Bestest Friend and I are doing a blog project. Every day we will write a blog post on a pre-determined topic chosen by a random noun generator. The theme for the twenty-first day of the month is "Decision."
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The happiest news I have for you is that yesterday I went to the county courthouse to do my jury duty, but I didn't have to render any decision for any court case, so in the end I was there for less than an hour before I was sent home.
There was only one trial yesterday (it's a rural county!) and it was someone fighting a traffic citation, so they only needed six jurors. They brought in SIXTEEN of us, but they'd already done a "paper pick" in which they had picked six people ahead of time for the jury. I was not one of those people. They kept TEN of us as "extras" in case there were some people who had conflicts of interest or knew people involved in the case, but there were no conflicts, so the ten of us got to go home.
Don't worry, though. I'm still on call for jury duty for next week, so I'll let you know if I do have to make any decisions.
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I've done jury duty before. You can read all about it here. (TL;DR it was boring and a waste of time and resources) Have you ever been on a jury? What was your experience like?
I've never been a juror and have never really thought about it but I knew a woman who was OBSESSED with getting selected. Like it was one of her big dreams in life...and eventually she got called to do jury duty and feel like in the end the case was dropped or something else equally anticlimactic?
ReplyDeleteHuh. It was never an ambition of mine, but I used to do court monitoring of cases of violence against women and children when I lived in a major city and I am seriously jaded about juries, so maybe that's why. I generally believe most people should just a trial by judge as opposed to a trial by jury because I think most people don't understand the nuances of the law. So I can see how jaded you would be if you were excited about it and the reality was that it was just a waste of time.
DeleteI can't believe you are on jury duty FOR A WHOLE MONTH. That would cause me so much anxiety, not knowing what my day might look like every single day. It reminds me when I was on call for election duty, and I was like "Will I spend this day to myself, or have to be busy helping out with the election at a precinct all day?!"
ReplyDeleteThe last time I did jury duty was YEARS ago. I think I was in my mid-twenties. I did the voir dire process, but was ultimately let go.
Yes! I have to caveat all meetings/plans I'm making with "as long as I don't get called for jury duty that day." It's very stressful to plan things.
DeleteI went to my first jury duty a few years ago, stayed for 30 minutes, and then was excused. "See you in five years!" they said. I was thrilled. Then I realized (thanks to this post) that it has been four years...GAHHHH. 🤣
ReplyDeleteWell, see you in a year, I guess! Or maybe you won't ever get summoned. My husband has never been summoned at all!
DeleteI got pulled for jury duty during the school year. Huge inconvenience. Luckily, the defendant took a plea deal and I was only there for a couple of hours. I haven't been called since. YET.
ReplyDeleteWell, now that you're retired, maybe it would be a little bit less stressful in terms of your schedule. There did seem to be a lot of retired people there.
DeleteI'm a little confused about the "jury duty for a month" thing. If you end up serving on a jury, are you then excused for the rest of the month? I know you're obviously not asked to be there every day, but what are people supposed to do about their jobs? What if you can't take a day off at a moment's notice? What kind of compensation is there for lost wages? I need details here.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, glad you got to go home! I've been called for jury duty and spent the day there, but didn't end up serving on a jury (phew.) That would have screwed up my life big time!
I'll write more details about it tomorrow! It's not as onerous as it sounds at first glance, but if I had an hourly job or childcare to manage, I would be freaking out a lot more.
DeleteI've been summoned twice (that I can remember) and both times, I wasn't needed.
ReplyDeleteMy husband on the other hand has been chosen twice and both times was made Foreperson (I think that's the correct wording) for his group and did he have some stories!
It's so weird. I've been called a few times and my husband has never been summoned. Such a crap shoot!
DeleteI was once in the pool for a fairly major case. Thankfully, I was let off due to health. It would have involved daily trips to another town at a time when we were otherwise busy.
ReplyDeleteHuh. Maybe I should make up an illness. LOL. I would NEVER!
DeleteI had to serve on a jury once - it was an assault case. Someone ran into someone else's car with their own car and was charged with assault with a deadly weapon. It was FASCINATING to me. Because we had to get into the weeds about what a "deadly" weapon was - the way the law was written, the weapon had to be inherently (or was it intrinsically? can't remember) a deadly weapon. And we went back and forth on whether or not a car was a deadly weapon.
ReplyDeleteAlso very fascinating to me was that it was basically a bunch of us, none of whom were lawyers, deciding how to interpret the law. That to me was kind of surreal.
Right? This is my beef with juries. Even if you're all smart people on the jury (which is unlikely), you're not experts in the law! Most cases should be trial by judge, in my opinion, but people will want their day in court, even at the inconvenience and cost to a lot of other people!
DeleteI've never heard of being on call for jury duty! I did get called once but I did not serve.
ReplyDeleteI did call in on Friday evening and I'm done for the month, so that's a relief. Doing it for a whole month is a long time!
DeleteI have been on 2 juries; one for Federal court that took weeks when I was like a lifetime younger (I remember fighting with my retail job about all the time it was taking) and one for a trial court a couple of years ago where the made a settlement at the last minute. As someone who watches so many lawyer or mystery shows, you'd think I would have enjoyed it more, but I super felt the pressure.
ReplyDeleteThe jury I was on was for a civil trial and I was more exasperated by the whole thing than actual pressure. I think if I were ever on a jury for a criminal trial, it would be a different story.
DeleteI was called for jury duty at the peak of my fibroid issues, so I got a doctor's note. Two of my close friends have served, one for a kind of interesting assault/unlawful imprisonment and one for a really upsetting murder case. I agree with you that most cases should be bench trial.
ReplyDeleteUgh. I hope I would somehow be disqualified if it were a murder trial! I don't think I could handle the pressure.
DeleteI've been called for jury duty a couple of times but here we ring in the day prior and both times they've said they don't need me. Traffic offences are classed as summary offences in Victoria and so are dealt with in the magistrates court which doesn't have juries.
ReplyDeleteThis is a weird traffic/criminal case because they didn't stop/pull over for emergency vehicles. I think it can go to a jury trial because jail time might be involved. I think.
DeleteMy parents were big fans of the movie "Twelve Angry Men," so I've always been starry-eyed about American-style juries. I thought "Women Talking" a film that came out last year did a wonderful take on the theme too. I've not been on a jury... yet; but hope I'll have the chance someday.
ReplyDeleteHm. The system needs more people like you to be eager for jury service, I think!
DeleteI've never had to do jury duty and I have no desire to ever do so!! Especially in something like the big trials you see on TV... it seems so overwhelming. SO much responsibility, and I feel like I would be so worried that I either missed something or misunderstood something or just otherwise goofed something up... and I'm also one who tends to think most human situations can be extremely "complicated" or have many nuances/sides to them, so I feel like I would have a hard time making a definitive decision in what would indeed likely be a very "complicated" situation.
ReplyDeleteWell, if it comforts you at all, most trials aren't big trials that are covered on tv. You're extremely unlikely to end up on one that like!
DeleteThere is no jury duty in Germany and the whole concept kinda irks me (can't quite explain why). I was once called in for jury duty and I almost ended up on a murder case. I am so glad I wasn't picked though because when I was asked if I could be unbiased, I said "absolutely not", because I believe NOBODY can claim to be completely unbiased.... of course, if I was ever picked, I would do my best to look at the presented facts in a objective way and all, but I don't think anybody would be completely without bias. Nobody ever is in any situation and those who claim they are, are full of sh*t.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I have strong feelings (all cops lie, eyewitness testimony is useless) that would probably disqualify me from most juries. I hang my hat on that!
DeleteOhhh, I have jury duty PTSD from being on a murder trial when I was 18. It was awful. I've been called several times since but haven't had to serve. I don't think my mother has been called in her whole life, so why have I been called at least five times?
ReplyDeleteWhy do some people have all the bad luck?! My husband has never had to serve either.
DeleteI've never done jury duty and do not look forward to ever doing it! I feel like it would be tough to balance with work - like I'd have to cancel so many meetings! My retired colleague was on a jury about 5 years ago and then got called up again last month but I think he got released!
ReplyDeleteYes, this is TWICE for me and I'm still relatively young! I wonder how long before I'm in the pool for jury duty again.
DeleteNope. Never been called for jury duty. Is it because the number of places I have lived since I hit 18 is... north of 20? Maybe. ;) (Totally just jinxed myself, btw...)
ReplyDeleteWell, if you get a driver's license in the new place, you're in the pool. It's only a matter of time!
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