I've gotten called a LOT. A LOT as in there was a period of 3 yrs in a row.

A few times got off because of work and school Another time I got off because I had just moved to a new county. One trial I was almost picked for was a death penalty phase, thank goodness I wasn't picked. I 'say' I'm for eye for an eye, but it's different when you actually are deciding on it. This was at the same courthouse at the same time as the Laci Peterson trial in Redwood City, CA. Crazy time.

A few months ago I got called and waited it out. The jury was full by the time it got to me. Just make sure to bring lots of reading material and maybe an iPod. There's a lot of waiting time and most of the time the jury room's wifi doesn't work.

My old boss gave me a good trick and my wife was able to use it. If you can delay your jury duty to the week of Thanksgiving, you probably won't get called. Most lawyers don't want to start a trial w/ only 3 days in the week. I unfortunately could only delay until the week before...

I also noticed that a LOT of people were excused this year for financial hardship, which is not normal. People w/ seasonal or hourly jobs got a pass because they could potentially lose a lot of money which could affect their families/mortgages. Scary.

Good luck. I decided this time I'd be OK to be on a trial, of course I wasn't picked...

After watching all my courtroom drama shows, I was fascinated by our defense lawyer. The DA had to write notes about everyone's answers to the standard questions. The defense lawyer just sat and listened. Then he would proceed to call on everyone, by name, after hearing it only once. AND, he remember EVERY answer in detail and would repeat it back to each potential juror. One of the juror's was a lawyer and commented how he was also impressed.

Last edited by oldskoolboarder; 01/13/09 05:04 AM.