Did you ever serve on Jury Duty

Have served on a Grand Jury... deciding whether a case goes to trial. As several have said, interesting but the cases involving child abuse were *so* depressing. Ugh.
 

Sort of. Got picked, seated, lectured on our duties and sent to lunch. When we came back, we went through the whole procedure again, seated, lectured. Then there was a big discussion at the bench and we were sent to the jury room, where we hung out for an hour or two.

The judge then came in, told us there wasn't going to be a trial, and sent us home. Apparently it had just come to the court's attention that the defendant was also wanted in another jurisdiction for something much worse than what he was being tried for today. I guess that case was going to be tried first.

So, yes, I did and didn't sit on a jury.
 
Never served, but was called in for processing twice over the years .... they always called too many people in for the process.
Being over 70, they won't call me anymore.
 

Got a couple summons, Never served,
Would like to share my Dads story. His began in 1980, when his older brother was, sadly, murdered by someone who broke into his home. Killer caught, and Dad went to his trial every day. Guy found guilty.
Fast forward a year or two, and my Dad got a summons, so he went. While waiting his turn for a possible interview. the defense attorney approached the bench.
The judge looked over at my dad and said "Sir, thank you for coming, but you will not be needed. You are excused". Turns out the defense attorney was the same one who defended my uncles killer in court. He assumed, righty that my dad may be biased against his client, because of the past.
 
I don't know if people know this but if anyone wants a permanent excuse from jury duty all you need is your MD to write it if they agree. The reason does not need to be stated in the letter. My MD just wrote it on a prescription pad. I didn't know if that would be good enough so I called. The woman was nice stated it was, make a copy and mail them the original. I got a letter back pretty quickly accepting my excuse from jury duty.

She said they are not entitled to medical information and they have received letters with information about a person's health they don't need. The excuse just needs to say permanent or temporary.
 
I served once while living in Georgia. We had to decide whether or not to take away a man's
license after a DUI. We had pretty much decided to let him keep it so he could get to work -- not because we felt sorry for him but for his skinny little wife. Then we broke for the weekend, during which time he saw one of the jurors at the Seven-Eleven and tried to talk to her about the case -- he was drunk. So that was that.

I was called for Grand Jury last year. Out of about thirty people I was the only one not chosen. I never felt so rejected.
 
I made it onto a civil case one time - but like many they settled just before the trial was to begin.

I have too much law enforcement in my family to ever get onto a criminal trial. It's been funny a couple of times to see the attorneys almost giggling when I started listing them off - starting with both my parents and my brother.
 
Yep, sat on two civil trials. I had to show up several times for potential criminal trials, but they must have beat a confession out of them to get a plea deal. Had to sit in the gallery and listen to the plea and penalty on a couple of them. Never was grand enough to sit on that jury. TTGL!

Sad to say, I was a witness in a murder trial. The outcome badly distorted my view regarding the justice system.
 
I did a few decades ago. At that time, the commitment was for two weeks. It was a welcome change from work. I never got called on a case because my family and I had been victims of robberies (at home) a couple of times plus I had three cousins on the police force. One was a detective and his two sons were officers. During jury duty those of us who were not called sat in a space close to the cafe and played games. I remember playing Monopoly and Scrabble. The next times I was summoned, I had medical excuses not to serve (unpredictable A-Fib attacks). I was summoned once after that was cured, a couple of years ago. When I got to the jury office, I was told my service was not needed. Now I'm exempt due to age.
 
David777 said:
Several times have had to report for possible selection but only once served on a jury for a civil case where a city garbage truck permanently injured a young boy. That lasted a few weeks and then a settlement was reached. California doesn't have a maximum age for serving but does for medical excuses. Have been expecting to get called again.
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Yes, but if you are over 70 you can get excused.
 
Never got called for jury duty till I was 69 and then I was notified a few days before jury selection that the trial had been cancelled.

Don't know how it is other places but here after you turn 70 you are taken off the list to be a juror so I won't be selected again.
 
Nathan said:
(y)
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The system fell apart when it started years ago. And "It's your civic duty" is a catch phrase designed to make people participate in a system that's used because it is cheap & convenient; not because it works. Jurors have a very important job that requires knowledge & education. Being a juror should be a career that involves training, passing exams & getting a degree. Using everyday people that lack legal knowledge & have their own prejudices resulted in the pathetic joke that is our legal system.
It's amusing that lawyers & judges must spend years in school, but the people who make the biggest & most important decision are everyday people with no legal education or knowledge.

One of many examples: Lena Baker - who was found innocent - after she was convicted by a "Jury of her peers" & executed.

Lena Baker (June 8, 1900 – March 5, 1945)[1] was an African American maid in Cuthbert, Georgia, United States, who was wrongfully convicted of capital murder of a white man, Ernest Knight. She was executed by the state of Georgia in 1945.[2] Baker was the only woman in Georgia to be executed by electrocution.[3][2]
In 2005, sixty years after her execution, the state of Georgia granted Baker a full and unconditional pardon. A biography was published about Baker in 2001, and it was adapted for the feature film The Lena Baker Story (2008), chronicling the events of her life, trial, and execution.
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwin6KHlluD6AhUVLUQIHfysAEIQFnoECBYQAQ&url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lena_Baker&usg=AOvVaw02gx6Ai62vQRBR-pOjb04z
 
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win231 said:
The system fell apart when it started years ago. And "It's your civic duty" is a catch phrase designed to make people participate in a system that's used because it is cheap & convenient; not because it works. Jurors have a very important job that requires knowledge & education. Being a juror should be a career that involves training, passing exams & getting a degree. Using everyday people that lack legal knowledge & have their own prejudices resulted in the pathetic joke that is our legal system.
It's amusing that lawyers & judges must spend years in school, but the people who make the biggest & most important decision are everyday people with no legal education or knowledge.
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I agree that it would be desirable to have professional, knowledgeable jurors that can function intellectually above personal prejudices. The time that I actually got to complete a trial and deliberate as a juror was an eye opener. There were a couple members of the jury that were holdouts on what was a slam-dunk case for guilty verdict. However, one young man thought he was gifted, and argued against conviction(don't recall). Then there was an older lady who was confused over the reasonable doubt concept. They both were finally persuaded in heated discussion to join in a unanimous verdict.

I believe that the "jury of one's peers" guarantee in the Sixth Amendment requires that lay jurors be picked from the public, as opposed to having professionals.
 
DebraMae said:
Served once, called a couple more times. Was not a pleasant experience. Incest with father who had done it before but claimed he did not do it "this time".
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When I heard what the father did to his children,I was hoping he would never be released fom prison. Walking into the room to decide if he was guilty, some young jurors were laughing and it made me worry that thy wouldn't think he was guilty. When we were deliberating a man my age asked me to explain would rape actually meant. I could not believe he didn't know what rape meant.
 
Sassycakes said:
When I heard what the father did to his children,I was hoping he would never be released fom prison. Walking into the room to decide if he was guilty, some young jurors were laughing and it made me worry that thy wouldn't think he was guilty. When we were deliberating a man my age asked me to explain would rape actually meant. I could not believe he didn't know what rape meant.
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Often said: "A jury is composed of people who weren't smart enough to get out of jury duty."
 

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