Jury Duty

[Finance85]

I go back and forth in my head on this.

I just got summoned for jury duty. I'm an IT consultant and the vast majority of my work is out of town. I had previously gotten summoned but got a deferral because I was at a critical time in my project, had already purchased non-refundable airline tickets, etc.

I'm the sole breadwinner for my family. Missing a week of work is a significant loss of revenue.

People say it's my civic duty. I'm not sure I buy into that notion. I shouldn't have to sacrifice time and money when there are plenty of people available who would only be sacrificing time. If I was retired or unemployed it wouldn't be a problem.

Am I wrong to feel this way?

 

[LT4PLY]

I go back and forth in my head on this.

I just got summoned for jury duty. I'm an IT consultant and the vast majority of my work is out of town. I had previously gotten summoned but got a deferral because I was at a critical time in my project, had already purchased non-refundable airline tickets, etc.

I'm the sole breadwinner for my family. Missing a week of work is a significant loss of revenue.

People say it's my civic duty. I'm not sure I buy into that notion. I shouldn't have to sacrifice time and money when there are plenty of people available who would only be sacrificing time. If I was retired or unemployed it wouldn't be a problem.

Am I wrong to feel this way?

No. And the courts are pretty terrible at not giving a crap about the jurors. I got called a couple years ago... They explain the trial would begin on x date if we are selected. Guy in front row explains he works for a small company, scheduled around today to serve jury duty and certainly would have scheduled around the trial date had they told us before we got there.... but as of now he already had plane tickets for travel for work and he had to go and it would be an extreme burden to serve on this jury. There are seriously at least 20 alternates that could have been picked with no conflicts or issues.... That guy got selected.

 

[KitingHigh]

If your life depended on a jury, would you want only jobless people as part of it?

 

[SeaPA]

I think you are wrong.

While I've never been involved in a criminal or civil suit (as accused/plaintiff/defendant), if I were I'd damn sure want my jury pool to consist of reasonable, intelligent people. I have served on juries a couple of times - once in a criminal case, once in a civil suit.

I get highly aggravated with people who gripe about ridiculous outcomes of trials, but who also do anything & everything to get out of serving when called for jury duty. You can't have it both ways; if you are not willing to participate in the system, you forfeit the right to complain about decisions made by those who do participate.

 

[Oclawaha]

I once sat on a jury in a conspiracy trial in District Court. Two weeks total counting arguments, days off and deliberations. Three defendants tried together.
I never want to have to do that again.

 

[runkpanole]

I think having educated people on a jury is a great thing. I had to fill out the federal information form a couple of years ago and didn’t actually get called. Would have done it in a heartbeat.

 

[Finance85]

I probably wouldn't mind quite as much if I didn't travel for a living. I work Monday thru Thursday. It basically wrecks my week, even if I only have to participate for one day. Yes, I'm whining.

 

[EconSean]

Jury of your “peers” is laughable. I sat on a jury in Philadelphia for a murder trial, and it was shocking how disinterested, and just flat out dumb, most of the other jurors were. I’m talking about people who couldn’t spell cat if you spotted them the c and the a. Only thing that got folks’ attention was the lunch menu. It was really distressing to see the entire process firsthand.

 

[Fijimn]

I probably wouldn't mind quite as much if I didn't travel for a living. I work Monday thru Thursday. It basically wrecks my week, even if I only have to participate for one day. Yes, I'm whining.

I suspect that your clients will get along for a couple of days with out such sage advice as: "try unplugging and plugging it back in."

 

[seminole97]

If your life depended on a jury, would you want only jobless people as part of it?

Would you want pissed off people?

 

[OrlandNole]

My dad once sought out both the prosecution and defense attorneys to find out why he wasn't selected for a jury. They both blamed the other.

 

[cmanole]

Jury of your “peers” is laughable. I sat on a jury in Philadelphia for a murder trial, and it was shocking how disinterested, and just flat out dumb, most of the other jurors were. I’m talking about people who couldn’t spell cat if you spotted them the c and the a. Only thing that got folks’ attention was the lunch menu. It was really distressing to see the entire process firsthand.

Still better than 'appointed' judges...

 

[ericram]

I probably wouldn't mind quite as much if I didn't travel for a living. I work Monday thru Thursday. It basically wrecks my week, even if I only have to participate for one day. Yes, I'm whining.

Stop whining and just tell them that every person that was arrested is guilty and deserves the death penalty for breaking the law. That you don't even need to waste time and money with the trial.

 

[funksouljon]

Jury of your “peers” is laughable. I sat on a jury in Philadelphia for a murder trial, and it was shocking how disinterested, and just flat out dumb, most of the other jurors were. I’m talking about people who couldn’t spell cat if you spotted them the c and the a. Only thing that got folks’ attention was the lunch menu. It was really distressing to see the entire process firsthand.

The whole gamble on having competent, intelligent, critical thinking persons in a jury is something that would terrify me if I were on trial. Would having professional jurors be better than the gamble? Not sure, but I am lucky and likely won't be picked for a jury so only have to give up the 1 day to be told no thanks. At least so far that has been the case.

Did some research 15 years ago and it seemed the average education level for a jury was 8th grade. Thats pretty scary if true.

 

[F4Gary]

My brother is serving on the Grand Jury in Las Vegas.
He is not impressed with the caliber of some of his fellow jurors.

 

[KitingHigh]

Would you want pissed off people?

If I was the plaintiff I would.

I see your point though.

 

[Finance85]

I suspect that your clients will get along for a couple of days with out such sage advice as: "try unplugging and plugging it back in."

ROFL at Fij.

 

[seminole97]

The whole gamble on having competent, intelligent, critical thinking persons in a jury is something that would terrify me if I were on trial.

I gotta admit the same reservations voting and democracy, but whaddaya gonna do? All the alternatives seem to go off the rails too...

 

[Fijimn]

My brother is serving on the Grand Jury in Las Vegas.
He is not impressed with the caliber of some of his fellow jurors.

Even on a grand jury...it's usually filled with some pretty sharp retirees.

 

[funksouljon]

I gotta admit the same reservations voting and democracy, but whaddaya gonna do? All the alternatives seem to go off the rails too...

Agreed. No perfect solution. Is a change better than what we have? Or just a tweak on current. I don't know. I just know if I end up on a major trial, I will be terrified.

 

[fsunole025]

I am an IT consultant who travels frequently and the only source of income for my family but I work for a global consulting firm. It sounds like you might be contractor or independent. I was selected for jury duty 6 months ago. I was able to defer the first time but appeared for service as requested the second time. The attornies didn't want me on the jury based on my responses and I only missed one day of work. My employer supported me serving and didn't require me to use vacation time. I worked from home the remainder of that week.

 

[cfbfan23]

I'm pretty pissed about jury duty. I served as a juror on a two-day trial in Dekalb county in mid-July 2016. I just got my notice two weeks ago to report again in late July of this year. Two times in two years seems a little ridiculous to me.

 

[Fijimn]

Agreed. No perfect solution. Is a change better than what we have? Or just a tweak on current. I don't know. I just know if I end up on a major trial, I will be terrified.

I would suggest a jury system is the best system for most cases. Most of the time, jurors try really hard to figure it out and use what evidence they have. They all bring their bias to the table. I my experience, it's usually the advocate that is doing a poor job presenting his/her case and that's why the jurors don't "get it."

 

[SeaPA]

Had a funny story from the criminal trial on which I served. During the jury selection process, they had about 20 of us in there being questioned by the attorneys for both sides. I was kinda watching the accused (didn't yet know any details of what he'd been accused); he was entirely disinterested in the whole process, looked like he was about to fall asleep. So they ask if any of the prospective jurors know anyone in the courtroom. I say yes I do - knew the judge, bailiff, & court reporter. Then the lady next to me raises her hand. "I think I recognize someone. I work at the local elementary school; every Monday they hand out a flyer with all known sex offenders that live within X feet of the school. I think the defendant was on there last week."

That got him real interested, real fast. He slams both hands down on the table in front of him, springs to his feet & yells, "NOT MEEEEEEEEE!!!"

 

[seminole97]

Two times in two years seems a little ridiculous to me.

 

[Fijimn]

In Texas, you have a right to trial by jury for any infraction. A few years ago, I got summoned to the local JP court for traffic court. Normally, I am not selected because I am a "insurance" attorney, so the civil trial lawyers don't want me and I was a victim of a violent crime so the criminal defense attorneys don't want me. However, there is no voir dire in traffic court and I get selected. It was a simply failure to stay in lane (cab driver took too wide a turn and went into another lane cause a car that was driving by to swerve). It's all on tape. Cab driver testifies he didn't do anything and all cops in our town are crooked...yada yada.

Get back to the deliberate...read the thing, let's vote so we can get out of here. And we have a hold out. One guy out of six refuses to vote to convict. So a simple proceeding turns into a scene from 12 Angry Men. Judge keeps sending us back to deliberate. We are in there for 5 hours, until she declares a mistrial. there was going to be some serious fighting going on if she didn't declare a mistrial.

 

[JohnnieHolmesNole]

Jury of your “peers” is laughable. I sat on a jury in Philadelphia for a murder trial, and it was shocking how disinterested, and just flat out dumb, most of the other jurors were. I’m talking about people who couldn’t spell cat if you spotted them the c and the a. Only thing that got folks’ attention was the lunch menu. It was really distressing to see the entire process firsthand.

This is EXACTLY who John Morgan wants on the jury, and it’s the reason the ambulance chasers changed the jury selection process from “registered voters” to “schmoes with driver’s licenses.” If you want a preview of your case, run down to DMV and test it out on whomever you find in line.

 

[Formerly Rockymtnole]

We had a jury trial a couple years ago and the judge managed the voir dire process. Roughly 75% of them listed Facebook as their first or only source of news.

I've sat through a couple jury trials as a plaintiff and a defendant, and the jury process is fascinating to me. You can't always judge a book by the cover.

 

[Finance85]

Update - the client agreed it's not ideal, but we'll do our testing workshops via a webinar if I don't get selected.

 

[TallyNole93]

I served jury duty in 9/11. Jury was in recess and the bailiff came in and said "the towers are gone". We had no idea what he was talking about. Since then I feel totally different about jury duty. Warts and all, we are pretty damn lucky to have our justice system. I do not hesitate to serve.

 

[Scalphunter]

Maybe I'm just jaded and cynical because I'm the entity that brings folks to our State Attorneys to prosecute. But, knowing how the State Attorney's Office handles the cases it gets, makes me look at criminal trials in general different than most folks. The SAO will generally not bring a case to trial unless it knows that it has a very great probability it can convict. They don't want to waste time & money in an already backlogged system. They also don't want to put in jeopardy their precious conviction rates for their next re-election campaign. So, they will try to plea bargain those cases they are unsure they can win at trial and sometimes will just full out nolle prosequi the case even when most rational folks look at the case and it's pretty obvious the defendant is guilty.

So, just by playing the statistics, pretty much the vast majority of defendants brought to trial are just about slam dunk guilty as Hell. Otherwise they never would have made it to trial.

This doesn't take into account the more rare, very high profile cases that the SAO must bring to trial or face public backlash where they may not have the best case to present.

 

[Fijimn]

Maybe I'm just jaded and cynical because I'm the entity that brings folks to our State Attorneys to prosecute. But, knowing how the State Attorney's Office handles the cases it gets, makes me look at criminal trials in general different than most folks. The SAO will generally not bring a case to trial unless it knows that it has a very great probability it can convict. They don't want to waste time & money in an already backlogged system. They also don't want to put in jeopardy their precious conviction rates for their next re-election campaign. So, they will try to plea bargain those cases they are unsure they can win at trial and sometimes will just full out nolle prosequi the case even when most rational folks look at the case and it's pretty obvious the defendant is guilty.

So, just by playing the statistics, pretty much the vast majority of defendants brought to trial are just about slam dunk guilty as Hell. Otherwise they never would have made it to trial.

This doesn't take into account the more rare, very high profile cases that the SAO must bring to trial or face public backlash where they may not have the best case to present.

There is a certain amount of validity to suggesting that DA/SAO bring "easy" conviction cases to trial because they want a high conviction rate. This is especially true for lifers that want to move up the chain of command. However, a lawyer views a case differently from a layman--even one involved in law enforcement. We look at the admissible evidence and not just at all the bits and pieces. Plus, the mens rea element for a particular crime can be extremely difficult to prove through circumstantial evidence. Lastly, beyond a reasonable doubt is a very heavy burden.

 

[ReliableOstrich]

I strongly believe that voting in every election, paying your fair share of taxes, and serving on jury duty are the bare minimum of civic duty.

I understand that in most cases jury duty is an exceptionally inefficient process, which can be frustrating, but such is life.

Stop whining and just tell them that every person that was arrested is guilty and deserves the death penalty for breaking the law. That you don't even need to waste time and money with the trial.

I read a tweet eerily similar to that a little while ago, pretty sure it was serious. Yikes!

My brother is serving on the Grand Jury in Las Vegas.
He is not impressed with the caliber of some of his fellow jurors.

That's basically a statement about society in general. If we want better juries we'll have to invest in making folks smarter.

 

[TarHeels740]

I go back and forth in my head on this.

I just got summoned for jury duty. I'm an IT consultant and the vast majority of my work is out of town. I had previously gotten summoned but got a deferral because I was at a critical time in my project, had already purchased non-refundable airline tickets, etc.

I'm the sole breadwinner for my family. Missing a week of work is a significant loss of revenue.

People say it's my civic duty. I'm not sure I buy into that notion. I shouldn't have to sacrifice time and money when there are plenty of people available who would only be sacrificing time. If I was retired or unemployed it wouldn't be a problem.

Am I wrong to feel this way?

Yes

 

[TennNole17]

Use Notary Publics as jury selection pools

 

[JohnnieHolmesNole]

Maybe I'm just jaded and cynical because I'm the entity that brings folks to our State Attorneys to prosecute. But, knowing how the State Attorney's Office handles the cases it gets, makes me look at criminal trials in general different than most folks. The SAO will generally not bring a case to trial unless it knows that it has a very great probability it can convict. They don't want to waste time & money in an already backlogged system. They also don't want to put in jeopardy their precious conviction rates for their next re-election campaign. So, they will try to plea bargain those cases they are unsure they can win at trial and sometimes will just full out nolle prosequi the case even when most rational folks look at the case and it's pretty obvious the defendant is guilty.

So, just by playing the statistics, pretty much the vast majority of defendants brought to trial are just about slam dunk guilty as Hell. Otherwise they never would have made it to trial.

This doesn't take into account the more rare, very high profile cases that the SAO must bring to trial or face public backlash where they may not have the best case to present.

So Meggs made an exception for FSU football players? I know he said they should be held to a “higher standard.”

 

[Scalphunter]

So Meggs made an exception for FSU football players? I know he said they should be held to a “higher standard.”

Don't get me started on Willie Meggs. Lots of folks in my profession are glad he is gone.

 

[JohnnieHolmesNole]

Don't get me started on Willie Meggs. Lots of folks in my profession are glad he is gone.

Amen. One of the true buffoons in Tallahassee history. It is embarrassing that he holds two (2) degrees from FSU.

 

[Scalphunter]

Ever testify against another cop, or refute ones testimony or claim?

I don't know why you're even asking me a question since I'm but, I'll answer your question.

I've never had to testify against another cop in my 20+ years. Nor have I ever witnessed another cop commit a crime which includes committing the crime of perjury. Therefore, I've never had to refute anything.

There are bad apples in every profession. I'm just glad I've never personally worked with nor supervised any.

It's extremely dangerous to paint an entire group of people with a broad brush based up personal experiences or perceptions.

 

[funksouljon]

......
It's extremely dangerous to paint an entire group of people with a broad brush based up personal experiences or perceptions.

Was that a threat?!




sorry, had to.