I got summoned to jury duty!

[luckystar112]

Is it weird that I''m excited?

Has anyone ever done it before? What was it like?

 

[Blair138]

haha, when I got jury duty I was so nervous because I had to drive very far to the courthouse. I think I got a teeny bit of money and I sat there-BORED out of my mind, in a room with weird people, reading a book for 4 hours. Then they came in the room and said it was a bench trial and sent us all home. It was stupid, thank God I was a student at the time and didn''t have to miss actual work. Basically it''s a cruddy, boring day, but if you actually get picked, it might be cool if the trial only lasts a few days...if it''s for OJ though...watch out!!

 

[HollyS]

Been there. Done that. Even been a jury foreman.

How ''exciting'' it will be depends on the case. Believe me when I say it''s hard not to fall asleep after lunch!

 

[sumbride]

I''m only 30, but I''ve been on THREE juries, was even the forewoman last time!!! I think it''s something that everyone should experience because it really teaches you a lot about the justice system, both good and bad. I''m glad you''re excited rather than dreading it.

Take a book! Prepare to be there for a LONG time. Realize that if you do get picked, the trial could last more than a day, but they usually tell you if it will.

Good luck! And enjoy it!

 

[somethingshiny]

lucky~ I actually envy you! I''ve never been called for jury duty and everytime DH or sibling or friend get called, I get a little down. I would LOVE to experience it, even if it''s boring.

 

[Skippy123]

Date: 6/6/2008 6:32:11 PM
Author:luckystar112
Is it weird that I''m excited?

Has anyone ever done it before? What was it like?

It wasn''t too excited; I did not get picked. It was a lot of waiting around. Now I hear it is better where you just call in or something.

 

[FrekeChild]

I was 19 and I LOVED IT!

Of course, I got picked, and the trial was for a "drug lord" and just the trial lasted for 6 days, with a felon getting flown in from out of state, and pounds of cocaine and marijuana sitting in front of us the whole time. There was also corruption of a witness, and because of that, a whole bunch of charges had to be dropped, and we didn't get to sit there with semi-automatic rifles in addition to the drugs. So it could have been longer and more interesting, but we got gypped.

Deliberation was kind of rough though. 2 days of sitting in a room with a whole bunch of people who disagree on EVERYTHING. But so incredibly educational! It was absolutely fascinating seeing the justice system at work.

I really did love it, and I'd go back in a heart beat.

 

[luckystar112]

Hehe....freke and somethingshiny...I thought I was the ONLY one who thinks jury duty sounds fun.
You always hear about people dreading it, but I was looking forward to being called one day, and now I finally have been.

I live in Houston, so I''m hoping I get something really good. Isn''t that an awful thing to hope for? Yikes. lol.

 

[Kaleigh]

I love that you are excited about it. When I get the summons, I am full of dread. I don't get picked, as I was held up at gun point while working at a fine jewelry store. I spent a lot of time identifying them. My co worker did the same. We went to court and testified against them. All while they were giving us the death glare. My co worker died just after the trial.

One of the guys escaped from prison. I got a call from the FBI to help out. I said, look, I can't help that he escaped, what ever he has done since then, has no relevance to me. They called and called. I said you just don't get it, this guy escaped, that's on you. I have a family to protect, here is my lawyer's #. They gave up after that!!!

Honestly I knew what I was up against. The thug Charlie was evil, no remorse. They went on to rob another jewelry store after our's and car jacked a BMW. Threw the pregnant Mom out onto the street. ( did I know that when I testified, No) but certainly heard about it afterwards The reason I wasn't told was that the crimes happened in two different jurisdictions.

I was bullied by the FBI. But held my ground, they didn't know who they were messing with, LOL.

 

[luckystar112]

Wow, Kaleigh, that is a crazy story!

You weren''t scared about him coming after you?
Was your co-worker''s death related to the case?

How terrifying! And the poor pregnant mom!

 

[Kaleigh]

Date: 6/6/2008 11:55:17 PM
Author: luckystar112
Wow, Kaleigh, that is a crazy story!

You weren''t scared about him coming after you?
Was your co-worker''s death related to the case?

How terrifying! And the poor pregnant mom!

Yeah, can''t make this stuff up, it was crazy. I was worried about him coming after me, I had police escorts to and from my house. My family wanted me to go with a wig, but wasn''t into that. I went as myself, and held my head high. I did look him in the eye, but only briefly, what I saw back was evil.

My Co-worker died of aids. It was just after I lost my brother. He was in his late 20''s I was in my 30''s. We clicked from day one, and had a blast working with one another. I think of him often, it was a deep friendship.

The woman who was car jacked went on to have a healthy baby. She was 6 months pregant at the time.

I have no clue where Charlie is, obviously that''s not his real name, but hope he''s behind bars somehwere.......

 

[Linda W]

OMG Lisa, you poor thing. What a dreadful story you just told. I don''t know how you dealt with it. Talk about living in fear, I would have been afraid to leave my house. You are one courageous woman.

Linda

 

[luckystar112]

Date: 6/7/2008 12:40:51 AM
Author: Linda W
OMG Lisa, you poor thing. What a dreadful story you just told. I don''t know how you dealt with it. Talk about living in fear, I would have been afraid to leave my house. You are one courageous woman.

Linda

Ditto!

And so sad about your friend.

 

[Linda W]

Date: 6/7/2008 1:12:37 AM
Author: luckystar112

Date: 6/7/2008 12:40:51 AM

Author: Linda W

OMG Lisa, you poor thing. What a dreadful story you just told. I don''t know how you dealt with it. Talk about living in fear, I would have been afraid to leave my house. You are one courageous woman.

Linda

Ditto!


And so sad about your friend.

It sure is.

Linda

 

[Linda W]

Well can you believe after being on PS for 2 years, I just figured out how to use the " blue box"? geez louise.!!!



Linda

 

[Regular Guy]

Kaleigh,

Of course I''m so sorry for your experience.

Lucky Star, congratulations. Earlier in my life I''d been summoned and think I spaced it out. Later, second time in recollection...maybe 4 years ago...I got the call, and went. To my surprise, I was picked. And, coincidentally, I fell in the count to be the foreman.

It really was a wonderful experience. You can see...and of course...be a part of our judicial system at work.

After the fact...it furthers the desire to take communication courses. Some people in the jury room were such doofuses. But...we had to work together. We came out where I think we should.

There was a question at the end about whether we should explain our thought process. I chose not to.

A highly recommended process!

 

[Ellen]

Date: 6/6/2008 7:17:25 PM
Author: HollyS
Been there. Done that. Even been a jury foreman.

How ''exciting'' it will be depends on the case. Believe me when I say it''s hard not to fall asleep after lunch!

LOL! True.


I''ve been called twice, got out of it the first time as the kids were little and I had no one to watch them every day.


Second time I served on a case where a young gal was suing a large grocery chain, for slipping on a wet spill in an aisle. She "supposedly" hurt her back, and was wearing a Tens unit. I say that cynically because this was the THIRD time the very young gal had fallen on a spill at a place of business.

Deliberating was, not fun. Ten of us didn''t want to award her a penny of the 250,000.00 she was seeking. But two elderly people wanted to give her everything.

After 3 hours of back and forth, we came to an agreement, which was better than a hung jury, where she might actually get it all in another trial. She got 1500.00 for medical expenses.

And, we got a very nice carved wooden pen that the judge carved himself. Hey, better than nothing.

 

[Ellen]

Date: 6/6/2008 11:37:52 PM
Author: Kaleigh
I love that you are excited about it. When I get the summons, I am full of dread. I don''t get picked, as I was held up at gun point while working at a fine jewelry store. I spent a lot of time identifying them. My co worker did the same. We went to court and testified against them. All while they were giving us the death glare. My co worker died just after the trial.

One of the guys escaped from prison. I got a call from the FBI to help out. I said, look, I can''t help that he escaped, what ever he has done since then, has no relevance to me. They called and called. I said you just don''t get it, this guy escaped, that''s on you. I have a family to protect, here is my lawyer''s #. They gave up after that!!!

Honestly I knew what I was up against. The thug Charlie was evil, no remorse. They went on to rob another jewelry store after our''s and car jacked a BMW. Threw the pregnant Mom out onto the street. ( did I know that when I testified, No) but certainly heard about it afterwards The reason I wasn''t told was that the crimes happened in two different jurisdictions.

I was bullied by the FBI. But held my ground, they didn''t know who they were messing with, LOL.

Dang Lisa, that''s scurry!

 

[Ellen]

One of the BEST movies ever, about a jury deliberating, is Twelve Angry Men. A must see.

 

[Tacori E-ring]

I was really interested too (I love law & order). Of course I realized TV is MUCH more exciting than real life

I was picked on a jury for a criminal trial and it was NOTHING like I had expected. Luckily it was only 2 days.

 

[luckystar112]

Can anyone tell me what deliberations are like?
Does it get heated? That''s all I''m worried about!

 

[Hera]

I just got off a jury trial yesterday and I found my court case to be really interesting. It was about a conservatorship regarding whether a woman was a chronic paranoid schizophrenic and was therefore gravely disabled. They brought out a psychiatrist and witnesses that talked about her disorder. The deliberations did get a little intense. It came down to two jurors who weren''t completely convinced (myself as one of them) and it did start feeling like they were jumping down my throat a little. Still, I made a decision that I felt comfortable with and hopefully the right one.

 

[luckystar112]

Date: 6/7/2008 1:18:58 PM
Author: heraanderson
I just got off a jury trial yesterday and I found my court case to be really interesting. It was about a conservatorship regarding whether a woman was a chronic paranoid schizophrenic and was therefore gravely disabled. They brought out a psychiatrist and witnesses that talked about her disorder. The deliberations did get a little intense. It came down to two jurors who weren''t completely convinced (myself as one of them) and it did start feeling like they were jumping down my throat a little. Still, I made a decision that I felt comfortable with and hopefully the right one.

Was it Britney Spears?

BTW, if I got picked for a case, would I be allowed to tell you guys what it is about here, or would I have to wait until after?

I''m glad you felt comfortable with your position. I definitely don''t want to feel bullied.

 

[Ellen]

Date: 6/7/2008 12:56:54 PM
Author: luckystar112
Can anyone tell me what deliberations are like?
Does it get heated? That's all I'm worried about!

There are way too many variables to say how it will go, no telling. But sure, it can definitely get heated! Usually, but not always, a vote is taken at the beginning, just to see where everyone is. Then you go from there if you're not all on the same page, which is pretty rare.

Seriously though, watch that movie I recommended. It not only shows how hard it can be, but it shows what happens when people stick to their guns, and don't bow down to the majority. And it reminds us how awesome a responsibility it is when someone's life is in your hands. It really is a great movie.

Besides, after watching that, you could almost guarantee yours will be easier.

 

[Ellen]

Date: 6/7/2008 2:28:22 PM
Author: luckystar112

Was it Britney Spears?

BTW, if I got picked for a case, would I be allowed to tell you guys what it is about here, or would I have to wait until after?

I''m glad you felt comfortable with your position. I definitely don''t want to feel bullied.

By law, you''re not supposed to discuss it. Nor read about the case in any papers, magazines, etc, nor listen to the radio, watch the news, nothing.

 

[TravelingGal]

Am I the only one that seems to be called all the time? I''ve served 4 times (and I''ve been a citizen less than 10 years) but never called to be on a jury. Plus they summon me often within the same year I''ve served. It''s annoying!

Lisa, that is scary!

Everytime I go into jury duty, it reminds me that I really don''t ever want to commit a crime. Some of those would-be jurors are total idiots and it would be scary to be judged by those "peers." That probably sounds harsh but seriously...some are scary.

 

[FrekeChild]

Yikes Kaleigh! I''m glad nothing happened to you!

Deliberations...Um. I was the youngest, pretty much straight out of high school, so no one really gave me any credit for knowing anything. But we didn''t really have to know anything to still have a say in the matter. I think there were about 13 counts that he was up against him and we were pretty much split half and half on every count. It got very heated while listening to the tapes of recorded conversations between the defendant and his customers, and analyzing them for hours and hours. Not to mention pictures. But the taped conversations were the main evidence we had to go on (besides the big ol'' bags of cocaine and marijuana) so we must have listened to them about 20 times in those two days, and things got pretty hotly contested. There were two people who wouldn''t be swayed on their positions, and they never gave an inch, even with ten other people basically yelling at them.

It was an interesting experience in group dynamics and personality conflicts. There were a few people who would play the devil''s advocate, messing with all of us, but only for the good of the trial and the outcome. Because we couldn''t come to an agreement with the cocaine, but could with marijuana he was sentenced to prison on 2 or three charges due to that. We didn''t have to decide his punishment, just whether or not he was guilty. The judge got to decide the punishment and apparently at that trial the defendant passed out upon hearing his punishment.

Afterwards the prosecutors and the judge came to the deliberation room and gave us some background and additional details about the case which was very enlightening.

What was also interesting is that all of the jurors were very into the process and very prepared to do their civic duty. No one really complained about it, but I think that had something to do with the fact that the trial was at least interesting. One thing I remember is that everyone took it very seriously. For that period of time, that was our job and we treated it as such. Part of that was because the judge and everyone else took it so seriously. It was so serious in that courtroom that it was very surreal. Not like on TV at all.

If I had any advice it would be to WRITE EVERYTHING YOU CAN DOWN. I had notepads full of notes, and they give you plenty of notepads and pens, but you have to leave them in the courtroom until you go into deliberations. One thing to note is that if any juror needs a bathroom break or anything-the whole court has to take a break. I spent a lot of time chillin'' by myself outside on the steps under the watchful eye of the bailiff. She had to follow us everywhere when we weren''t let go for the day or in the deliberation room, and make sure that we didn''t talk to each other until deliberations. It was a bit like being in kindergarten again.

This is bringing back a lot of memories for me, if you couldn''t tell...

 

[Shay37]

Lisa, that is so scary!

TG, that is why I would ask for a bench trial. The funny thing is so would most of the other people I''ve talked to who work in the legal field. No way would I let 12 morons (most often) decide my fate. I say morons loosely. Not everyone is, but just one or two on your jury and you can get convicted. It''s scary.

My DH just spent 6 weeks on the grand jury. He loved it. It was a scary thing for him finding out about all the types of crimes commited and which were the most prevalent. He just said he had such respect for the Providence Police after his experience. He says that from now on, he''s going to shake their hands and thank them for doing such a hard and thankless job.

shay

 

[purrfectpear]

I''ve served on a jury three times, twice as the forewoman. The last one just broke my heart and any faith I had in the justice system. I always believed that if you were raped it was important to stand your ground, hold your head high, and prosecute. Not any more. Unless you get really lucky with your jury there are always people who will refuse to convict unless the rapist was actually seen crawling off your body

Since most rapes don''t have witnesses, you can imagine just how rarely justice is served.

The young woman had been married to the guy, divorced, then started having a relationship with him again a couple of years later. She had a decent job, but he was pretty much a welfare dude. In the night in question they were drinking at her place then they began to argue. In short he beat her senseless, then raped her and passed out. She called a friend and was taken to the hospital where they did the samples and took pictures of her severely battered face and body (she was a dark black, but the bruises and cuts were quite obvious).

His story was that they argued, he was defending himself (thus her beating) and that later they had "makeup" sex voluntarily.

From the looks of her battering (kicked with boots, hit with fists) there''s no way I believed that the sex was consensual. The jury took about 10 minutes to vote guilty for the battery. We then spent the next 2 and half days listening to people bring up every woman who ever lied about rape

. Myself and one other holdout hung the jury. At least there was the possibiliy that the DA would refile and try a second prosecution. It broke my heart that we let that poor woman down. It took every ounce of her courage to follow through and say "he raped me". And we basically sent her the message that she was not believed

If such a thing happened to me I don''t think I''d bother to report it either now. I''d just bide my time and shoot the idiot a couple of years later like a dog in the street. More than you wanted to know, huh.

 

[miraclesrule]

It can be a good experience or a bad one, depending on how much you know about the legal system. Many times the jury doesn''t even get to hear a key piece of information/evidence that would sway them. These are often heard in a motion in limine outside the presence of the jury. I have been involved in jury trials for so long that I believe more in the saying that a jury is merely 12 people who choose which side has the better lawyer.

It really should be about the facts. It''s really interesting to see how many cases are overturned on appeal because the jury wasn''t provided material facts as a result of the lower court judge making a bad ruling on whether facts were material, relevant or prejudicial. Humans....they can be so frustrating.

I have been called several times but I am always dismissed during the voir dire on a peremptory challenge by one side or the other. I usually know who has the weakest case based on who releases me. It''s always the attorney who feels one will somehow threaten or undermine his case for several reasons. But I do like to go through the process because it''s amusing.

I did ask the judge to dismiss me for cause on one case because I swear I could not help but think the defendent was guility by looking at him. I couldn''t help myself. It was a male on male child molestation case and as hard as I tried I couldn''t manage to be objective.

I did get seated on a Federal Grand Jury but I got out of that one too, and trust me, those are the hardest to get out of. They don''t allow you the same harship excuses that they do in local courts. But I had just read a book by a Federal Court Judge on the "War on Drugs" and why it doesn''t work and the problems with the system and his experience, so I just couldn''t support the governments War on Drugs. I agree that drugs are a HUGE problem...both illegal and legal ones...but I couldn''t, in good conscience be on a federal grand jury in a border state for the nest 18-24 months and not have all the information that I just read in that book bias me, so I asked to be dismissed. The judge was not inclined to do so until I told him I didn''t support the "War on Drugs. A collective gasp came from everyone, but I didn''t want to taint the jury by disclosing the name of the book I had just read, so I was grilled mercilessly by the judge until I was almost ready to request a sidebar, but I offered to be held over for a 30-day civil trial and he granted same.

But I agree, everyone should get to experience the jury system. Even with all it''s flaws, it is the best we have.