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Jury Duty

Started by Whitney, April 06, 2011, 02:29:50 PM

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Whitney

I really hate sitting and listening to boring stuff....maybe I can get out on grounds of financial hardship; I work under contract often with very short notice and having to be in a court room could mean having to turn down work.

Stevil

Quote from: "Whitney"
Quote from: "Stevil"I'd be scared of being a jurer on a horrific case, one of child rape or where you see graphic photos of a dismembered victim. Some jurers must go home with nightmares sometimes.

I wouldn't be bothered by the photos, I've probably seen it at some point somewhere else  What I would be bothered by is if I had to decide if someone went to jail for a very long time; I think the level of certainty I'd require would be quite high (higher than normal) before I could vote yes to a conviction.
I don't think it is your job to worry about the punishment. You are there to determine guilt. The punishment is upto the judge and the law system that is in place. It is not you who sentences the person to a long jail term, you are merely looking at the evidence and determining if society would be reasonable in thinking that the person is guilty or not.


Surely if they knew you were needed to moderate this forum 24x7 and the type of mischeif those eveil atheists would get up to if you weren't there to make sure they toed the line.

Stevil

#17
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AnimatedDirt

Quote from: "Whitney"I really hate sitting and listening to boring stuff....maybe I can get out on grounds of financial hardship; I work under contract often with very short notice and having to be in a court room could mean having to turn down work.
To me it was all interesting.  Even the interaction between the prosecutor and the defense attorneys.  When one would, "I object..." and get an "overruled" by the judge, she would make all kinds of faces and breathe hard...and the prosecutor would simply smile.  It was lots of fun.

There were a few that claimed finacial hardships, but apparently (at least here in CA) the law has changed and a lot of what was considered a "financial hardship" in the past, no longer is so.  There was two individuals that I can remember that claimed the very same "contract" work both at the jury pool room and in front of the judge.  They weren't let go on that point.  They were, however dismissed by the attorneys and so probably just did the ONE day of jury duty.  Everyone must do at least ONE day of jury duty/pool service.  To get out of it for financial hardship, it must be shown to be one HUGE and provable financial hardship.  

One good way of getting out of doing more than one day of jury duty is to claim you've had a bad dealing with law enforcement and hold a prejudice.  You will be asked about it (not necessarily in detail) and you'll be required to answer according to those feelings.  If the judge feels you cannot be unbiased, he will dismiss you from that selection, but you still have to serve at least the ONE day in the jury pool.

We were told from the beginning that even if the judge dismisses you and tells you "you are done", you are not done and still have to report back to the jury pool room and wait out the day.  The day will end between 4:00pm and 4:30pm, but no sooner.

Ulver

During the jury selection I witnessed, financial hardship was treated rather harshly. Story after story (this was a capital murder case) of "I work contract/self employed/need a babysitter/mother is dying/wife is pregnant" was ignored and the person remained.

I second Animated Dirt, that expressing some sort of issue with law enforcement is the best best  ;)

fester30

Quote from: "AnimatedDirt"One good way of getting out of doing more than one day of jury duty is to claim you've had a bad dealing with law enforcement and hold a prejudice.  You will be asked about it (not necessarily in detail) and you'll be required to answer according to those feelings.  If the judge feels you cannot be unbiased, he will dismiss you from that selection, but you still have to serve at least the ONE day in the jury pool.

We were told from the beginning that even if the judge dismisses you and tells you "you are done", you are not done and still have to report back to the jury pool room and wait out the day.  The day will end between 4:00pm and 4:30pm, but no sooner.

I can think of some more ways, but most of them might put YOU in jail.  Not sure if that's the result you want.

However, if you let them know that you are one of those Christians that dance with snakes and you believe that EVERYBODY is guilty of something and that everybody brought in front of a judge should serve jailtime even if it's not for the crime they're being accused of... perhaps then you would be considered too biased?

Will

Quote from: "Whitney"How does the day of process work?
The hardest part for me was finding parking. The lot across from the courthouse here is way too small for the building, and I eventually had to go find other parking, which in downtown San Jose is a bit pricey.

I walked through the front doors, went through a metal detector, and reported to a small waiting room where I signed in and waited for about an hour for my name to be called. Once called, I went with the others who's names had been called into an actual courtroom, which was bigger than I had expected. We all sat in the back and there was a bit of instruction about what to expect. Then numbers were called out, each of which corresponded with a person sitting in the back. I think I was #12. Interestingly enough, my dad had coincidentally been called to be on the same jury. He was also called up.

We both took a seat in the juror section and questioning from the attorneys started. We were asked about objectivity, our history with the topic of the case, and our ability to follow the law. People who were unsatisfactory to the attorneys were excused one by one, to be replaced by more people who were still in the back of the courtroom waiting. The case was about a valet worker who crashed a Volvo car into a young woman. He claimed the gas pedal malfunctioned. When I was asked about my ability to be objective in the case, I answered honestly that I don't believe in the concept of punitive damages for large corporations because the amounts involved are already budgeted out or insured by said corporations, thus rendering the amount paid not punitive at all. I suggested that if a corporation were found negligent or otherwise responsible, they should be fully responsible for simply financially rectifying the situation, paying for attorney, medical, lost wages, and psychological in order for the victim to be made whole again. Volvo's attorney loved me, but the attorney representing the victim was less than thrilled so I was dismissed. I left the building, and drove out to lunch. A few days later, I got a small check, something like $18 per hour I was there.

Had I not been dismissed, I would have remained through the jury selection process, excused to go home, and would have had to return for the trial. I would have heard arguments, examinations, closing statements, and would have had to reach a verdict based on the evidence, followed by being excused. I do not believe I would have been required to swear on a Bible, as my dad wasn't. I suspect I would have been paid at the $18/hr. rate for my time for as long as the trial took, which was about 2 months.
Quote from: "Whitney"I'm in Texas, what are my rights if asked to swear on a bible and/or to God?
You are not legally required to swear on a Bible, as requiring you to do so would be a violation of the First Amendment. They're highly unlikely to press the issue.
Quote from: "Whitney"What is the proper way to raise disagreement in such a case; I don't want to be held in contempt or go to jail.
Treat it like the way you'd speak to a police officer if pulled over. Be direct and respectful. "I will remain objective and follow the law, but I believe swearing on a Bible violates the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment to the Constitution." That said, it's not likely you will need to be sworn.

I do suggest you try and enjoy the experience. If you're just sitting there resenting it, you will find yourself bored to death and resenting the legal system. You should try and look at it from your husband's perspective if you can. It really is a fascinating system and presents you an opportunity to pur your skeptical, scientific mind to a very important test.
I want bad people to look forward to and celebrate the day I die, because if they don't, I'm not living up to my potential.

AnimatedDirt

Quote from: "Will"I suspect I would have been paid at the $18/hr. rate for my time for as long as the trial took, which was about 2 months.
Per Hour?!!  In Los Angeles, jury duty pay is $15.00 per jury day!  Hence why people hate doing it if their work does not pay for jury duty.  My work pays unlimited days so I don't even get the $15.00 extra beans per day.  :(

Parking was free at the Disney Concert Hall in downtown.  It was a few blocks from the courthouse, but free to jurors.

I forgot to mention, we, the jury, were sworn in, but only had to raise a hand and nothing about God or a Bible was anywhere to be found or mentioned.

Whitney

18/hours....here it is 6 dollars for day one then $60/day thereafter.  If it was 18/hour I'd be more than happy to sit on a jury...that would at least enough to not make it a total loss if I had to lose out on real work.  They sent a free dart (passenger train) pass with the jury summons...so I think I'm going to take that downtown instead of trying to battle traffic and parking.  There is a park and ride station minutes from my house.

KDbeads

Wow!!  $6?  I only got paid $5 for sitting on those old wood benches while the lawyers started arguing even before the jury could be picked :raised:
I wasn't picked thankfully, it was an open shut case and seeing as how this is a small town, we all knew about it minutes after it happened.  I'd have thrown the book at the little bastard................
A common mistake that people make when trying to design something completely foolproof is to underestimate the ingenuity of complete fools. - Douglas Adams

freeservant

I literally died the last time I was called to jury duty.  It was at the Frank Crowley Courts Building and I was struck by a car while crossing riverfront street.  I was in Parkland for a month but have had a miraculous recovery from the traumatic brain injury that paralyzed my right side.  If that is the site of your summons I would use the sky bridge from the multilevel parking across the street.  But that is not likely to be your experience.  I do suggest you bring some good reading or something to do.  I don't think you will have any issue with the oath as I don't recall God being mentioned in that affirmation.

Also some helpful tactics to use should you be in the Voir dire process.  One time I wore a Dallas Police sweatshirt as my Mom is a retired police officer and it was an aggravated assault case where I maintained eye contact with the defendant most of the time.  These seemed to work as I was dismissed early.  Also be aware that if you are within the front two rows of seating you have a much better chance of being empaneled on the jury.  With that in mind should you be part of the first 15 or so seated you could ask a lot of questions and this way include some opinion so that you can if you want to smuggle in any bias that you think may get you dismissed.

https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/ ... /Voir_dire

Because of job issues I have not wanted to miss the income but would be willing to serve on a jury given the right circumstances.  In the legal system you are tried by a jury of your peers so it is an interesting process and we should all try to be as objective as we can be as we all want to be judged fairly.  I know that you don't believe we have God given human rights but you can understand how we should all treat each other with the respect that we ourselves want to be treated.  In my Christian worldview we can all see the unfairness of this fallen world so the fairness of objective morals entails that we all value each other and this public service is a small part of that.  Yet I understand if you can't afford the time and you should not have a problem getting out of it if you either can't be objective regarding the particular case in question or can't afford being committed to the time it will take.  Be mindful though that some trials go from Voir dire to verdict in the same day.
Theism is neither true or false. It is simply that a person lacks a belief in naturalism.  Unbeatable Tautology!!! amiright?

Asmodean

No knowledge on this subject, but when I think about it, if I was on trial, I would not like the jury to be composed of religious people. Whether innocent or guilty, I'd want them to be as objective as possible and, this is personal experience speaking, far too many religious people are just not. (limited sample. Compared to non-religious people of a similarly limited sample)
Quote from: Ecurb Noselrub on July 25, 2013, 08:18:52 PM
In Asmo's grey lump,
wrath and dark clouds gather force.
Luxembourg trembles.

Whitney

My dad told me that since it it county court that while I'll probably be stuck on a jury that odds are the trial will be done that same day...so I'm not so worried about it now.

Evilbeagle

Luckily I am exempt from Jury duty, being a "convicted felon", but I like the idea of the mental health get-out.
Although it is annoying that one would need to stoop to such practices.  >:(
England expects every man to heed the old lie: "Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori"

Hidelight

I have been called several times and never made it...and I am so disapointed..I would love doing to be part of a jury and do consider it a honor and duty to my community....we have never had enough nurses for me to be gone when I have been summoned...my husband has gone several times but never gave the correct answers or one time the defendent said "hi " and they were released and a new jury had to be picked

you are offered either to "swear" ( with bible)  you can  "afirm" (no bible) I belive this is nation wide

I hope my name gets called again