I agree with you nearly all of the time, HImom. Not so much this time.
My H is fine with jury duty and I break out in hives (figeratively).
No, not to dodge because if it is difficult but some of us are not suited to jury duty.
And you can make that clear to the judges and lawyers when you are being questioned. YOU don’t get to decide you are unsuited but you can tell them things like you are nervous, that you could never impose the death penalty, that you can’t sit inside for days on end, that you can’t hear or need frequent breaks because of a medical condition. We used to automatically dismiss/excuse lawyers, law enforcement people, clergy, mothers with small children, etc. No longer. Everyone serves until they are excused. We had a judge from the neighboring courtroom called. He had to show up, go through the process and then be excused.
I used to work in a courtroom. Some people shouldn’t be on juries (mostly because they are jerks) but the clerk (me) couldn’t dismiss them, only the judge could.
I can still remember one guy. He was a PSYCHOLOGIST! He ran his own PRACTICE! He had people to SEE that day! This was too much of an inconvenience to him and he wanted to be dismissed immediately. I told him that’s not how it worked. The judge would take the bench and 14 names would be pulled from the box, those people would be questioned and dismissed as questioned, then replaced and no, I couldn’t make his name come up first. 14 people would be empaneled as the jury and then the lawyers would drop them until there were 6. OMG, this was stupid and didn’t we know how important he was? He was probably there 2 hours before his name was called and he was dismissed. Karma.
Most of the jurors on our panels were small business owners. They were thoughtful and understood how the decisions they made were important to the parties. They were very fair.
There are lots of types of cases decided by juries. Some people can’t do capital cases, and they are dismissed almost immediately. For a capital case, there were 500 potential jurors called, more than half dismissed immediately. Most of the cases in my courtroom were fairly small personal injury matters that the insurance companies couldn’t settle. Some of the criminal cases were small potatoes too.
There are only very few reasons for automatic exemption for jury duty. I was excused when I was nursing infant (2x) as well as the primary caregiver.
The judge in charge of empaneling juries in our county told all people who were summoned for jury duty that his wife was called and required to participate just like everyone else so he expected everyone to serve unless they had a VERY GOOD reason.
Most folks do try to answer the questions honestly and thoughtfully. Attorneys appreciate candor and want jurors who are open-minded and will be attentive to the evidence presented and apply it to the law as they are instructed (preferably ruling for their side).
Some employers will make up the worker’s salary when they are called for jury duty instead of making them take leave. It is a financial hardship for many small business owners to serve but most understand it’s an important part of being a democracy and serve without trying to weasel out.
@busdriver11 You’d be surprised who gets seated on juries.
When my husband was a practicing attorney, he got called but was sure he would not be empaneled. He made it through voir dire, which surprised everyone from the judge to his supervising partner. He served, but they ended up settling the case.
Even the judge doesn’t always have the power to dismiss. I was called (for the umpteenth time) and there was a judge who I knew very well who was a client of mine.
I get to the courthouse, get called to the courtroom and get called in the box for questioning. The judge happened to be my client. He asked my name and occupation then stopped. He explained to the courtroom that we were friends and that he was my client. He was dismissing me for cause. Both attorneys said no and I was picked to serve.
I was like “Are you kidding me, THE JUDGE JUST SAID I COULD GO”
I must have an honest unbiased face cause I’ve served on four juries birth at the county level and federal level. I feel Ike once you’ve actually served (not just called) you should be exempt til everyone gets called at least once.
I lived in NYC for 2.5 years. My H and I were called to report for jury duty the same day, although I was called for trial, and he was called for grand jury. Our S was sent a summons a month later. Maybe it was random, but seemed coincidental that all three of us were called in such close proximity.
It seems random, and yet many people in my neighborhood seemed to get called in rapid succession. I even served with a guy who lived less than a mile from my house.
I think it’s getting harder for them to fill juries. I was on a murder trial (we actively served for two weeks) and as they got towards the end of the pool, they started keeping everyone - including a cop. At the last minute, he was dismissed. I was homeschooling at the time, but since kiddo was 11, it was deemed okay for her to stay home all day alone. I ended up having to make some arrangements for her since I didn’t want her home alone all day for two weeks.
In my area, serving on jury duty can be a hardship to almost everyone. The per diem about equals parking, and there’s no reimbursement for your miles. They don’t care if you’re losing money because you’re not working your job either. It’s no wonder everyone tries to get out of it. I was supposed to get some kind of pass for at least 3 years after being on that stressful murder trial (13yo victim and witnesses so afraid to testify that a few members of the jury questioned whether we were safe), but I think that’s over and I could be called again and I dread it completely.
H and I get called, like clockwork, every two years. Our county has you call in the Friday before the week for which you are scheduled. You may be asked to report for jury duty, you might be excused or you might be asked to call back in on Monday at noon for an update.
Both of our kids have been summoned while either at college or out of the country. I personally went to the office of the jury commissioner to explain the problem. I pointed out that the this summons was not addressed to me and legally I can’t open another persons mail. I explained that I wanted them to know this person was currently not at this address. The commissioner simply dismissed my kiddle and told me to write "not at this address, return to sender’ on any future kiddie’s summons.
I have wondered what I would do if called to serve on a capital case. I am adamantly opposed to the death penalty. I have considered whether it would be most ethical to lie about it in order to get on the jury and prevent it from being imposed. The idea of a “death-qualified” jury makes me ill. Not, IMHO, an appropriate range of people to be deciding such a case.
I remember reading years ago that nurses and teachers are considered dream jurors. They’re highly educated, able to work with others, are compassionate but have had enough real-world experience not to be starry-eyed.
It would be highly unethical to lie to get on a jury. One of the questions asked is if you can be unbiased and serve and deliberate in good faith to hear both sides of the argument. There’s nothing worse than being on a jury of 12 people to only find out one person lied about that issue. I was on a jury where one person did exactly that. He came in and announced that he would not deliberate in good faith and nobody was going to change his mind.After hours and hours and hours we informed the judge that we had not come to a consensus. At that point the judge called the entire jury out to chastise us and tell us how terrible we were and that we were to return to deliberations and come to a consensus. This guy still sat there with his arms crossed and refused to deliberate or even discuss as we returned for several more hours.
Justice was not served in this particular case because of this.
I can’t believe you would even suggest lying to get on a jury. The case would probably result in a mistrial as a result, and put a lot of people to unnecessary time and expense.
As a corporate defendant, I’ve had cases where a teacher might not be an ideal juror- might side too much with the little guy.
I’m not talking about refusing to deliberate or refusing to find a person guilty or refusing to sentence him/her to jail, even for life.
I’m talking about not wanting to go along with government-sponsored murder.
And that’s the kind of problem I have with “death-qualified” juries. That teacher isn’t a bad juror–s/he is simply a rational person with a reasonable POV that might be less likely to get YOU the result you want. Someone has to stand up for the little guy! Isn’t that part of what the justice system is supposed to be about? A range of responsible citizens sitting on a jury?
Consolation- you clearly don’t understand the system. Both parties are entitled to a fair jury and they both have the opportunity to strike jurors. I think the jurors we pick are rational people and the other side is entitled to pick jurors which might be more sympathetic to their case. That’s what a jury is! If you are going to lie about your viewpoint in response to a question, you don’t belong on the jury. We asked jurors if they had been accused of a crime before or had been in prison (this was not a criminal case, but had some issues involving incarceration) and we had every right to draw our own inferences as to their bias.
And I didn’t say the teacher was a bad juror- but in certain of my cases she might not be favorable to a corporate defendant (or plaintiff, for that matter). The other side will strike the retired law enforcement people and company executives.
As a nurse, I’d say the reputation we have for being “highly educated” and “compassionate” is inaccurate. One can be a nurse by doing a one year program (LVN), an Associates Degree (RN), or a Bachelors Degree (RN, same licensing exam). There are also advanced practice nurses up to the Doctoral level, but they are in the minority.
What I see on my nurse forum, which has over a million members, is a recent trend of resisting additional educational requirements, mocking those who do pursue advanced education, and lack of respect for what additional education adds to a nurse’s practice. It’s the only field I’ve ever entered where there is such a resistance to advancement of the profession through obtaining more formal education. Reading many of the posts there over a period of many years, I’m embarrassed for my profession at times.There are a disturbing number of nurses who cannot write a coherent post, who have no grasp of basic grammar, who reject science, who don’t have the ability to accurately assess research studies and their methods, or even understand what actually qualifies as research. There are many threads there written by anti-vax nurses who demonstrate very little understanding of microbiology, virology, immunology, etc. It’s scary.
If jury duty was like winning the lottery I’d be retired and living on an island. I am constantly called. I just had federal jury last month for 5 weeks, and I prearranged to be off for a week as I had a vacation scheduled. I was an hour and a half away from the court. I can’t imagine how that could be feasible for some people. Next time around I’m not filling out the jury questionnaire. It isn’t sent registered so I assume I can say it was never received.
I’m called for local jury duty like clockwork. I’m the only person I know called up so often. I also live in MD.
I get called every year or two. DH hardly ever gets called. It’s gotten to be to the point that he is laughing as he hands me the envelope. I’m waiting for my turn to rub it in…
@Consolation -as I know I’ve said before, I’m with you. And yes, the idea of having to be “death-qualified” to sit on a capital case jury is nauseating. I would have no conscience issues with concealing that to save a life. I think it would be highly ethical.
Update - my son called the number on the summons, but they wouldn’t talk to him until he submitted the online questionaire. He couldn’t fill out the online questionaire though, because it states that if you are requesting a change in date of service or excusal that you must submit that in writing. 
We’ll have to wait and see I guess. He requested his service be moved FORWARD when he is home on spring break or if that wasn’t possible, be rescheduled when he is home next which won’t be until winter break next school year. For those who asked, we are indeed from a small rural town.
I am not for the death penalty and could never sentence someone to death. However I have a good friend who’s sister was murdered and another acquaintance who was murdered just stopping to help someone in need. Became known as “Good Samaritan Murder”
Those two innocent people did not deserve to die either. I would be honest and never chosen for such a jury.
I have a real problem with lying of any kind.