So my number got called for Jury Duty selection and like a good citizen, I showed up and filled out my paperwork, and after about 2 hours, the lady running the whole deal said the selection process for the case was taking so long, 1/2 of us could go and do whatever we wanted, and come back 3 hours later.
I came back 3 hours later, no one is there, and the lady told us because of an unexpected delay and other cases judges needed jurors for, we were going to have to come back Monday.
Now, I checked the courts website and it said prospective jurors could be called back a “second day”. I interpreted this as Friday, but apparently the words are “second day”. Hey whats not to stop them from telling me I have to come back 3 months from now?
This is now going to create all types of havoc with my schedule. I buffered all my meetings so I would not have anything critical Friday or Monday in case I was called in, but Tuesday I have a very important meeting coming.
Im going to claim a work hardship when I come in Monday, but do I have any legal recourse to not come at all Monday? The way I see it, I did my duty, I showed up when called, now Monday its someone else turn. Its not MY fault the court was not ready or something unexpected came up.
Are they going to fuck up again and ask me to come Tuesday, claiming that is another “second day”?? Do I have any true recourse, or am I screwed.
Personally I would not go. They will put you back in the pool for a later selection. To be proactive, call the office and tell them you have a meeting that you moved to accommodate the prior date but you cannot do Monday so please reschedule me and they likely will.
I agree with the proactive part of BoBettie’s advice. Call the Jury Commissioner and see if you can postpone your “second day” to another day. Chances are, they will allow you to do that or even excuse you altogether. No guarantees, but it’s the best way to proceed.
Understand that court proceedings are always fluid. No one is screwing up. Last-minute settlement discussions/plea agreements are entertained all the time. It is almost always better for everyone involved – including prospective jurors – for a case to settle than to go to trial. There’s not much the courts can do about this, so please try to take it in stride and do your best as a responsible citizen.
When my wife was called for jury duty she had to be available to report every Monday for a month. She could call in Sunday after 8 to hear a recording that might tell her she wasn’t needed that week, but otherwise she had to go, with the understanding that she might be there all day or she might be sent home right away.
I once got called for grand jury duty. I had to show up every Thursday for 10 or 12 weeks. I did not like it, though there were some amusing cases that we heard.
Jury duty is the only remaining civic duty, and it is the only price you pay for the ability to transact business as you please, meet with whom you choose, and bitch about government intrusions to a bunch of strangers on the internet without the worry that one of them is from the government and will arrest you for it.
That said, you should certainly try to minimize the impact of jury duty on your schedule, but take my strong advice to get permission for whatever you end up doing, and do NOT act unilaterally.
One of the few perks of being an attorney is watching people try to weasel out of jury duty and get kicked HARD right in the entitlement complex for it. It’s hilarious.
I’ve always wanted to be called for jury duty and never have been. I don’t know what the problem is - I’m a registered voter, a licensed driver and a property tax payer. I’m 55 and I’ve never been called for jury duty.
In my county, actually showing up at the courthouse when called, regardless of what happens after you get there, satisfies your “term”. The last time I was required to physically report to the courthouse, my group sat around for a while, and eventually we were all called into an empty courtroom where the judge explained that the defendant had changed his “not guilty” plea to “guilty” at the last moment, so there would be no trial. She thanked us for our time and dismissed us, telling us that our term of service was over.
Though in my county, the only time you get told to physically appear is when there is an actual trial scheduled. Otherwise, you start phoning in on a specified date. If there’s a trial, a recording tells you when and where to appear. If there’s nothing, the recording tells you to either call again on a different day, or tells you your term is satisfied and you don’t need to call again.
My complaint about jury duty where I live is simply with the astounding number of summons I get in the mail. I registered to vote in 1984, when I was 18, and between 18 and 40 I think I received exactly two summons in the mail. Between ages 40 and 50, I’ve received 12-15 of them. I suspect they’re going more off of driver’s license registration now than voter registration. I just so happened to decide to get a driver’s license at age 40 after fourteen years without, and that’s when the jury summons started arriving.
That the reverse of what jury commissioners/clerks used to do up to maybe 20-30 years ago, which was use mostly voter registration because it already weeded out non-citizens. A perception spread in the '80s (IIRC) that many people were avoiding registering to vote out of fear :rolleyes: of being called for jury duty, so it became common to publicize that driver’s licenses/State IDs were also being used, as (A) nobody in the “only losers don’t drive” '80s was going to refrain from getting a license just to avoid jury duty, and (B) you might as well register to vote because you’re gonna get jury summonses from your driver’s license anyway.
Well, Im not “entitled” its just disappointing to see my jury selection tenure stretched from 1 to— 5 days when you think about it----because of some procedural thing. I certainly wont act unilaterally and most likely will go Monday—truthfully I am available for that day so I don’t want to make up a story.
One thing the jury lady told us was the judge certainly doesn’t want 12 jurors who have anxiety about their schedule on the case, so I have that going for me when I bring my documents Monday showing I have this big meeting Tuesday.
BTW if you want to end “entitlement” and that “anxiety” maybe pay the jurors more than a few sheckles a day, my state does not require employers to pay salary for jury duty so theres also an economic hardship for many people!
If you don’t show up Monday, in most states the judge would have the legal power to send a deputy out looking for you, to drag you back to the courthouse (in handcuffs if necessary). Depending on your state law and how pissed the judge is, a night in jail or a monetary fine for contempt is not out of the question.
That happened, at least once that I know of, in Harris County Texas years ago. Deputies stopped a city bus at random and ‘hijacked’ the passengers for jury service. No doubt that caused some issues, but I would have to wonder what impact it had on “justice”.
Hey OP, I get that jury duty is an unexpected hassle that interrupts your very well-laid plans. But it’s also clear that this is a really important responsibility, and having good people serve on a jury – even if they aren’t chomping at the bit to do so – is one of the most important parts of our legal system. Even if the death penalty isn’t involved, there’s a decent chance someone’s life is on the line, knowing how a criminal conviction can haunt someone well after their sentence is up. I’m guessing that as important as your meeting is, it objectively does not measure up to that standard.
I’m saying this as someone who in the mid-2000s had to cancel Christmas travel plans because deliberations on a murder trial I was on were drawn out far longer than I thought was necessary.
ETA: It’s pretty clear to me that Monday is the “second day,” even though I see your reasonable expectation that Friday should have been the second day. But if you go in Monday, and they say that they want you to come in 3 months later, as you suggested, then that would be a third day and not permissible.
I’ve been called several times the past few decades. I explain that I’d love to serve, but I cannot afford to pay employees who only generate income when I’m present. I’ve been excused each time.
Every one of the several times I’ve been called in for jury duty (but only served on a jury once), we’ve been told by the court clerk that the very fact that a jury pool has been assembled and is in the basement of the courthouse waiting tends to encourage the attorneys to agree to a settlement or a plea deal. But no one knows whether a deal will come together, so the court has to be prepared to empanel a jury.
If it helps, the jury is considered almost as much of the court as the judge, so as I remember, everyone rises when we enter the room. Which is kind of cool.
Around here you are on the hook for a two week stretch. You have to call in every couple of days to see if your group # has been selected. And even if your group gets called but you don’t get selected for the jury, you still have to check back to see if you get called again until your two weeks is up (unless they specifically tell you that you’re done).
You know, when realtors advertise houses, they mention schools, closeness to shopping, public transportation, etc, but I’ve never had them mention how efficient the jury selection process is! So how is it on the OP that “he chose to live there”?
I travel on business quite a bit. A few years ago I was out of the country for almost 45 days. USPS held my mail for me. Apprently I received a jury summons (Murphy’s law) within a day or two of leaving. I missed the date, since I did not even see the summons until after the date had passed.
When I called the clerk’s office, I asked if I was in trouble for missing the date, and what to do about it. That set off a very unusual conversation. The clerk (a woman) and I had the following conversation:
[ul]
[li]“I missed a jury summons because I was out of the country. Am I in trouble?”[/li][li]“I can’t answer that”[/li][li]“Okay, who can?”[/li][li]“No one should answer that question”[/li][li]“Okay, what does that mean?”[/li][li]“If the answer might be something you don’t want to hear, sometimes it’s best not to ask the question”[/li][li](long pause) Are you saying if I don’t ask the question, then no one can give me the answer I don’t want to hear?"[/li][li]Yes, that is a way of phrasing it, yes"[/li][li]“Okay, I guess you answered my question, because I now know not to ask the question” Am I getting this?"[/li][li]Yep, you got it" Thanks for calling."[/li][/ul]
I probably paraphrased parts of that, it was a few years back, but that was the jist of it.
