Yup. I just got called again. This is my sixth time. At least it’s for the local district court, which only a few blocks away. TikkiDad says I should make sure to get reimbursed for milage.
So, I was wondering who among the Dopers has been called for jury duty the most and how many trials you actually sat on. Here’s how it breaks down for me:
Federal Court–This was way back when you were on-call for six months. I sat on two cases: a workplace injury suit (We awarded him about a third of the money he wanted) and the trial of a drug dealer (Guilty). Was in the selection for the trial of a woman who threw her kids off the Aurora Bridge (way, way high) so they could go to heaven. I think it’s probably a good thing I didn’t make the cut on that one.
King County Court–They called and said that there were no trials scheduled for the time I was to be in so I didn’t have to go at all.
Seattle Court–I’ve been called twice. The first time was the same as the King County experience. The second time, I sat on a trial of a man who was accused of molesting his girlfriend’s boy. Both the man and the girlfriend were sleazebuckets but there was no real proof he did anything so the jury was split down the middle when it came time for the final vote. As much as I didn’t want to let the man go in case he did molest the kid, I wanted to convict the woman even worse for being such a lousy mother.
Local District Court–I’ve been called twice now. The first time I went in, they said there were no trials that week so go on home. This next time will be in a month. Maybe I’ll get lucky again.
The odd thing is that TikkiDad has always wanted to have the experience of being on a jury. He finally got called for the very first time a few years ago at the ripe old age of 72, but didn’t get on one. Me, within the first ten years of getting my voter’s card at the age of 18, I was called four times and sat on two juries. It’s a shame too. TikkiDad’s much smarter than me and would make a much better juror. Plus, he wants to do it. Me, I don’t really care anymore.
I am in Seattle as well, I’ve been called 3 times in 18 months.
District court - was nearly seated on a trial, was the last juror dismissed by a lawyer. It was a sensitive topic - child molestation - and the screening took 4 days.
Federal court - just sat around and waited, they let us go around noon on the second day.
District court again (Jan 8 of this year) - was seated as a juror - cocaine possession. Trial was pretty much open and shut, started on Tuesday morning, ended at 1 on Wednesday. Interestingly enough, I was very lucky to have jury duty that day. I rode the bus home, got home around 4, it started to snow like crazy. It took my best friend from work 5 hours to drive home.
Gotten a summons about 4 or 5 times in the last 19 years. Only one resulted in getting called into court and I was foreman on a Federal drug case (last year). Fascinating experience, glad that I could do it. Seriously.
I’ve been called three times in four years. I’ve, um, never really returned any of the paperwork. Or called. Or acknowledged my summons in any way. That’s probably stupid.
Just once; got to be foreperson and found the defendant OH so guilty. It was a stupid case, really, three girls fighting over a guy at a bar. One girl used to date him, one was engaged to him during the trial and the third was the partner in crime of the former dater.
Ladies, they’re just men and another one will come along who will want you for you, not because you beat the crap out of the woman he’s in love with. :rolleyes:
I think I have moved around too much to be called anywhere.
In 20 years, I’ve been called once. I was 19 at the time, and didn’t have a car. I informed the judge that I had to borrow a car to get to the courthouse, and was excused.
One time. The only case I was called on to go to voir dire for was medical malpractice. I work insurance and thats probably why they turned me down for the jury. The rest of the two weeks I just hung out in the jurors waiting area. I learned to play bridge, so it wasn’t a complete waste of time.
Called 3 times, sat on a jury once. The last time, it was a drunk-driving case, and I was about 6 months pregnant with my first baby. I made a point of wearing something that made me look REALLY pregnant, hoping the defense attorney wouldn’t want me. It worked!!!
Three times, by age 32. The first time was less than a month after I turned 18. I was out of state on a college program, so my folks wrote a letter and I was excused.
Second time was while I was a full-time student in law school. I sent in my exemption and was excused.
Third time was just a year or two ago. I went, and I sat with a huge number of people and waited. A judge came in an announced that all but one of the pending trials was settled. So, they picked a pool for that trial of about 60 folks out of the 200 or so present, and I wasn’t one of the sixty, so I got to leave.
I doubt I’ll ever sit on a jury; in the “occupation” box, I write “PROSECUTOR” in big letters. In truth, though, it’s too bad that I never got to sit on one at least once; it’d be valuable experience in my current field.
The first time, I was ended up on a jury for a civil trial which lasted about 4 days. The next 3 times, sat around all day, got handed a check, and told to go home. The last time, I was an alternate juror on a two-day DUI trial, but because I was just an alternate, I got sent home before deliberations.
These all took place at different courthouses, except the first and last time, which were both at the Daley Center in downtown Chicago.
I have been eligible for jury duty for forty years. I have never been asked to serve on a jury. My husband, however, has been called to jury duty three times, despite the fact that he cannot serve, since he is a Canadian citizen. You’d think they’d take his name out of the pool.
