# Jury duty selection- is it really fair for a court to do this? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 4, 2016, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jury-duty-selection-is-it-really-fair-for-a-court-to-do-this/761757 "2016-08-04T17:33:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 8
**Author:** ![Asimovian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asimovian/32/172_2.png) [@Asimovian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asimovian)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2016, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jury-duty-selection-is-it-really-fair-for-a-court-to-do-this/761757/141 "2016-08-11T20:33:28Z")
For what it’s worth, I don’t think service on a grand jury really applies to the argument being made by the OP and others in this thread about the complications of jury service. Grand juries are not at the whim of trial procedure in the same way. I haven’t been able to find a jurisdiction that allows for volunteering for jury service directly, though there appear to be a couple that allow you to voluntarily place yourself on the list for random selection if your name does not already appear through the usual methods (DMV or voter registration). Here’s an article from 2014 where a NJ legislator proposes allowing for volunteer jury service, and it includes a discussion of why some are opposed to it, and why it may not actually be constitutional: [article link](http://www.nj.com/politics/index.ssf/2014/04/volunteer_jurors_nj_lawmaker_wants_to_make_it_happen.html). ---
**Author:** ![Asimovian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asimovian/32/172_2.png) [@Asimovian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asimovian)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2016, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jury-duty-selection-is-it-really-fair-for-a-court-to-do-this/761757/142 "2016-08-11T20:36:09Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Originally Posted by \*\*August West \*\* > _Please provide a list of states that allow you to volunteer for jury duty._ > > Going thru 50 states and thousands of counties is a unreasonable and hostile demand. Thus, a hostile response. I’m opining as a poster here because I have very strong feelings about jury duty. I’m not sure how asking you to support the “usually” in your assertion is hostile _or_ unreasonable. Just my two cents. It’s not unreasonable to think you had a basis for saying that. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2016, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jury-duty-selection-is-it-really-fair-for-a-court-to-do-this/761757/143 "2016-08-11T20:37:34Z")
> [@Asimovian](#): > > For what it’s worth, I don’t think service on a grand jury really applies to the argument being made by the OP and others in this thread about the complications of jury service. Grand juries are not at the whim of trial procedure in the same way. True. But if you do volunteer, having free time now (which you may not later) it gets you out of regular jury duty service later, which was the whole point. The idea was to get out of doing your service now, so you arent called back later, when it could be a real inconvenience. It serves the purpose. You do your duty, then are exempt later. ---
**Author:** ![Asimovian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asimovian/32/172_2.png) [@Asimovian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asimovian)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2016, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jury-duty-selection-is-it-really-fair-for-a-court-to-do-this/761757/144 "2016-08-11T20:40:10Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > True. But if you do volunteer, having free time now (which you may not later) it gets you out of regular jury duty service later, which was the whole point. The idea was to get out of doing your service now, so you arent called back later, when it could be a real inconvenience. It serves the purpose. You do your duty, then are exempt later. Fair enough. I’m not sure how easy it would be to successfully do that, but I see your point. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2016, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jury-duty-selection-is-it-really-fair-for-a-court-to-do-this/761757/145 "2016-08-11T20:40:02Z")
> [@Asimovian](#): > > I’m opining as a poster here because I have very strong feelings about jury duty. I’m not sure how asking you to support the “usually” in your assertion is hostile _or_ unreasonable. Just my two cents. It’s not unreasonable to think you had a basis for saying that. He didn’t ask me to support “usually”, which would have been legit.\* He demanded a list of all 50 states. \* In fact, “usually” may well be too strong. “Often” or “sometimes” might have been a better word. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2016, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jury-duty-selection-is-it-really-fair-for-a-court-to-do-this/761757/146 "2016-08-11T20:41:33Z")
> [@Asimovian](#): > > Fair enough. I’m not sure how easy it would be to successfully do that, but I see your point. It worked for me. ---
**Author:** ![slash2k](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@slash2k](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slash2k)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2016, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jury-duty-selection-is-it-really-fair-for-a-court-to-do-this/761757/147 "2016-08-11T21:14:18Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > True. But if you do volunteer, having free time now (which you may not later) it gets you out of regular jury duty service later, which was the whole point. The idea was to get out of doing your service now, so you arent called back later, when it could be a real inconvenience. It serves the purpose. You do your duty, then are exempt later. However, that civil grand jury for Los Angeles doesn’t exactly seem a good way merely to reschedule jury duty.[It’s twenty-three people (total) who serve 30-40 hours a week for an entire year,](http://www.lacourt.org/division/jury/JR0075.aspx) for which you’ll be paid a whopping $60/day (or about $15K for the year). Sure, it may get you out of regular jury duty for the rest of your life, but if serving a day or two here and there is inconvenient, giving up a year of your life probably isn’t super-convenient either. Are there ANY jurisdictions in the U.S. in which you can volunteer for regular (petit) jury service and expect to be called for a regular trial sometime in the next couple of weeks or months? (New York apparently isn’t one–you get added to the lists, but it’s likely to be many months or years before you actually get called.) ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2016, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jury-duty-selection-is-it-really-fair-for-a-court-to-do-this/761757/148 "2016-08-11T21:27:28Z")
> [@slash2k](#): > > However, that civil grand jury for Los Angeles doesn’t exactly seem a good way merely to reschedule jury duty.[It’s twenty-three people (total) who serve 30-40 hours a week for an entire year,](http://www.lacourt.org/division/jury/JR0075.aspx) for which you’ll be paid a whopping $60/day (or about $15K for the year). Sure, it may get you out of regular jury duty for the rest of your life, but if serving a day or two here and there is inconvenient, giving up a year of your life probably isn’t super-convenient either. > > Are there ANY jurisdictions in the U.S. in which you can volunteer for regular (petit) jury service and expect to be called for a regular trial sometime in the next couple of weeks or months? (New York apparently isn’t one–you get added to the lists, but it’s likely to be many months or years before you actually get called.) When on the Santa Clara Civil Grand Jury we were told we’d be serving that much. What is actually was: most of a day in a meeting, say 4-6 hours, with lunch. A half day doing inspections, visits, etc. A hour or more conferring with other members, writing reports, etc. Less than 20 hours a week,and we were roundly praised as being one of the most active GJ ever. Any day in which you reported got paid the $, even if you were only in a sub-committee meeting that lasted a hour. But yes, it _is_ a serious commitment. What people seemed to be asking for was not a way out of the commitment, but a way to do the commitment _now_ (when convenient) , rather than later. Not sure on that. Yes, several of the larger states allow you to volunteer to the GJ. Other allow you to be put on a list. But “hey i wanna serve now!”- I dunno. ---
**Author:** ![August\_West](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/august_west/32/18069_2.png) [@August\_West](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/August_West)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2016, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jury-duty-selection-is-it-really-fair-for-a-court-to-do-this/761757/149 "2016-08-11T21:33:43Z")
^ Exactly. Grand Juries are different from “jury duty” as it is commonly understood. I didn’t mean to appear hostile, but I read the comment about volunteering and immediately Googled the laws of my state, then all of the surrounding states, and found the federal FAQ, and discovered that none of them allow you to volunteer for jury duty. Hence my question for **DrDeth**. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2016, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jury-duty-selection-is-it-really-fair-for-a-court-to-do-this/761757/150 "2016-08-11T22:04:06Z")
> [@August\_West](#): > > I didn’t mean to appear hostile, but I read the comment about volunteering and immediately Googled the laws of my state, then all of the surrounding states, and found the federal FAQ, and discovered that none of them allow you to volunteer for jury duty. Well, But why not just say that? Why be hostile? Look, you _can_ volunteer for the CivilGgrand Jury, which does serve the purpose of getting your jury commitment out of the way now. And several of the larger states allow you to put you name on a list, which pushes you forward, which is considered to be “volunteering”. Sorta. So, sure, if you had challenged “usually” by saying just that, then you would have made a good point. But demanding I list and look up all fifty states-\* do it yourself.\*😛 ---
**Author:** ![russian\_heel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f05b48/32.png) [@russian\_heel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/russian_heel)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2016, 6:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jury-duty-selection-is-it-really-fair-for-a-court-to-do-this/761757/151 "2016-08-12T06:40:30Z")
> [@Happy\_Scrappy\_Hero\_Pup](#): > > …no. > > Jury DUTY demands that you become part of the court system. You are on the court’s time. > > How do you not understand this? I’m seriously asking- what makes you think that the parties to the lawsuit and the court are subservient to you? I dont. I just think more consideration by the Judge should be given to the jurors. Making them come back day after day after day, sitting in uncomfortable wood benches for hours and hours and jerking them around, the three hour Martini lunches, shouting them down when they bring up a legitimate inconvenience, theres a line you must draw between requesting one does their civic duty and arrogance. Many courts could do some of the little things better in this regard, wouldn’t you agree? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jury-duty-selection-is-it-really-fair-for-a-court-to-do-this/761757.md?page=7)