Author Topic: Jury duty. Hooray.  (Read 10188 times)

Offline JesseVader08

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Re: Jury duty. Hooray.
« Reply #15 on: April 21, 2009, 12:53 PM »
Bumping this thread as its my turn to serve my country (county?)

I was summoned to Lake County, IL Jury Duty this week.  I've had my number called to the jury pool today and now I'm sitting in the courthouse waiting for orientation.  We'll see if I actually get selected to a Jury or not.

Let 'em fry Brent!  :P
« Last Edit: April 21, 2009, 12:54 PM by JesseVader08 »

Offline Matt

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Re: Jury duty. Hooray.
« Reply #16 on: April 21, 2009, 04:31 PM »
I did my jury duty back about two months ago.  Showed up Monday morning, spent all day reading most of The Shining, and then at around four that afternoon, they told me to come back Wednesday morning because I had been selected for a case.  Came back Wednesday morning as part of a pool of about two dozen for a civil case involving a traffic accident.  Was then selected as the very last person in a pool of twelve, of which they only needed six.  Was dismissed after some basic questions from the judge and plaintiff's attorney, so I was only there for a couple hours that day. 

Got my check several weeks later--$66 something.  Two days at $20 per, plus $26 for mileage. 

I was actually a little disappointed I wasn't selected for the final jury, because it seemed kind of interesting.  That said, I'm not hoping I get another summons, any time soon.
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Offline BrentS

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Re: Jury duty. Hooray.
« Reply #17 on: April 21, 2009, 06:25 PM »
Well, I got selected straight away for a criminal case.  We've been recessed for the evening and the judge ordered us to not talk about the case or form any opinions - so don't ask.  I should be done tomorrow.

Offline Darth_Anton

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Re: Jury duty. Hooray.
« Reply #18 on: April 22, 2009, 10:16 AM »
For the first time, I had no excuse to get out of service, so all next week I have to be available to report.
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Offline BrentS

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Re: Jury duty. Hooray.
« Reply #19 on: April 22, 2009, 05:45 PM »
Guilty.


I must say, my experience as a juror was very interesting.  Coming in my only "experience" with jury trials are John Grisham novels and the "Practice" on TV.  Obviously, I didn't expect that to be reality so it was definitely interesting to see a real world case.  Its also very difficult to weigh the prospects of guilt and innocence of a fellow person.  I think our case was pretty much a slam dunk but the circumstances around it all were so sad.  I also think that both the prosecutor and defense made several big mistakes.  Our deliberations lasted nearly as long as the hearing of the evidence.  We had one or two jurors that didn't feel strongly about the guilty verdict and we had to do a lot of discussion.  In the end, I think we got it correct and we went through the whole process.  It was good experience.  I don't think I'd hesitate to do it all again if summoned.  Obviously, circumustances around life events may change that opinion.  I would not ever want to sit on a sequestered jury though

Offline john todd

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Re: Jury duty. Hooray.
« Reply #20 on: April 27, 2009, 05:17 PM »
i got jury duty a few weeks ago.  it got me out of 2 days work, so i guess it was ok.

the case was actually dismissed or rescheduled or something because they couldn't select enough jurors.  this guy had the idea that since his car had been crashed, he not only wanted the repairs done, but some extra money to cover his losses due to depreciation because of the crash.
when asked, almost every jury candidate said the car was worth less because of the crash, so the defense eliminated pretty much everyone.

i thought this was pretty sharp... based on that set of jurors, that guy certainly got some kind of settlement from the insurance company to cover the amount of money lost because people think previously crashed used cars are worth less than never crashed used cars.  i kinda wish it had gone to trial so i could have seen the outcome.

Offline EdSolo

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Re: Jury duty. Hooray.
« Reply #21 on: April 28, 2009, 08:02 AM »
Just got a summons yesterday.  I have a feeling I won't get picked.

Offline Ryan

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Re: Jury duty. Hooray.
« Reply #22 on: July 19, 2011, 02:52 AM »
Bumping this thread back up. :)

I got my first jury summons the other day and get to report tomorrow. I'm actually excited I always wanted to get the chance to serve. And I'm pretty excited to hopefully miss a crappy work day tomorrow. :)
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Offline Aucassin

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Re: Jury duty. Hooray.
« Reply #23 on: July 19, 2011, 05:25 PM »
I was summoned for jury duty earlier this year. Actually, I recieved the summons in October or November, but the trial was in January. It was in federal court, so I had to go to Denver. And, of course, I was picked for the jury. The trial lasted for 4 days, so I stayed in a hotel. Thankfully, I live just far enough away that they paid for the room. It was the first time I was picked for a jury. I wasn't thrilled that I was chosen, but I'm glad I was since it was an interesting experience. But I can't say I'm looking forward to it ever happening again.

Offline Ryan

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Re: Jury duty. Hooray.
« Reply #24 on: July 19, 2011, 07:14 PM »
I ended up spending just about all day at the courthouse today. I arrived at 8 am and I didn't even get into the courtroom until about 2:30. After a lot of cuts I was juror 28 of 55. They did another round of cuts before taking us up to the courtroom, cutting about 20 more people off the list, with a good amount them jurors in front of me. After the judge went through asking the jurors questions they eliminated one woman and had to bring another person into the box. But after the lawyers had their turn they didn't find they need to strike any other jurors for cause, so the rest of us sitting in the back of the court were excused. I think I was only a few people away from being one of the jurors in the box. Darn. I did find it to be a pretty interesting experience, and I'd have no problem doing it again some time.

 
I was summoned for jury duty earlier this year. Actually, I recieved the summons in October or November, but the trial was in January. It was in federal court, so I had to go to Denver. And, of course, I was picked for the jury. The trial lasted for 4 days, so I stayed in a hotel. Thankfully, I live just far enough away that they paid for the room. It was the first time I was picked for a jury. I wasn't thrilled that I was chosen, but I'm glad I was since it was an interesting experience. But I can't say I'm looking forward to it ever happening again.

Wow, that sounds kind of neat. Care to elaborate on the case you were a part of at all? I understand if you'd rather not though.
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Offline JediJman

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Re: Jury duty. Hooray.
« Reply #25 on: July 19, 2011, 09:40 PM »
I was selected for JD when I was 18, but never got picked for the jury.  It was a hassle back then, because I lost out on some work pay and just sat around waiting all week, but now that I'm older I think I'd really like being part of the process. 
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Offline Ryan

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Re: Jury duty. Hooray.
« Reply #26 on: July 19, 2011, 09:56 PM »
I was selected for JD when I was 18, but never got picked for the jury.  It was a hassle back then, because I lost out on some work pay and just sat around waiting all week, but now that I'm older I think I'd really like being part of the process. 

In CO (I'm not sure if this is true in other states as well) it is mandatory for your employer to pay you for at least the first three days at your normal wage. If your are unemployed the court pays you, $50 plus reasonable expenses. After three days it is up to your employer, if they don't pay you then the court pays you $50 a day.
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Offline JediJman

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Re: Jury duty. Hooray.
« Reply #27 on: July 20, 2011, 12:10 AM »
I was selected for JD when I was 18, but never got picked for the jury.  It was a hassle back then, because I lost out on some work pay and just sat around waiting all week, but now that I'm older I think I'd really like being part of the process. 

In CO (I'm not sure if this is true in other states as well) it is mandatory for your employer to pay you for at least the first three days at your normal wage. If your are unemployed the court pays you, $50 plus reasonable expenses. After three days it is up to your employer, if they don't pay you then the court pays you $50 a day.

I was working at Hardee's at the time.  I don't think they paid anything and I would up with something like $20 for the week - not a great deal for me.   :P
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Offline Phrubruh

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Re: Jury duty. Hooray.
« Reply #28 on: July 20, 2011, 03:35 PM »
At Bank of America they put you on disability during JD. You get full pay no matter how long the trial goes.
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Offline Aucassin

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Re: Jury duty. Hooray.
« Reply #29 on: July 24, 2011, 03:28 AM »
I ended up spending just about all day at the courthouse today. I arrived at 8 am and I didn't even get into the courtroom until about 2:30.

You didn't have to be there until 8? Lucky you. We had to be there at 7am, and it was cold and windy that morning. Those parking lot meters take forever to process a credit card!  :) At 7:30 the jury administrator went over what was going to be happening, then, at about 8, she took 1/3 of the group across the street to a different courthouse. Those poor bastards! They had a murder trial: Full 12-person jury plus 4 alternates. Once deliberations started, they would have to stick together at all times with their court guard while in the courthouse. I couldn't imagine 17 people fitting into the elevators in our building.

Eventually, another third of us was taken upstairs. I never found out anything about their case. Also, if you get summoned for District court, don't forget to call! The jury admininstrator started calling people at home and at work. In fact, one of the people she called didn't get in until 9 (she forgot to call the previous Friday and went in to work) and she ended up getting picked with me.  :P

By 10, we were finally in our courtroom, and they started randomly drawing juror numbers to get a smaller pool. Since it was 7-person jury they only drew 13 numbers. Guess who was number thirteen? Actually, there was a fourteenth person selected. One of the first 13 they called was to be a witness in a different trial the next day, so he was released. They drew another number for someone to take his place. She, too, wound up on the jury.

The attorneys started asking us questions, and eventually settled on 7 of us: myself and 6 women. By lunchtime we were sworn in and ready to start the trial.

Another fun fact to note about District Court jury duty in CO: You're on call for 2 weeks. If you don't get called in or chosen for a jury the first week, then they have another shot at you the next week. So, in your case, Ryan, you would have to have called in again Friday and listen for your number.  >:D


Wow, that sounds kind of neat. Care to elaborate on the case you were a part of at all? I understand if you'd rather not though.

It was a civil case. A man was suing a Denver police officer. He claimed that she violated his First and Fourth Amendment rights when she arrested him for interference. He also claimed she injured his hand by cuffing his wrists too tightly. If you watch local news, then you may have seen something about it. A reporter from channel 4 was in the gallery everday watching.

It was a difficult case to decide, but in the end we agreed that he didn't show us enough evidence to find for him. We were all unhappy with the verdict. So much so, that the others convinced our guard to let us out the back way because we saw the reporter outside the front of the building not long before we delivered the verdict. No one wanted to talk to him. I didn't really want to talk to anyone. But I had to stay a few minutes to work out some things with my reimbursment for the hotel room, so I just went out the front, but he was gone by then.

It was an interesting, almost fun, experience until the deliberations started. There was never any real arguing, but everyone was very emotional and tense. This is actually the first time I've told anyone much of anything about it, and this was six months ago. It was just a very stressful, unhappy ending, but, still, I won't be as upset as I have been in the past if I get another summons. Of course, it will be at least 2 years before I have to worry about another federal summons.  ;D