1972, have had a drivers license since 1969, and have never been called either. It’s a good thing; I’d have a hard time sitting around paying attention in court.
Of course, now that I’ve bragged about it, I’ll get a summons.
Have you moved around within the state? Most jury offices are managed at the county level so if you’ve switched counties, you may have fallen out of sight.
Consider yourself lucky. Jury duty is a pet peeve of mine.
I get called every year in NJ. I’ll gladly serve when they a) demand that my employer PAY me for the lost pay day and b) provide child care. I just know one year they’re going to screw me over financially and make my life a living hell for a few weeks. One of my neighbors was lucky. She had to serve for two weeks but her job was nice and paid her anyway and her mom was able to watch her young daughter.
My husband has served twice with fully pay from his employer in the eight years we’ve been here. His service should suffice for our entire household.
And yet if somebody steals your shit, you’ll expect that the state puts him on trial instead of just giving him a stern warning, right?
OP, do you commute across county or municipal lines? If so, perhaps you’re in a location that doesn’t have a lot of need for jurors, but your co-workers live in a more judicially active location. In a metropolitan area, of course, lines between municipal entities fade away for almost all practical purposes, but they’re still important in the courts.
I expect the state not to ask me to sacrifice $150 a day and spend $300 a week on daycare. I don’t think that’s unreasonable. Do you think I should suffer a six hundred dollar a week loss in income AND be forced to pay $300 a week out of pocket? Because every single year I’ve had that same stupid conversation with state officials as they try to explain to me why punishing me and my family with huge fiscal losses is somehow a delightful exercise in civic democracy. If the state wants my time the state should either demand my employer pay for it or directly reimburse me for it.
FYI, I grew up in NYC. I’m a very short female who I suppose looks like an easy mark. I’ve been a crime victim over half a dozen times. State officials spent maybe an hour or two total investigating what happened to me. The police have never seemed particularly interested in listening to me when I told them that some asshole grabbed my purse as I was walking down the street or held a gun in my ear at the Prospect Park subway station and demanded my Chinese food dinner or picked the lock and ran off with my bike. Not once was a single person punished for those actions.
Yeah, that’s a hefty sacrifice; I can understand your hesitation. Our state reimburses for childcare (in a licensed facility) and that only seems fair. I’d be in sad shape if I had to give up working hours to serve.
Been a registered voter and licensed driver in SC for 17 years and only summoned once. The case was postponed, and have never been called since. I would love to serve.
I’ve been called 3 times and I’m only 24. Once I was in California (permanent address parents’ home in college) second time I was 2 hours away (again, in college) so I was easily excused each time.
The third time I actually mailed in the paperwork and then MISSED IT, thinking it was on the 17th and it was actually the 7th. I figured they’d throw my ass in jail but I called and emailed and their response was “oh, whatever”.
We’ve been in California for three years, and my wife has already been called twice, once for regular jury duty, and once for federal jury duty.
For the federal court, she had to be available for the whole month of July, and check in by phone or internet almost every evening to see if she needed to report the next day. In the end, though, she was only called in on one day, was weeded out in jury selection (voir dire), and was sent home at lunchtime.
I’m not a US citizen, so i don’t qualify for jury duty.
