Have you ever been called for Jury Duty?

Sassycakes said:
I served on Jury duty when I was only 21 yrs old. The case was about Rape, incest, and corrupting the morals of a minor. After all these years I still remember the name and address of the person on trial. He was proven guilty.
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Sounds like your local judicial system was guilty of corrupting you. Twenty-one is young to hear all those sordid details.
win231 said:
The moron on the phone told me I had to "Figure it out."
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Don't you hate that phrase? A waitress at Red Lobster came up to us while we were reading the menu and asked if we had, "Figured it out, yet?" as if we were too stupid to work out the "pick two" deal.

I served once and enjoyed it, so when I was called last year for grand jury I was hoping to be picked. We all met and sat quietly in the chairs while things were explained, and then, without one word to any of us, they called the names of those selected. I, and one young man, were the only ones not chosen. I never felt so rejected in my life.
 

I've been summoned twice, 1st time about 8 yrs ago,had to call in every day but my number was never called. Two yrs ago,it happened again around Thanksgiving. I was able to get a medical excuse from my dr, have a condtion in my partial right knee where its difficult for me to sit for long periods of time
 
Called twice.
First time in Laramie, WY. DUI case. Refused breathalyzer test. (Learned later he had prior convictions on it and 1 more would cost him.his license.) I had to be honest answering questions about knowing people impacted drunk drivers and/or having strong feelings about it, so i was excused. If he hadn't been drinking why refuse the test? Which meant i'd have a hard time presuming innocence.
Second time was county court murder case, police officer accused of killing estranged wife. Was selected for that jury and alternates pool. Court some 66 miles from my home. On day trial was to start we were informed he cut a deal to lesser charge, after years of insisting he had nothing to do with victim's death. We were thanked for willingness to serve, excused and paid for our time and gas money for those from rural parts of county like me.
 
I was summoned once never replied so that was that. 25 yrs.ago we won't be judged on our texting will we here on the abbreation?
 
Yes, twice that I had to make an appearance but never got onto the jury.

At that time I lived in a very rural area and jury trials being rare they only called for a single trial. Both were drunk driving and in both cases the judge asked early on for prospective jurors who knew or were related to the defendant, or attorneys to raise their hands. I was one of the few who had no connections, but it did not seem to make any difference.

In both cases the defense attorney laid out the defense for us before questioning started. I particularly liked one of the defenses, it was going to be that the defendant was too drunk to be actually driving... When they got to me on that one and I was asked about prior experience in court I told them of some expert witness work I had done. That seemed to immediately disqualify me.

A couple of other times I got the summons but it interfered with planned travel. When I sent a copy of my airline reservations they just took me off the list.

I was working then and not happy about time away from the job. Now that I am mostly retired I think it would be interesting and would be happy to serve, but they no longer seem interested in me.
 
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Several times:
1. My name was not picked after 2 days, and I was dismissed.
2. Was dismissed during Voir Dire. It was a drug buy and bust. The arresting officer was my neighbor.
3. Mesothelioma lawsuit. After serving for 4 days, the case was settled.
4. Criminal case involving drugs. I was the foreman (forewoman?) Very strange case. It dragged on for weeks, mainly because the "witnesses" (police officers) were no-shows when they were to appear.
Jurors showed up at 9:30 am and told to return at 2:30pm. They were beautiful spring days, lunch, a movie, shopping went on daily. When the officers finally did show, they remembered nothing.
Defendant was found not guilty.
Oh, as the judge pointed out, being "foreman" does not mean you are special. It means you are sitting in chair #1.
 
Here in Canada jurors can never be identified by name, or be photographed. They cannot ever be interviewed by the press, or write a book or magazine article about their time as a juror. If a juror does something like that, they can be charged criminally, and if convicted they MAY be sentenced to as much as 5 years in prison. In a recent murder trial here in Toronto, a female juror used Goggle to look up the accused man. A court security officer found out about it and told the Judge about it. She was thrown off the jury, and fined $2,000 for "attempting to corrupt the administration of justice ". Jurors in Canada expected to be mute, after the trial is over. JimB.
 
jimintoronto said:
Here in Canada
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Are your juries subject to the long and complex process of selection? The voir dire process?

I the US they call a lot more people than are needed so the lawyers can question people and try to hand pick the jurors they want. I do not like that process, I think a more fair and efficient system would just randomly select people with the judge perhaps able to eliminate a few based on conflicts or other problems. I think that is the way it's done in the UK and some other European countries,
 
Alligatorob said:
Are your juries subject to the long and complex process of selection? The voir dire process?

I the US they call a lot more people than are needed so the lawyers can question people and try to hand pick the jurors they want. I do not like that process, I think a more fair and efficient system would just randomly select people with the judge perhaps able to eliminate a few based on conflicts or other problems. I think that is the way it's done in the UK and some other European countries,
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Canadian trials can be either by Judge alone, or by Judge and Jury, depending on the charge laid. Minor criminal trials are Judge alone. Serious indictable offences will be judge and Jury. Jurors must live in the jurisdiction, and be citizens of Canada. Jurors are sent a summons to appear at the court on a specific date at 9AM. Jury selection is done at that time. In the courtroom, the Crown and the defense have a 12 refusals available to them. Once a 12 person jury has been seated the trail begins with opening arguments from the Crown prosecutor, and their witnesses are called. The defense can cross examine the Crown witnesses on their testimony. Once the Crown rests their case the Defense can call their witnesses or they may make a motion to dismiss, based on the failure of the Crown to establish a case, beyond a reasonable doubt. The Judge will rule on that motion, usually the motion will be denied, and the jury will retire to deliberate their decision. Jurors are sequestered during their deliberations, over night in a hotel, with court security officers maintaining their seclusion until a verdict is reached. In Canada a jury decision must be unanimous. It is a common thing here for the Justice to order a publication ban at the start of a high profile criminal trail, to prevent the defense lawyers from trying the case on the court house steps in front of the TV cameras. Once the trial has been concluded the Crown and the defense lawyers will issue a short press release about the trial. JimB.
 
I've been on a jury Once....probably 25 years ago. It was a Manslaughter trial where some drunken fool rammed into another vehicle, killing a small child, and severely injuring the Mother/Father. We all voted to convict him, and he got some good jail time.
 
I was called three times. The first time I ended up as an alternate. I sat through the trial and when it was over and the jury deliberated, I was allowed to leave since I was not needed. It was about a burglary in a college dorm while the victim slept and was awakened by the intruder.

The second time I got a medical excuse from the doctor more as a favor than a necessity.

The third time was a federal trial but I had just gotten out of the hospital so I was excused.
 
Five times, the last being 20 years ago. I did get to deliberate on two cases. One case for which I was chosen was settled before deliberations. The others I was dismissed (as an alternate) before deliberation. I'd like to do it again and even called the Commissioner of Jurors, but never heard back. Maybe there's an age limit.
 
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Yes, went once. It was an interesting process. I would never have been picked as they asked if I had ever been a victim of a crime which I had been. Interestingly at the time of the physical assault, I didn't realize what had happened to me was a crime.

The judge was nice and let me go. I then got a permanent medical excuse from my MD due to my history of childhood abuse. I don't need more conflict. I'll never be called again.
 
Has anyone who sat on a murder trial been extremely upset afterwards? A work mate was really distressed after listening and seeing all the gruesome details.
 
Was called for Jury duty that involved a murder... When asked If I knew the victim I said "No, I had only met him once" The DA asked under what circumstance.. " When helping recover his body from his burnt out home and I discovered the bullet wound in his head"
DISMISSED... But ended up testifying anyway...
 
debodun said:
Five times, the last being 20 years ago. I did get to deliberate on two cases. One case for which I was chosen was settled before deliberations. The others I was dismissed (as an alternate) before deliberation. I'd like to do it again and even called the Commissioner of Jurors, but nevr heard back. Maybe there's an age limit.
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There is an age limit here. I think it's 75, but you could volunteer.
 
Yeah, about 30 years ago. One case was about a bail bond company. A 40 year old, " Sue Smith", thin black woman was arrested for prostitution. She made bail, and skipped. The bail company sent two idiots to NYC and they found a "Sue Smith", jumped her, hand cuffed her and dragged her back to Pennsylvania. But their " Sue Smith" was 13 years old, extremely overweight, and to be kind to the girl,-not even a blind man would have been aroused by her. They settled the case before we would have awarded her millions.

One of the things I thought was that I could only convict on the evidence. But there was one defendant, a young guy. I don't know what he supposedly did, or what any evidence was, but I knew the little SOB did it. They settled the case. You can't separate emotions as easily as you think.
 
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I've been called for jury duty three times over the years.
First time when I was 21. Sat on a criminal jury about a young man who broke into a pharmacy and had a shootout with police wounding a police officer. He had a long "rap sheet" of violent crimes already. Our jury sentenced him to 25 years in Brushy Mountain State Penitentiary in Tennessee.

The second and third times I was called in but was released without being picked or serving.

The third time I was called the no-nonsense judge issued a stern warning at the beginning of proceedings - he said if he hears one single cellphone ring one time the offending cellphone owner will be held in contempt and will spend the night in jail. We had already been warned by letter and in person not to bring cellphones to the courthouse before the jury selection process began.

Gotta say it is interesting to see how the wheels of justice turn.
 

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