My wife has been walking around the house for the past week upest that she has juey duty later this month. It’s hard to blame her, I swear she seems to get called up every year. Yesterday she brings it up again and I start teasing her. I say “you know what, I’ve voted in every election since I turned 18, that’s 20 years now, and I’ve never had jury duty” I’m doing everything short of sticking out my tongue say “nyah, nyah”.
What do you think came in the mail today?
Crap, a nearly 20 year streek ended just like that.
My Dad finally got called to jury duty for the first time last year. He’s 75. I got called to jury duty in four different jurisdictions within ten years of turning 18.
Hmm… seems like most people have jobs during the same times they usually have court. If you get one of these summons, do they expect you not to work so you can do it?
Here in Georgia, yes. Your boss is required to let you off work. Jury duty here pays a whopping $25/day. If you are a sole business owner or a home caretaker for a elderly family member, etc. sometime the court will let you plead hardship and release you. Call the office of the Clerk of Court for more info.
Og forbid you get called for a Grand Jury. Those things can last months to years being on call and having to serve one day a week for all that time. I worked with a consultant last year that got called for Grand Jury duty and she told me that she only gets to work 4 days a week for the near future. I couldn’t believe it so I researched it and it is true. The stipend doesn’t even pay for parking in Boston and she (like I) bills by the hour so her pay is cut by 20% over the next year and her chances of working for a company in the near term are cut short.
I’m pretty sure most jurisdictions are required to let you have the days off for Jury Dury, and not force you to use sick or vacation days. They also have to keep your job open for you when you’re done.
Jury duty is fun. You should have seen the face of the defense attorney when the prosecutor said everything was caught on videotape. So much for being prepared. :wally
The secondtime, one of my fellow jurors was excused when she realized the assault they were trying happened at her husband’s business; she didn’t know the names of the people involved until then but recognized the address. :smack:
The third time the jury pool included, a retired federal prosecutor(excused), a deaf/mute(excused), a cataract recovery patient(excused), an eight-month pregnant woman(excused), and a guy who laughed when the defense attorney asked him if he thought someone showing you a loaded gun constituted a threat. :dubious: I was excused.
The thing is I’ve always thought being on a jury would be interesting. Both my wife and I are called for the same court house too; the one in Hayward where I’m opretty sure they just do criminal trials. I haven’t decided whether to claim hardship or not, we’re both self employed and capable of runnig the business single handedly for a short period. I suspose I’ll have to wait and see what happens with my wife. Based on her prior service I expect to get a whopping $12 per day.
I’d love to be on a jury. I got called last year but they only needed one panel. I wouldn’t have been picked anyway because I’m a lawyer. They sometimes let lawyers sit in the District because there are so many, but rarely in the burbs.
In the 23 years since I turned 18 I’ve been called 8 times for jury duty and actually sat on three juries. The longest was for a week. I think it’s fun, or at least interesting. I work for state government so I really don’t get a hassle from the boss and most of my work can be shifted off to someone else. The only thing I wish was different would be the ability to extract damages (as a juror) from the plaintiff if I felt that their case was a stupid, pointless, meritless waste of everyone’s time. If this were the case though, they probably wouldn’t be needed all that many jurors anymore.
Always called, never chosen. Usually I get the “We don’t need you” recording the night before. If they actually bothered to call me during the summer, I’d kinda like to serve. But during the school year it is a royal pain.
Lucky bastards. I’ve only ever been summoned once and my number didn’t come up. I even tried to volunteer for jury duty but they don’t take volunteers.
If I recall correctly, that’s five times more than they pay in NJ. I was called once, when I was away at college, so I was excused. I’ve recently moved to a new county, though, so I expect to get called sometime soon.
Actually the waiting around is not quite as bad anymore. Where I am, the waiting room even allows you to plug in your laptop and do your work while awaiting your number to be called. Once called and you’re in the courtroom (but prior to actually being selected for the jury), then it’s just twiddling your thumbs as you listen to the proceedings. I’ve made it to the courtroom many times, but have never been chosen. I answer all questions truthfully, but I get the impression they (the counsels) do not really want the analytical, rational types for the jury.
Um, evidence has to be shared before the trial begins. You either totally didn’t understand what was going on or you’re just making very implausible shit up. It’s called “discovery”. A prosecutor can’t just hold onto a piece of evidence and then surprise the defense with it.
Incidentally, why do you use so many smileys in your posts?
I got called when I was 19. My experience was this: Sit in a big room for six hours, then someone comes out and tells everyone that the case was settled, and you can all go home.
Not all that bad, considering I had an entire book to read, and ran into someone who I hadn’t seen for about two and half years.