JediDefender.com Forums
Community => Watto's Junk Yard => Topic started by: MisterPL on October 22, 2003, 03:48 PM
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I love serving my country, especially if I get to sit in a comfortable chair without guns going off around me. That's a plus.
I got to sit in on a criminal trial for two days last week. We convicted a guy of Simple Assault, Mutual Consent. Basically, two guys got into a fight at work. One guy got hit once in the head and has complained of headaches ever since. (I smell a civil trial around the corner.)
Jury selection was a hoot. There was a Math teacher who decided she could never convict anyone beyond a reasonable doubt. (Dismissed.) One guy who said he'd ALWAYS show bias in favor of a cop because of their jobs to uphold the law. (Dismissed.) And another guy claimed he didn't believe in this system and removed himself from society years ago. (Keep going, buddy. We're still finding you.)
While I considered wearing my Jedi robes, I decided I'd rather have the time off from work for a change of scenery rather than show up as a headline on News of the Weird. Besides, I dig a good argument.
Of course there was none. The prosecuting DA had a terrible case and the defense had a WORSE case. It was pretty entertaining to see so many witnesses impeach their own testimonies one after another. The only two who got things straight were the two dudes in the fight. While they never agreed on who was the aggressor, they both said there was only one punch thrown to the head.
The judge even did a spit take while drinking her goblet of water.
Fun times.
Anyone else serve on a jury?
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I was summoned to jury duty only once. I had to obviously take the day off from work to attend the thing, but when I got to the courtroom there was a note on the door. The note said there was a settlement, so I wasn't needed there anymore. Talk about a big waste of time.
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My first time on a case was a car accident where a person ended up being paralizes from the neck down. The case had a whole bunch of plantiffs (Main Vicitm, Main Victim's wife, two secondary victims, and the drvier of the truck who is also a defendent) and defendents (Driver of truck, Employer of driver of truck, Contractor using truck company). Bascally the roll off truck was head east on the freeway lost a tire causing it to lose control, go towards the center of the freeway, losing its container which flies into the westbound lanes hitting one car (driver had moderate injuryies) and then it spills its load which helps the Main Victims guy's car filp over breaking his neck and injurying his co worker. I was one of the alternate and ended up being the only one left after the case. The jury verdict was to give the plantiffs around 10 million or so, minus the driver who was in the truck.
Some interesting things that happen while the case happened:
Jury member got into a car accident outside court in which her van flipped.
An attorney being yelled out by the judge gfor throwing something towards a witness.
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I've served...
I was on call for a week, sat there for a day and got called up to be part of a murder trial. The company I work for is small and there was no way I could have sat through 30 days+ of testimony. I was scared crapless though that I was going to get picked. They made us fill out a questionaire ahead of time. I was interviewed on the witness stand by both lawyers and I was dismissed...
But not from duty, I had to go back down the next day andI was called for another case. This was a rearend in which the rearendee was claiming whiplash and permamnent disablement and the whiplashor was saying he was faking. He wanted $450,000. We agreed to pay him $2000. Not sure if that even covered his legal bills. He was not very convincing on the stand, he had a sleazy lawyer and the defense just ripped him apart...he was out playing softball, was able to lift weights, had a job a roofer, think any of those were the cause of his cronic back pain?
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I served once during college of all times. It was an assault and attempted rape case. This scumbag had a list of charges against him a mile long. Everything from assault with a weapon (many times over, the weirdest "weapon" being a hot cup of coffee) to breaking and entering to the aforementioned attempted rape. I think, when all said and done, he had 15 charges against him. I sat through three days of testimony and then got picked as an alternate. Boy was I pissed. After three days of mindless dribble, I wouldn't even be allowed to convict the person. Still I had to show up and ended sitting in a room with the other alternate doing nothing for a day and a half. The jury convicted the felon of 9 of the 15 counts.
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Talk about a coinky-dink
I got a jury summons in the mail last week...it also said I had missed my first scheduled summons and if I didn't respond I was guilty of a misdemeanor
So I got nervous, then I noticed it was from my former county and I since i moved out of there in January I was exempt
Seems my mail didn't get forwarded which I am not too happy about
So...looks like I dodged the bullet :D
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Jury duty. Blah!
I've received a number of summons over the years, but have usually talked my way out of them, since I didn't have the time or money (yes, money) to serve. It's obviously an integral part of our country's judicial system, but I really don't like how they "force" it on people. I know a number of people who tried to get out of it, but couldn't, and wound up losing money from not being able to work, or missing important school lectures/deadlines/tests/etc. Doesn't seem fair.
I only got officially called into the jury pool once, long ago. Sat there for the day as they went one by one through most of my peers sitting with me. I had my excuses/biases/prejudices all ready to go based on the case, if they did call me up. But I was one of the very few who didn't get called to the front for whatever reason.
I still saw a lot of crap that I felt was unfair, as other people tried to get out of it but couldn't. Mothers who had no one to watch their children but were forced in, students who couldn't afford to miss classes, people who couldn't afford not to work. Of course, they do (or at least did) compensate you with mileage and a buck or two a day for service. That's fair. ::)
Then I heard shortly after that, a correlation (possibly a direct one) that jury duty summons were selected out of registered voters. I read and saw a number of things discussing the correlation, and it seems to be very true. So guess what? When I moved after college, I never registered to vote in my new area (had been registered in college though). Haven't been called since. Coincidence? I don't think so. I didn't even get around to voting most of the time anyway, so no major loss there.
But I'm not trying to encourage anyone here not to register to vote, because that would be unpatriotic. Get out there and do your civil duty, of voting and being on jury duty! Just not me. :P
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Bump. :-\
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At the moment it'd be a nice break from reality for me, but if you don't want to go you've definitely got my sympathies. :(
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I actually didn't mind my Jury duty.
Hennepin County (MN) draws a pool of 250-300 each week. They serve for 2 weeks. First week you have to be in the main court house and there is a pool of cases that COULD go to a jury trial each day (100-150). Of those only a handful if any actually go to pull a jury. The second week if you are not on a jury you get to go to call in status.
My first week I was pulled for a trial day 1. After an hour I was not picked to be on the jury (because I go to a Chiropractor [ case was a guy suing his insurance over unpaid claims]). So I webnt back down stairs and waited to be pulled again. Didn't get pulled again till the end of the day on Wednesday. They sent us home since they were going to go through 50 people to get a jury and it was 2 PM and not enough time in the day. So I get back to the court house on Thursday and then find out that the 2 parties settled after they sent us home. If I hadn't been pulled I would have been able to go on phone in status as there were no Friday cases and a light load on Thursday. So I got to sit there all day on Thursday.
The entire time I was there and doing nothing I read a bunch of Harry Potter books (nearly 4 [Azkaban - 1/2 Blood]) while I was there as they didn't have internet connection for us to use. 2nd week was call in and I never had to go back. I got a 1 hour lunch and my work paid for my time as did the state for my milage and $8 a day for meals. The weather was nice so I got to go exploring around in down town Minneapolis and eat at different place each day.
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I almost missed Celebration 2 because of jury duty. There was a big murder case in the county. The jury selection took almost two days. When I was about tenth from being interviewed, they announced that they had picked the jury, and we now choosing alternates. Now, knowing the trial was going to happen during C2, I did a ton of research on the case to bias myself. I worked for a newspaper, so I just read all the articles. This would easily have disqualified me from service on the regular jury. But for alternates they're much less strict. So I was sweating bullets. The other nine people ahead of me went in for their interviews. I was called to go over and sit at a chair near the entrance to the room to wait my turn... very spooky... it was like a stone staircase down into a dungeon. I sat there for maybe 30 minutes. Then I was informed that the last alternate spot had been filled and I was free to go.
Funny thing, though... reading the news reports I was sure the guy was guilty. 100% certain. But it turned out the news reports were all flawed, because the people who actually committed the crime were the people feeding info to the press. So the guy on trial ended up going free, and his associates were arrested.
I wouldn't have a problem serving if the trial wasn't scheduled during an event like that. I didn't go to Celebration 1, so this was just huge for me. PSWCS was setting up a booth. And I was on the cusp of missing it entirely.
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I've been summoned for jury duty a couple of times, but have been exempt due to my military service. (The jury would've been in NY and I'm stationed in Colorado.) I have sat on a courstmartial board though. Fairly interesting to see the process, but the case was kinda boring...I also don't like wearing full service dress...much prefer the comfortable flightsuit.
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when i was in college i got summoned a bunch of times, but all i had to do was check student and send the card back in. since then i have only been summoned twice. once they made me sit around for hours then sent me home and told me to call in every day for a week to see if i had to come back. i guess my name was never drawn again. the 2nd time, i got pulled into a stalking case. practically everyone had some kind of story where they felt like they had been stalked before too and were all excited about it, so i figured all of those people would be dismissed. so when i was given the chance i told them i didn't feel stalking was a real crime. i was not selected. i wouldn't mind being on a jury, but not for some kind of BS about your ex-BF driving by your house too much.
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Great line I heard on TV recently:
"I will not put my fate in the hands of twelve people who are too dumb or too lazy to get out of Jury duty."
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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.
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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
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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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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.
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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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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
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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.
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Just got a summons yesterday. I have a feeling I won't get picked.
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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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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.
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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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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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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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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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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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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
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I am the last person any attorney ever wants on a jury, because I am voting based on who I think is guilty whether the evidence is airtight or not.
Hell, I would have voted for them to drag that Anthony nutbag right out behind the courthouse and put a bullet in her head if that was an option.
I don't expect I'll ever get selected because I am pretty extreme as far as crime and punishment goes.
Something like a civil trial would be much harder to deliberate I would think. So many shades of grey...
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"Suspects are guilty. Period. Otherwise they wouldn't be suspects." - Fan Film "Troopers"
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I did this a few years ago. IN NYC, you go for three days, and if you don't get picked you are done.
However, I got picked on the afternoon of the last day. I then spent 5 days on a trial that involved a car accident and injuries. However, most of the 5 days were half days, or, sometimes only an hour, so I was probably only in the courtroom for no more than 15 hours. The cool thing was that at the time I was teaching High School and they said I "had" to take the whole day, because they were hiring a sub anyway. I had a lot of free time!
The case settled without us having to make any decsions. I thought both parties were full of crap and totally abusing the system.
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I was called to Jury Duty when I was 18 of 19. While the potential jurors were assembled in the back of the courtroom a defendant in an unrelated case was brought in for arraignment. He was the father of two children that I had babysat for when I was younger. He was in an orange jumpsuit and handcuffed. His wife, daughter and son were in the front row. He was charged with molesting his daughter and beating his wife and son. He and his wife started yelling horrible, personal things at each other while the daughter broke down a cried. I had no idea any of this was going on in that family and always felt like we had violated her by being in the room while that was going on. Their must have been 25-30 of us sitting there listening to this family drama - it was awful. Only made much worse by the fact that I knew them and had been in their home and care for their children.
I was selected for a trial - a traffic accident. On the first day - I saw the defendants - one of my best friend's parents who had moved to the west coast after graduation. Being 18 = I waved and said - "Hi Admiral & Mrs. Hinkle - how are you? Did Bill come with you?" Of course - that was the end of me being on the jury........