Jury Duty

[Zippyjuan]

Off topic rant. It is driving me crazy this week. Not the concept of it, but how it is working out for me. In California, they take names from either the voter's registration or driver's licence lists. Once you serve, you are covered from being called again for two years and to make it easier on you, if you are to report and are not assigned to a courtroom by the end of the day you are consedered to have done your duty. Part of the hastle is you have to arrange for time off from work which your employer is required by law to allow.

But I find myself in Jury Duty Limbo this week. I received a notice that I was to report for Jury Duty starting last Friday. You can call the night before and see if you even have to go down for that which I did. Once you get through a couple questions "please press one now" you enter your juror number and get your status. On Thursday night my message was "Your jury duty service has been postponed. Please call back again on Friday Night.". Call Friday night. Same message but call Monday (closed for the weekend). Call Monday- "Please call back tomorrow". Same thing Tuesday. When I call back tomorrow, Wednesday, it will be a full week I have been calling them.

You can request a delay yourself (you need to give them a specific date on their automated system) but then I might be in the same situation again so I have not done so yet. I keep hoping that they will say I am excused. Meanwhile, my immediate supervisor is on vacation this week and I have to fill in for him so I really cannot take time off from work anyways (I did arrange to have Friday off to go). I have been through Jury Duty a few times but never sat in on a case (I was as far as in the jury box twice but was excused by one of the attorneys).

It is just the limbo which is driving me nuts.
Any other Jury Duty stories?

[Matt Collins]

I would love to sit on a case. It would be one of the high points of my life. But to date, I've never been called... ever.


That being said the government is clearly incompetent in this situation as it is in most situations.

[Dr.3D]

They were doing that with me too. At the same time, I was taking some courses at the college and finals were coming up. Sure enough, the day of one of the finals was the day they wanted me to report for Jury duty.

I told them I was taking some courses at college and it was in conflict with a final I was to take but they didn't care. I then asked the judge if he had any objection to me taking my final rather than reporting for jury duty and he let me off.

[Zippyjuan]

I would like to sit on a case to go through the experience of it. I am just frustrated with the way this is currently going along.

[Dr.3D]

I would like to sit on a case to go through the experience of it. I am just frustrated with the way this is currently going along.

I sat on two of them, one right after the other. The first one was a criminal trial and the jury was hung... the second was a civil trial and was a farce, I did manage to get the settlement reduced though.

[jsu718]

I have sat in the big room several times... I filled out a survey once... I have never been selected for a jury. Given that the survey included questions like "people you have respect for" and "people you don't respect", I am not surprised that I didn't get selected.

[disorderlyvision]

http://fija.org/

[LATruth]

I have sat in the big room several times... I filled out a survey once... I have never been selected for a jury. Given that the survey included questions like "people you have respect for" and "people you don't respect", I am not surprised that I didn't get selected.

Profiling much?

[Mini-Me]

Off topic rant. It is driving me crazy this week. Not the concept of it, but how it is working out for me. In California, they take names from either the voter's registration or driver's licence lists. Once you serve, you are covered from being called again for two years and to make it easier on you, if you are to report and are not assigned to a courtroom by the end of the day you are consedered to have done your duty. Part of the hastle is you have to arrange for time off from work which your employer is required by law to allow.

But I find myself in Jury Duty Limbo this week. I received a notice that I was to report for Jury Duty starting last Friday. You can call the night before and see if you even have to go down for that which I did. Once you get through a couple questions "please press one now" you enter your juror number and get your status. On Thursday night my message was "Your jury duty service has been postponed. Please call back again on Friday Night.". Call Friday night. Same message but call Monday (closed for the weekend). Call Monday- "Please call back tomorrow". Same thing Tuesday. When I call back tomorrow, Wednesday, it will be a full week I have been calling them.

You can request a delay yourself (you need to give them a specific date on their automated system) but then I might be in the same situation again so I have not done so yet. I keep hoping that they will say I am excused. Meanwhile, my immediate supervisor is on vacation this week and I have to fill in for him so I really cannot take time off from work anyways (I did arrange to have Friday off to go). I have been through Jury Duty a few times but never sat in on a case (I was as far as in the jury box twice but was excused by one of the attorneys).

It is just the limbo which is driving me nuts.
Any other Jury Duty stories?

Do you remember what you were excused for the first and second time you made it into the box? You must either have really poor luck, or you've been letting on that you know too much about one thing or another.

I think your limbo experience is pretty common though. When I served jury duty last summer, I was on the hook for nearly two weeks. I didn't have to come in every day (I dealt with a similar automated phone system that told me if I was needed), but on the days I did come in, I sat in a waiting room doing a whole lot of nothing until I was called into a courtroom or until I was let go early at 1 PM. Sometime late in the first week, I was called into a courtroom for voir dire and initially seated as an alternate, only for the bailiff and judge to realize they sat us down in the wrong order. They didn't need me after all, so I went back to calling the automated phone system every night and pacing the waiting room every other morning or so. Sometime during the second week, they finally brought me into another courtroom and selected me as a juror. It was only a slip-and-fall case (and a pretty unfounded one at that, as sorry as I felt for the poor lady who fell), nothing particularly earth-shattering, but I still feel fortunate to have had the experience. I may criticize the concept of "mandatory" jury duty from an abstract philosophical point of view, but from my own personal standpoint, getting the chance to "do my part" really was rewarding, if sobering. I'm definitely looking forward to getting picked again someday, and maybe I'll get lucky and land a more challenging case and/or one where I can make a more substantial difference. That said, it may be difficult for me to make it onto some juries, considering the amount of time I spent reading the Ohio Constitution and reading at http://www.fija.org/ last time, a study session I'm sure to repeat if I'm ever called again.

Anyway, it's a shame you've had so much trouble making your way onto a jury, but don't give up hope.

[LittleLightShining]

I would love to sit on a case. It would be one of the high points of my life. But to date, I've never been called... ever.


That being said the government is clearly incompetent in this situation as it is in most situations.

Me, neither and me, too.

[Kludge]

They don't let Pacifists "deliver justice".

[DAaaMan64]

I've done it. I liked it.

I got called on again, but I denied for school reasons. Sucks cause I wanted to

[Mini-Me]

They don't let Pacifists "deliver justice".

...which, as a non-pacifist, I must agree is bull$#@!. They purposely eliminate large political demographics to discount their influence (i.e. anti-war-on-drugs people), which undermines the entire concept of "a jury of peers."

[Zippyjuan]

Just to update my own situation- finally a conclusion. After a full week of calling they today said my service is considered concluded. I know their phone number by heart now.