My sister was called in for jury duty this week and I don't think they're handling it properly. The location of the court is downtown in a very dangerous city... my school is located there, but it's not downtown. First ridiculous item... she has to park three or more blocks away from the courthouse and walk to the doors and they won't allow her to even carry mace for protection! Then she tells the jury selection people that she can't miss class because she's a college student and part of her class requirements is that she not miss more than one session in a couple of her classes. Not to mention she's not exactly being compensated for her time on the jury and she's really not able to work either of her jobs because of it, and she's paying to attend classes. The judge himself told her that her teachers would be thrown in jail if they failed her because she missed class for jury duty, but come on! She's going to miss class for what, a week or two, and they expect her to know what's going on in class? Anyway, they let some other guy off because he said that he had to drive his son to the doctor next week so if the trial lasts any longer than a week he wouldn't be able to do it. This makes me so mad! My sister was so worried about this that she was actually crying... she's going to have a hard time making rent, fail all of her classes, and the worst is yet to come...

The judge apparently announced each juror's full name and address, right in front of a violent criminal and his family! My sister is the one who will have to read the verdict, too! I didn't think that was normal... in fact, especially in a rape case, letting everyone know where the youngest girl in the jury lives is just despicable! To make it worse, the guy was staring my sister down throughout the whole trial yesterday. She's back today and I am just praying that they convict him by the end of the day. I feel so guilty being at work when I should be escorting my sister to and from the courthouse! If it extends into next week I'll be back in school and definitely will do so. In the meantime I want to find out if it's even legal to announce the full names and addresses of jurors in a case like this... if you ask me it sure sounds like bad judgement, if nothing else.

 

WOW....that does sound ridiculous. I've never made it to jury duty luckily, but I would think that they'd have to let you out. I mean, my brother just showed up with a beeper the last time he was called, and they just let him go. They assumed it was an emergency beeper (which it is) but never asked or anything, just said, "OK, go". The names and address thing? I don't understand that either. I wish I could even say what to do, because something like this feels like it needs to be remedied and fast.

 

The main reason I will not commit a crime is that I refuse to be judged by a jury of 12 people that weren't smart enough to get out of jury duty! Seriously, the LAST thing you do is tell the judge that "you don't have time" to serve on a jury. That will GUARANTEE you'll be put on one. There are many more clever ways to get out of jury duty.

They announced her address, IN OPEN COURT?! That's insane. I'd get a lawyer and sue the judge.

 

I'd get legal advise over the giving out of name and address to everyone in the court.

Mark's right though, don't ever tell the city/state/feds you do not have time. You'd be lucky getting out of the court within six months after saying something like that.

- Chris

 

Jury duty isn't supposed to pay you for your wages lost. It pays you to cover meal and travel expenses.

Jury duty is excusable at schools, businesses, etc. If the school gives her problems about it they risk both a criminal and civil case. Names are generally known because our system insures the right to face those who judge us.

We have people who put their lives on the line, and many who lose them, for our freedoms yet its too inconvenient to give a little back a couple of weeks to our system by serving our fellow citizens with jury duty?

I don't have like doing jury duty (the word "duty" ought to be a hint), but I will do it. Sorry, but I have to disagree with you on this one. How easily we forget what our country has given us when its time to reciprocate.

 

Thanks Ken....
i have been active duty military for almost 10 years now. I have made more personal sacrifices to serve our nation than most people could imagine. I have spent many holidays, birthdays, etc away from home, in foriegn land, and in hostile areas. While doing all of this, I have had to cancel college classes, vacations, you name it.

When it comes to the citizens of this country to have to give up a couple of weeks to serve thier community, I can't tolerate whinners. No one likes doing jury duty, but as Ken mentioned, it is a duty, that as a democracy we the citizens must uphold this duty and take it seriously.

I am not asking people to like these civic duties, but at least suck it up and live with it. Don't let all of the sacrifices that our forefathers have made, and that we the military are making now, be in vain. I say embrace this duty and be proud to serve your community!!!

Mike

 

Last year I was called for jury duty. I didn't want to do it but I went and offered them no excuses. Murder/child molestation/sodomy case. Made me almost physcially sick just hearing what was done to this 5 year old girl.

My thinking was not how to get out of jury duty, but how to have the other employees cover for me at work (which they gladly did). In this case they threw me out of the jury pool after 4 days of questioning (the questions about whether I knew anyone who had been molested as a child might have been why but they never told me). I'm sure I'll be called again soon, its just the luck of the draw. My wife has served on jury duty as well, and she was fascinated by the process.

 

I agree with the last two statements. I have never served in the military, but I will do my civic duty and serve on a jury if need be. I have served 4 times (2 criminal state and 2 civil both Federal). I don't mind taking time out of busy and hectic schedule to serve my time. I have even missed an important deadlines at my job because of it. All I had to do was tell the client that I was on jury duty and they understood.

As for whiners if you don't like serving on jury duty please leave my county. You obviously don't truly understand what freedom we enjoy in this country and all the sacrifices others made for you.
<O</O
As for your sisters school I’m sure things can be worked out to get the information she needs to get her education. If they don’t help or work with her I’d get someone else to help.<O</O

 

I had jury duty once, was called for a wife-beating case and then eliminated from the potential jurors. Why they kept the woman who's sister had been beaten by her husband, along with a woman who's brother was a cop, is beyond me.

Personally, I was looking froward to watching the whole process, but I never got that far. That was 15 years ago and they haven't called me since. I'll serve if I'm ever called again, but the sad fact is that the vast majority of people in this country don't want to be on a jury. You're never going to change their mind, and those are the people that I DON'T want judging me if I'm the accused. They'll sit there, not paying attention, just waiting to go home. I'll gladly offer those people advice on how to get out of it.

For years, I've said that we should have professional, paid jurors. It's like anything else: how good can you be at something if you only do it once in your life? Professional jurors would render far better desisions, if only because they'd learn to see through the attorneys' "bag of tricks" as time went on. The current system desperately needs to be overhauled.

 

I'm not saying that you should avoid jury duty. All I was saying that if you need to get out of it, don't say that your just too busy; the courts will just think you are arrogant.

I don't beleive that they should call up students to go jury duty. They risk missing too many hours of class. Not only that, if she is just barely getting by and there is no one who will make up for her wages, why let her risk losing her home? What they should do is call me up. My employer pays for lost pay and I'd rather go to court then listen to people ask me all kinds of retarded questions all day. "I cut my tall fescue all the way down, just like they do in the stadiums, why isn't it growing?"

I'm suprised that they give out home address' loudly in court. You would figure that this would endanger the juror in a case of retribution.

- Chris

 

First of all I am insulted by your statements. I respect your opinion and you obviously have the right to them. I have been called to jury duty several times and as of yet I haven't sat on a trial. If I did, I think I am smart enough, attentive enough and more than capable of making an informed decision. Our system is based on a jury of "peers" and that means a random sampling of people who live in our general area. Is it perfect? By no means but to say people who only do it once can't do it, that's just not true. The decisions jurors make are made based on the information given to them at the trial.

Who would you propose be eligible to be a "professional juror"? Lawyers? Ex-judges? Regular folks off the street? Career public employees? Patronage or nepotism concern you? I don't think I want a so-called professional juror judging me. How long could anyone do that job before they completely lose interest, become jaded and biased and just not care anymore. Probably not long.

I'll stick with the way it is now. What more states need to do is what my state has done (even this screwed up state has a good idea now and again) - one day, one trial jury duty. If you get called to duty you are either picked for a jury that day or you are done. If you get on a jury you are done when that trial is. After that, they can't call you again for 2 years minimum.

People should see jury duty for what it is - a privelege. We are lucky enough to have a system where people are innocent until proven guilty and don't have to rely on one person to judge that innocence. Serve the duty and hope that if you are ever tried or sued, all the working, educated people don't bail out on you.

JMO

 

My statements apply to me, as well as you or anyone else. If you were somehow insulted by them (and I can't imagine how you were), then you've totally misunderstood what I said. Let's say I'm a pitcher for the American league, and I get to pitch in only one game- no previous experience, no practice. How good am I gonna be, compared to Nolan Ryan? It doesn't matter if were talking about sports, careers or juries: practice makes perfect. A professional jury would have that practice.

In some sugar-coated, ideal world then jury duty would be a "privilege." But I'm one of those crazy people that deals in reality, and in current real-world USA people don't want to serve on juries, and that's born out by a lot of the unbelievable verdicts we see. I'd prefer to be judged by people that WANT to sit on juries; you're one of them, and that's great. But you're the exception, and both plaintiff and defendant in this country deserve better than what they're getting today.

 

Before this strays too far off....... Hey D-ranged, I can understand yer concern and points to ponder. I wouldn't want my personal info read aloud either. That sounded a bit over the top for me. I would wonder if she can take a taxi, or have one of her friends, drop her off and pick her up in front of the courthouse at the respective times? As for the personal protection, yes, you won't be allowed to carry some of that stuff without permit, inside the courthouse, but why not have her ask the gaurds to keep it at the front desk or hold it for her until she exits for the day? And if I were her, I'd be tempted to carry more than a little can o mace. They make stun guns now that look just like cell phones. According to the case details, having her on the jury might be good for swinging the vote for the prosecutor. Many schools will work with students on stuff like this. And with any free time she gets she could be studying or doing homework at the courthouse to help make up for any lost class time.


As for Jury Duty, in general.....I have yet to get the opportunity to serve. And I look forward to it. Yep, I work full time, school at night, have a wife and kids, busy life, etc. Who doesn't? Who knows, maybe I'll be aiding in the trial of one of my fellow FTE Brethren??...Think on that one for a while. Would you want someone in the jury that didn't give a flyin rodents rear, or someone that wanted to participate in the judicial system.

Good luck to your sister and on the trial outcome.

 

I'm not at all saying she should never serve jury duty. Or that nobody should have to. I understand that we have an obligation to serve when called and I wouldn't advise anyone to weasel their way out of it. If I were called, I'd do it. I'm not about to cancel my classes to do it (I'd be losing about $12,000 for the term if I did) but I'd be more than willing to do my civic duty, provided that it didn't endanger my life.

Too many things about how they're treating her, I feel, endanger her life. You'd have to be familiar with the area to know how dangerous it is to walk even one block downtown. There are students at my school who've gotten mugged four feet away from the door of our school! There are gangs of pre-teens who try to beat up students just to prove how tough they are. For her to have to park so far from the court and then have to walk -alone and unarmed- through a place where vehicles are broken into in broad daylight two blocks from the police station is just nuts. Then to have her name AND address broadcast to a criminal who is on trial for committing a violent act against a woman is sickening.

When she first was notified to show up for jury selection I was throwing ideas for how to get out of it at her and she has way too much integrity to lie to the court. My sister works harder than most people and does jobs nobody else takes seriously and she is an incredible person for how much abuse/BS she takes from her managers and other people, and she does it with a smile. It's amazing... I could never do that. But, especially in a case like this, the judge has potentially exposed her to harm in more ways than one. I have volunteered to do whatever I can do to keep her from getting behind with bills and class and will do whatever it takes to make sure she's safe, but having our address (two young, female college students living alone) given to people who could potentially want to take revenge for the verdict is sick. I have a handgun and I pray I never have to use it, but I can't be with her 100% of the time and she often works late hours. I'm terrified for her safety, and I guess mine. But I'm about 5'8" and pretty buff, if I do say so myself. She's 5'4" and much more top-heavy than I am, so I think she's a more likely target. I know I'm no Bruce Lee, but I feel like I have a much better chance of survival.

In this area, there are no taxis. And I wouldn't trust anyone who said they were driving a taxi either. She asked about having a can of mace held at the front or by an officer for her and they told her she wasn't allowed to bring it on the premisis. And, sadly, she's more concerned with missing work than school. Any spare time she has she is trying to get into work. Her classes are all lecture-based, but I'm hoping her teachers will email her a transcript of the lecture or something so she can tell what's going on in class.

That's all I'm really saying, is that there is something messed up about giving out the full name and address of the people responsible for whether or not a criminal will walk or spend a few years behind bars.

 

BINGO!!! This is the only portion of the current jury selection that needs to be overhauled, they NEED to allow for exceptions. A student or someone who will not get paid (and possibly lose their home) should be afforded a LONG postponement, not a one month postponement. I fought my county long and hard on this earlier this year. It's not that I mind serving, actually I think it may be interesting. But considering that they called both my wife and I at the same time and neither of us is compensated by employers for jury duty it would have been an extreme hardship and the courts didn't care. In the end they made her serve a week long case (no pay mind you!) and I was able to get a 1 year postponment, which I am happy with. When they call me up around May 2006 I will go without any issues, even if I am still contracting.

The point being it shouldn't have taken 2 months of arguing with them to get that postponement. They need to provide for cases like this. Saying that the $5 they pay a day to cover meals and travel is ridiculous, it cost my wife almost $15 a day out of pocket (gas & food) to serve, and that's not counting the 5 days of missed wages. If the courts were serious about getting people in these situations to serve than they have an option - force employers to pay wages while their employees are on a jury. Currently it is an option. And still think students should have an automatic exemption as long as they are undergraduate. Your instructors cannot fail you but you still miss the lectures and assignments.