This doesn’t mean it needs to be poorly run. It is run poorly because they are allowed to do so, and that’s the only reason. It has nothing to do with it being a civic duty. They don’t care if you are greatly inconvenienced. If they had to pay everyone $20.00 an hour each to sit around and do nothing, all the sudden you’d see the methods they used changed completely to minimize your time involvement. People who want to participate in spite of all this can’t sign-up to show their interest. It’s a bad system, it’s lazy and it is unfair. It is because it is run so stupidly and located in terrible areas that many people avoid jury duty.
This is why I like LA county. If you aren’t put in a jury pool for a specific case (Last time I went, jury selection took 3 days) or put on a panel your first day, you’re done.
If they had to pay everyone $20/hour to sit around and do nothing, all of the sudden you’d see your taxes going up to pay that extra amount, with not a lot of other changes.
The people who are responsible for the uncertainties (such as the lawyers who settle at the last minute) are not the ones who’d ever have to pay that $20, so why do they care if the county commissioners (who have little control over the court calendar) have to ante up? When there’s a disconnect between the people with the power and the people with the money, financial penalties don’t cause change.
In the case of the juror pool, jury coordinators want to have more jurors than they think they’ll need, because the alternatives are unacceptable. (The first time a criminal defendant got off scot-free because speedy trial deadlines passed for want of a jury, all hell will break loose. Meanwhile, if people are inconvenienced by a jury summons they receive weeks in advance, how inconvenienced will they be by a deputy stopping them in the street or the Wal-Mart and dragging them to court to serve as jurors Right Now?) Jury coordinators can make some reasonable guesstimates about how many trials will settle, how many jurors won’t show up, and how many will be excused for cause, but those are in fact guesstimates–they don’t and can’t know for sure. So, they need to summon more, and have them sit around while the judges and lawyers do what they do. How would you have the methods change to avoid the problems of too many AND too few?
Remember, too, that different locales have different sets of problems. For example, Los Angeles County has trials in every courthouse on basically every business day, AND they have a huge pool of people to draw from. In Pottawatomie County, Kansas, though, they may only have a few trials during an entire year (they had all of three jury trials in 2015, e.g.), but being a small county, there’s a much higher chance that any potential juror will know or be related to the defendant, so a higher percentage of those summonsed may be struck on those grounds.
Add me to the list of people who really want to serve on a jury, but who never get called. I’m sure if I ever do get clued it will be at the least convenient time ever, but I think it would be so cool!
It’s not that cool. I served on a first-degree murder trial and, for the most part, it was deadly dull. And the parts that weren’t dull were terribly sad. The good news is the defendant murdered really the only person he was pissed off at, so my concerns about some gang coming after me for revenge are probably not well-founded.
(It was a guy who murdered his estranged wife and the mother of his children as she was leaving the office of the mediator helping them to negotiate a divorce.)
I don’t mind doing my duty, but they don’t exactly make it easy or worth one’s while. And a lot of people can’t afford to take the time off. (And I don’t think anyone’s asking for 20 bucks an hour, but minimum wage? Perhaps not the first day of jury selection but during the trial.)
Perhaps if they made it a wee more convenient, people wouldn’t keep trying to get out of doing it.
Point taken, on the “not that cool” thing. That probably was a bad choice of words.
Do you have a cite?
Shrug The first purpose of taxes is to pay for necessities. If jurors are a necessity, then paying them fairly is a necessity too. If that means a higher tax bill, or less money going to things that aren’t deemed to be such high priorities, so be it. (I suspect that hundreds of prospective jurors being called for a single, straightforward case is just a consequence of jurors being cheap, but even if that’s a necessity too, oh well.)
If my town needs a new fire truck, it can’t just call up the local auto plant and put it on fire truck duty for $15 a day.
You didn’t read your own cite.
You didn’t read the part I quoted.
Next time, tell us where you set up the goalposts.
So you’re cherry picking. Good luck with that.
:rolleyes:
I (along with the average American) make more per hour than they pay me per day. If I don’t work, I don’t get paid, which means I have a huge financial conflict of interest in serving on a jury. Therefore, I believe that I’d be dismissed outright. If that’s going to happen then why make me show up at all when I’m already losing income on Day 1 for no reason?
Anyone who thinks they shouldn’t have to do jury duty because it’s an inconvenience is privileged.
Maybe you should ask or do some research about certain laws in the state or county you are moving to before you move. Realtors are a waste for real information. A lot of them are a waste for finding houses.
It’s not privilege it’s a choice. It’s not hard to move. And certain locations in the country have very low unemployment and it is easy to find jobs.
Picking where you live is one of the great things about this country. We are a diverse group. Some states are gun friendly and some aren’t. Some places have people that open minded and some places are full of bigoted homophobic jerks. Some places are overly religious while others make religious people a minority. Some cities love football, while others love basketball. Take your pick.
You’re right. If you don’t work and you don’t get paid, then you will suffer a financial hardship. For most judges, this will qualify you for an excuse for cause (I’ve seen some exceptions, but rarely).
However, in order to determine whether your financial hardship is valid, you are required to attend court and answer questions about your circumstances under oath. That’s why you must come to court the first day, and if sworn in as a prospective juror, make your case to the judge why you should be excused.
To repeat what others have already pointed out, “they” is us. The taxpayers. We, the people.
I’m glad it’s amusing to you. Have you had it yet? Have you had to spend 16 hours in a juror pool, watching the day waste away with nothing to do but read a book or surf the internet on your phone, the whole time thinking ‘why do they need 150 of us down here for two days (plus who knows how many are calling in both days) and if they’re literally not going to call up any of us’.
Also, I hate that ‘it’s your civic duty’ crap. If ‘jury duty’ meant going down to the court house, hearing a case, making some kind of decision, getting my $3 and being done…that’d be fine. But so far my ‘civic duty’ has been a royal waste of my time. It’s consisted, clearing 2 days of my schedule, one time sitting around in the pool for two days and the other time calling in for two days. Then, of course, there’s always the fear in the back of your mind that you’ll end up sequestered on some long case, but that’s a whole 'nother thing.
But seriosuly, they need to figure out how either use the jurors and or not call them.
That actually told us how they used us to play chicken. Specifically saying that sometimes a deal will between the time we’re called up from the pool and the time we make into the court room. Sometimes that’s all it takes to rattle one of the attorneys.
And so is following all the other laws in the law books, jury duty is, literally, just another one of them. Your city probably has a line about jury duty, it probably also has a line that says that any bystander, by order of the fire chief must assist in putting out a fire, or risk being arrested…is that your only duty. What about paying taxes…is that your only duty? Not inciting a riot…your only duty?
Considering many laws are either common in most cities or enacted (like jury duty) on the federal level, “choosing to live there” would mean moving to another country. It’s not like complaining that the sales tax in Illinois is too high so you move to another state.
While I’m half awake and whining about it, does the entire court house really need a 2 (3?) hour lunch break? Couldn’t we keep things moving along here?
Jury Duty is handled much better in Harris County (Houston).
Last time I went, we sat in rooms with theater seats & free wi-fi, while videos explained the process in more than one language. They read out some names & little groups filed off for further processing. Before 11, they’d filled all the panels needed for the day, so they let us off. They offer a small payment–with a list of Worthy Causes to which we could donate the paltry sum. Who uses checks any more? I’d taken the whole day off, so I was fine.
Other times I’ve been selected for panels. If you’ve had a close family member die due to a violent crime, you will usually get excused from criminal cases–lucky me! I did get a civil case once–which took one day.
If we don’t get picked the first day, we’re done until the next time. Every time I go, they make the waiting room nicer & the process more efficient.
Ask your County why they can’t make things better! (Also, if the date on your jury notice is inconvenient, you can postpone it online.)