Jury Duty!

[ZiSunka]

I got a letter in the mail today from the US District Court. I'm being called to jury duty.

They sent me a questionaire. There are exemptions for police and firemen, nurses and doctors, people caring for children under 10, the elderly, clergy, people in poor health, felons, people who don't understand the English language, but no expemption for religious reasons.

I thought refusing to serve on a jury for religious reasons was a right in this country. Or am I incorrect?

 

[MrJim]

<<<OK I'll try this again--I wrote out this response once and the stupid thing said:

"The message you have entered is too short. Please lengthen your message to at least 1 characters.">>>

I was called once. I got the card and in a space about reasons I couldn't serve I wrote about religious conviction and "Feared for my family because of vindictive criminals and their scumbag lawyers" (I got called up as a potential declined each time. Once I was close enough to see the defense lawyer read this to the his "client". I got sent back each time).

Maybe next time on the card I'll write something like "Why are the prosecuting attorneys so professional like on TV and the defense lawyers so seedy and shifty-lookin'?"

I will stand up next time instead of freezing up like last time. The judge said was anyone present that felt they couldn't serve-that was my opportunity.

Different states/jurisdictions may do things different. You'll just have to get up and speak your conviction--wish I could be there to watch.

 

[ZiSunka]

"Why are the prosecuting attorneys so professional like on TV and the defense lawyers so seedy and shifty-lookin'?"

Maybe because the show is about cops and prosecutors?!

There is a space on the back to make remarks about the questions that were asked. It doesn't say I can't make other remarks, such as my objection due to religious reasons.

I served once on a jury for a civil case. I did not get an exemption for being a mennonite, but I did get excused from the pledge of allegence and the juror's oath.

 

[MrJim]

Time to break out the cape dress and cap

 

[ZiSunka]

Time to break out the cape dress and cap

Man! You are really fixated on the cape dress and cap thing aren't you?

 

[MrJim]

Man! You are really fixated on the cape dress and cap thing aren't you?

just for you

 

[tulc]

why don't you want to do jury duty?
tulc(really curious)

 

[MrJim]

why don't you want to do jury duty?
tulc(really curious)

From my POV I did not want to sit in judgment of another. That is what jurists do--pass judgment upon others-and often in a supercontrolled court where not all info is given and double talkin' attorneys twist things around.

 

[SumTinWong]

The best way to get out of jury duty is to walk in and say I would be great for this job I can spot a guilty person quicker than snot!

Betcha won't get asked to serve

 

[MrJim]

The best way to get out of jury duty is to walk in and say I would be great for this job I can spot a guilty person quicker than snot!

Betcha won't get asked to serve

I love it!

 

[tulc]

From my POV I did not want to sit in judgment of another. That is what jurists do--pass judgment upon others-and often in a supercontrolled court where not all info is given and double talkin' attorneys twist things around.

Well on the one hand I see what you're saying, on the other wouldn't it be better to have someone who has compassion for others on the jury? In my state the jury pool is made up of registered voters is that how it is in yours also?
tulc(to me it's a duty to serve on a jury)

 

[ZiSunka]

From my POV I did not want to sit in judgment of another. That is what jurists do--pass judgment upon others-and often in a supercontrolled court where not all info is given and double talkin' attorneys twist things around.

You must spread some Reputation around before giving it to menno again.

 

[MrJim]

I've never registered here in PA--they pull from anyone with a Driver's License!

 

[ZiSunka]

The best way to get out of jury duty is to walk in and say I would be great for this job I can spot a guilty person quicker than snot!

Betcha won't get asked to serve

Or, "I know he's guilty! I can see satan standing next to him! The demons! Oh the demons!"

 

[ZiSunka]

I've never registered here in PA--they pull from anyone with a Driver's License!

In Ohio, too.

They changed it about 10 years ago because people were refusing to register to vote because they didn't want to be called up for jury duty.

Now, anyone with a car is eligible.

I am a registered voter, though, so they could get me no matter what.

 

[MrJim]

In Ohio, too.

They changed it about 10 years ago because people were refusing to register to vote because they didn't want to be called up for jury duty.

Now, anyone with a car is eligible.

I am a registered voter, though, so they could get me no matter what.

It's been predestined for you to stand before the judge and make a scene.

 

[ZiSunka]

Well on the one hand I see what you're saying, on the other wouldn't it be better to have someone who has compassion for others on the jury? In my state the jury pool is made up of registered voters is that how it is in yours also?
tulc(to me it's a duty to serve on a jury)

That's why I feel so conflicted about serving.

One the one hand, if I were on trial, I would want people like me on the jury.

One the other hand, what gets presented in court is not the whole story under the best of circumstances, and under the worst of circumstances it is just twisted half-truths and inuendo. I would hate to be deciding the fate of a person based on garbage.

For example, when I was on the civil trial, it was a worker's comp case for a middle-aged immigrant who spoke no English. She had been hurt in an accident at her job in an industrial plant. The company said she got hurt elsewhere and the injury was just aggrevated by the accident at work.

The problem was, since the woman couldn't speak English, she couldn't tesitfy since they could not find a court-approved interpretor that spoke her language. AND because of the laws, we the jury weren't allowed to know that the company had been convicted of hiring illegal aliens and not providing worker's comp insurance for them, AND we weren't allowed to know that all of the laborers in the plant were immigrants who spoke no English and couldn't complain about the working conditions AND we weren't told that the video we saw of the assembly line in action was made after the company spent two weeks cleaning up the work space AND all of the people who testified on the woman's behalf were paid employees of the company who feared for their jobs if they told what really happened. Of the 9 jurors, 7 voted that the company wasn't liable for her injuries based on the info we had gotten at the trial. Afterward, the judge called us into his office and told us that due to the laws and the circumstances, we didn't have the information we needed to come to the correct verdict, but that he knew for a fact based on info we weren't allowed to have that the woman was permanently crippled by her job.

So, even when we think we are doing our duty, we may be screwing up royally.