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Re: Yay, off to jury duty.
Adrian #239971 01/13/09 06:54 PM
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Well that was fun.

I wasn't even called to to be interviewed, so I just sat there in the courtroom for a couple of hours watching other potential jurors be questioned. They have their group, I am excused.

It was a much more interesting process than I expected. I'm somewhat disappointed that I wasn't chosen to serve. There was a bit of the old 'civic duty' spirit going on, and I liked that. Not unlike voting, it had that "doing what you're supposed to do" feeling. And realizing that the decisions you and the other jurors will make could have a very serious effects on the accused life is something that I'm not faced with every day.

And of course, some folks face a greater economic hardship by missing work than others. The first thing the judge did was to ask the group if anyone simply could not serve as a juror, for whatever reason. At that point anyone could have stood up and more-or-less just walked out. No one did.



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Re: Yay, off to jury duty.
PeterChenoweth #239981 01/13/09 07:25 PM
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The trick with getting out for hardship is to respect the judge. Call him/her "Your Honor" and don't argue. The dude in front of me at the hardship hearing didn't. He didn't get off. I did, but since the judge was pissed, he just postponed me.

Like I said, at the time it was a hardship for me. Now, it wouldn't be, and I'd kind of like to do it.


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Re: Yay, off to jury duty.
PeterChenoweth #239992 01/13/09 08:07 PM
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 Originally Posted By: PeterChenoweth
The first thing the judge did was to ask the group if anyone simply could not serve as a juror, for whatever reason. At that point anyone could have stood up and more-or-less just walked out. No one did.

Amazing. How many of them were smacking themselves later, I wonder, for being sheep and not being brave enough to just stand up and leave? Peer pressure and social conformity are harsh mistresses.

Thanks for sharing your experience!

My plan if I want to get out of jury duty is to claim (it is the truth) that my granddad was a NYC policeman and my dad was a Navy officer, so I'm a law and order type!!!


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Re: Yay, off to jury duty.
medic8r #239996 01/13/09 08:11 PM
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.
Or you could just write out the answers to thier questions in a Screamingly Loud Font Size to demonstrate how serious you are.


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Re: Yay, off to jury duty.
Murph #239998 01/13/09 08:13 PM
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*glances warily at Murph*


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Re: Yay, off to jury duty.
medic8r #240001 01/13/09 08:18 PM
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No need. Simply a poke at your "Law and Order Type" font size.
I haven't gone postal.............yet.


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Re: Yay, off to jury duty.
Murph #240004 01/13/09 08:20 PM
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<-- vaguely reassured ...


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Re: Yay, off to jury duty.
Murph #240012 01/13/09 08:30 PM
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Not sure why we all stayed. Perhaps it's just a sense of civic duty. Like voting, taxes, and obeying the law in general, it's just a part of society. It has to be done. Someone has to do it, today was my turn. If everyone scoffed about jury duty and made excuses to get out of it, then who would do it? The legal system is far from perfect, but it's what we have.

And for future reference, if you really want to get out of jury duty, it appears that you could just claim that you were in the middle of a divorce.

The court wanted a brief statement from each candidate; marital status, occupation, etc. One potential juror said that they were in the middle of a divorce. The judge dismissed them immediately, saying that it was part of "the rules" that you couldn't serve as a juror if you had a divorce pending in the court system. I have no idea if it's a state law, part of the county's court system, or the judge's own rule.

Of course, if it isn't true, it might be perjury, so YMMV.


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Re: Yay, off to jury duty.
PeterChenoweth #240035 01/13/09 09:29 PM
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It's easy to feel a sense of 'civic duty' when your the Judge (175g + $$). Wonder how many would do it out of sense of duty and a free lunch?


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Re: Yay, off to jury duty.
Adrian #240038 01/13/09 09:34 PM
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 Quote:
Wonder how many would do it out of sense of duty and a free lunch?

Nonsense, there's no such thing as free lunch.

Last edited by JaimeG; 01/13/09 09:34 PM.

The sailor does not pray for wind, he learns to sail. --Lindborg
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