Jury Duty

[RainMaker]

Supposed to go tomorrow (although have to call after 4:30 to be sure). Received a summons a couple weeks back. It's turning into a horrible time to go with some business stuff going on this week.

Does anyone know how to get out or what happens if you ignore the summons?

[johnnyshaka]

I've been called twice and both times I called the day before and it was canceled. Cross your fingers, you could get lucky.

[gstelmack]

For ignoring it, don't. Depends on where you are, but Wake County had enough of a problem with no-shows that they now send Sherrif Deputies out looking for you.

Show up and tell them what's up. They may well excuse you. Or you may not get picked and sent home early. Or as johnny says, you may be cancelled before you have to show.

[RainMaker]

Well I'm in Chicago so I doubt the Sheriff is going to come looking for me. All I'd have to say is I didn't get the summons in the mail.

[flere-imsaho]

Which Court House do you have to go to (in Chicago)?

I wouldn't ignore the summons. The risk is simply not worth the benefit, especially when there tends to be a relatively high probability you won't have to serve or even have to show up on the day anyway.

[Lathum]

I wouldn't ignore it, they will just put you down for a later date.

As for getting out of it that all depends on the case you get called for. Whatever the case is find a reason why you would be biased against on of the parties then when the judge asks if anyone feels they can't serve explain why. Just remember to be creative because they have heard most things before.

My example was I got called for a case involving a contractor that didn't do the work correctly, blah blah blah... I told the judge I worked in new restaurant openings and in my expierience no contractor ever got their work done on time.

Dismissed.

[flere-imsaho]

I wish I could trade - I could use a day off and I don't live far from the Skokie court house. :(

[RainMaker]

It says I'm designated as a standby juror. I honestly don't care if I get called again in a couple weeks or even fined. It's just tomorrow has turned out to be a really bad day for me to be going in.

As for the courthouse in Chicago, it's the Daley Center.

[flere-imsaho]

Oh dear. Daley Center is a pit. :(

[sterlingice]

It says I'm designated as a standby juror. I honestly don't care if I get called again in a couple weeks or even fined. It's just tomorrow has turned out to be a really bad day for me to be going in.

As for the courthouse in Chicago, it's the Daley Center.

I don't know how it works there, but that was easy in Kansas. I don't remember if it was myself or my wife but one of us got called and we couldn't attend that day but were available for later- very similar situation. They were willing to work with us on that- got called for a pool a couple weeks later instead of that week. Called the number and got "rescheduled".

SI

[RainMaker]

Oh dear. Daley Center is a pit. :(

Yeah, and I also think it only handles civil cases. If I'm going to get called for a trial, I'd like it to be something interesting like a murder case. Not some dipshit suing because he slipped on some ice.

[BrianD]

Yeah, and I also think it only handles civil cases. If I'm going to get called for a trial, I'd like it to be something interesting like a murder case. Not some dipshit suing because he slipped on some ice.

While a murder trial would be more interesting, keeping the dipship from winning sounds like a noble endeavor.

[flere-imsaho]

I got called once for jury duty at the Daley Center. Luckily at the time I had just moved to Lake County (where we lived for 6 months between living in Chicago itself and buying a house back in Cook County). So even though I had to go and present proof that I was no longer a citizen of Cook County (where I saw how much of a pit that place was), at least I didn't have to spend more than 10 minutes there.

[digamma]

[climbs onto soap box]

JURY DUTY IS YOUR CIVIC DUTY. If you have a conflict, explain it to the court, and you can likely have it rescheduled. Sure, it's annoying and takes time out of your "normal" life, but a trial by a jury of one's peers is a constitutional right (some would argue it's our most important one) in both the civil and criminal arenas. It's a small price to pay to show up once every few years and serve, to the best of your ability, on a jury.

Our juries and legal system work more effectively, benefitting everyone, when they are made up of a cross section of all citizens, including our best and our brightest--not just those who couldn't figure out a way to get out of serving.

Looking for ways to get out of jury duty by making up biases or excuses is, in my opinion, unpatriotic and, well, lame. Get over yourself and do one of the few things (other than paying taxes) that is actually asked of you as a citizen.



[/gets off soap box]

[molson]

Don't be shy about expressing your concern about timing when that comes up (if you get that far) Even if the judge doesn't think you have a valid reason to be excused, one of the attorneys will probably kick you off if it's a minor case (as most cases are). When I did jury trials, I didn't get too scientific about it - I wanted smart people that wanted to be there, that weren't going to be distracted by something else.

[RainMaker]

[climbs onto soap box]

JURY DUTY IS YOUR CIVIC DUTY. If you have a conflict, explain it to the court, and you can likely have it rescheduled. Sure, it's annoying and takes time out of your "normal" life, but a trial by a jury of one's peers is a constitutional right (some would argue it's our most important one) in both the civil and criminal arenas. It's a small price to pay to show up once every few years and serve, to the best of your ability, on a jury.

Our juries and legal system work more effectively, benefitting everyone, when they are made up of a cross section of all citizens, including our best and our brightest--not just those who couldn't figure out a way to get out of serving.

Looking for ways to get out of jury duty by making up biases or excuses is, in my opinion, unpatriotic and, well, lame. Get over yourself and do one of the few things (other than paying taxes) that is actually asked of you as a citizen.

[/gets off soap box]

Cook County has the highest taxes in the country and is arguably the most corrupt in the country too. They can take their civic duty and stick it up their ass for all I care. :)

I did notice that there is nothing on the summons that says anything about not being drunk.

[stevew]

My wife got stuck on a 4 day ass cancer malpractice case. I lol'd

[RainMaker]

While a murder trial would be more interesting, keeping the dipship from winning sounds like a noble endeavor.

Probably. Still I think it would be fascinating to be inside a criminal case front and center. I've never seen it first hand and am kind of interested in the whole procedure. My other hope was getting on Blago's jury.

[LloydLungs]

Looking for ways to get out of jury duty by making up biases or excuses is, in my opinion, unpatriotic and, well, lame. Get over yourself and do one of the few things (other than paying taxes) that is actually asked of you as a citizen.

I actually wouldn't mind serving on a jury ONCE. Hey, it's a life experience. But as a self-employed individual who would be greatly financially injured missing even one day of work, I avoid it like the plague. Even going in just to tell them I can't serve would be too much. The self-employed are not as protected as they should be. The state of Louisiana, for one, practically boasts about how it gives self-employed folks no breaks. So screw 'em.

[Cringer]

I had jury duty earlier this year. I went down to the county court house on day one, sat there a couple hours and everyone was assigned to their courts and times to show up. I had to go out to a Justice of the Peace court the next morning more towards a rural area. I showed up, had some nice eye candy to look at, and when it came time to pick jurors no one picked me because the defendant barely spoke English and the court was going to allow the case to be held in Spanish, I don't know much Spanish. In the end all the women were picked and no men, so I was probably safe no matter what.

The funny part is it was a small claims case (couple hours max. in length) that had to do with an accident between a car and a man's horse. :D

I may have said this here before, but my wife had the jury duty experience of all time. She served on a murder trial. She was the one person to cause it to end in a mistrial. Several others jurors agreed with her at first but they all caved to the guilty people because they wanted to finish the whole thing. My wife stood by her guns that there was reasonable doubt, and then had the state's attorney tell her afterwards how she had ruined her perfect trial record.

[Pumpy Tudors]

I may have said this here before, but my wife had the jury duty experience of all time. She served on a murder trial. She was the one person to cause it to end in a mistrial. Several others jurors agreed with her at first but they all caved to the guilty people because they wanted to finish the whole thing. My wife stood by her guns that there was reasonable doubt, and then had the state's attorney tell her afterwards how she had ruined her perfect trial record.
What the hell kind of people were these other jurors? I'd love to be sequestered with your wife.

whoops did i just post that on the internet

[RainMaker]

I may have said this here before, but my wife had the jury duty experience of all time. She served on a murder trial. She was the one person to cause it to end in a mistrial. Several others jurors agreed with her at first but they all caved to the guilty people because they wanted to finish the whole thing. My wife stood by her guns that there was reasonable doubt, and then had the state's attorney tell her afterwards how she had ruined her perfect trial record.

That's the one thing that would make me want to do it. I actually think I'd be a good juror and stick to my guns on something that serious. Part of me wonders why more people don't take a trial by judge if you are innocent. I know the old adage is that it's tougher to convince 12 people vs 1. But I get the feeling most of the people there just want to go home and won't put much thought into the decision. At least a judge has to live with his decision down the road and be somewhat held accountable.

[JonInMiddleGA]

what happens if you ignore the summons?

Might be different depending upon the jurisdiction but locally here it depends on the judge. After roll is taken in the court of one judge in particular, he collects the names of those that are AWOL, issues a contempt of court citation and hands them to deputies standing there for that purpose. They then head out & start looking for you and will bring you before his honor as quickly as possible. Typically he fines them and reassigns them to the next session for another judge as quickly as possible. He's a bit of a stickler about the whole showing up as ordered thing ;)

Like I said, that's the one tactic I wouldn't recommend.

By the same token, my one & only jury summons here was right around the time my father-in-law's health took a turn for the worse. I called to discuss the situation with them, saying basically I really have no way of knowing where I'll be the night before jury duty and how should I handle it. The clerk that answered the phone went so far as to give me his home number & cell number so that I could notify him anytime over the weekend, he'd remove me from the list if needed or I'd see him on Monday. Amazing level of service really, trying to do whatever he could to balance the needs of the courts with my circumstances. Best part of that turned out to be that I went, wasn't needed, and was home before lunch.

[RainMaker]

Moot point. Called the number that they listed to call the night before and my last name didn't fall in the batch of those that are required to go.

[RainMaker]

Might be different depending upon the jurisdiction but locally here it depends on the judge. After roll is taken in the court of one judge in particular, he collects the names of those that are AWOL, issues a contempt of court citation and hands them to deputies standing there for that purpose. They then head out & start looking for you and will bring you before his honor as quickly as possible. Typically he fines them and reassigns them to the next session for another judge as quickly as possible. He's a bit of a stickler about the whole showing up as ordered thing ;)

Like I said, that's the one tactic I wouldn't recommend.

By the same token, my one & only jury summons here was right around the time my father-in-law's health took a turn for the worse. I called to discuss the situation with them, saying basically I really have no way of knowing where I'll be the night before jury duty and how should I handle it. The clerk that answered the phone went so far as to give me his home number & cell number so that I could notify him anytime over the weekend, he'd remove me from the list if needed or I'd see him on Monday. Amazing level of service really, trying to do whatever he could to balance the needs of the courts with my circumstances. Best part of that turned out to be that I went, wasn't needed, and was home before lunch.

That's pretty nuts. Is that a small town?

I highly doubt anything like that would happen in Chicago. I mean we have drug dealers with multiple warrants that the cops don't give two shits about. A friend of mine told me that his Father who died 5 years ago gets summons every year and nothing has ever happened (they don't bother to call the court about it). Another told me they missed it once and just got a second summons a few months later.

My guess is it's not a big deal. Pretty hard for them to argue that you actually received the summons in the mail (it's not certified or anything).

[JonInMiddleGA]

That's pretty nuts. Is that a small town?

Depends on your definition I guess, that was here in Athens, population about 115,000 give or take.

Same judge also makes it very clear before hand that he does not want to hear your cell phone, pager, blackberry, etc. during court. Fines are issued on the spot no matter who you are. That happened to include an unlucky baliff on one occasion last year, and yes, he got the same dressing down & fine everyone else gets.

He also seems to be about the most popular judge in town with most folks, from voters to lawyers. Stern but fair, and actually kind of oddly entertaining when you watch him work in person.

[Greyroofoo]

I'm sorry, I thought this thread was about Pauly Shore.

[gstelmack]

Might be different depending upon the jurisdiction but locally here it depends on the judge. After roll is taken in the court of one judge in particular, he collects the names of those that are AWOL, issues a contempt of court citation and hands them to deputies standing there for that purpose. They then head out & start looking for you and will bring you before his honor as quickly as possible. Typically he fines them and reassigns them to the next session for another judge as quickly as possible. He's a bit of a stickler about the whole showing up as ordered thing ;)

As I mentioned above, Wake County had a major problem with no-shows, and this is now SOP for the entire county. The Clerk is also generally flexible as long as you call and explain, they can usually put you back in the pool to get called back again soon.

[Suburban Rhythm]

I'm sorry, I thought this thread was about Pauly Shore.

highly upsetting it took 28 posts to get here

[Tiphnie]

I just finished with jury duty. Ended up taking only about a week with just our mornings taken up. Was actually fun until we got to deliberations. The guy was charged with 2 DUI's and for the second DUI refused the Field Sobriety Test and the mandated chemical test.

Problem was we had no problem convicting him of the first DUI cause he failed the field sobriety test, but for the second one there were two jurors who felt there wasn't enough evidence to convict him because those tests weren't done. nevermind the smell of alcohol coming from the police cruiser where he was put and the crazy rantings we got to hear that were recorded in the cruiser on the hour's trip to the jail.

[Barkeep49]

Three years ago I got called for jury duty and did it over Spring Break. I was a potential juror in two juries, but I think the defense knocked me off both times because I serve as a judge like role on something called Peer Jury, which is an alternative to the juvenile justice system. The first case I was really excited and wanted to do my duty. The second case, I had a commitment that night and they didn't even start seating people until 4:30, when we were supposed to be out of there by 5, so I did my best not to get on that jury. However, I would, in the future, very much like to serve on a jury.

[molson]

I just finished with jury duty. Ended up taking only about a week with just our mornings taken up. Was actually fun until we got to deliberations. The guy was charged with 2 DUI's and for the second DUI refused the Field Sobriety Test and the mandated chemical test.

Problem was we had no problem convicting him of the first DUI cause he failed the field sobriety test, but for the second one there were two jurors who felt there wasn't enough evidence to convict him because those tests weren't done. nevermind the smell of alcohol coming from the police cruiser where he was put and the crazy rantings we got to hear that were recorded in the cruiser on the hour's trip to the jail.

I'm always shocked how difficult it is to get a conviction on a refusal case. I mean, why do jurors think the guy refused?

States have tried to counter that by making the refusal itself a civil violation (you get an automatic 1-year driver's license suspension in Idaho upon a refusal). Typically, if you offer to take that way, they're all too happy to plead guilty to the DUI.

[finketr]

That's pretty nuts. Is that a small town?

I highly doubt anything like that would happen in Chicago. I mean we have drug dealers with multiple warrants that the cops don't give two shits about. A friend of mine told me that his Father who died 5 years ago gets summons every year and nothing has ever happened (they don't bother to call the court about it). Another told me they missed it once and just got a second summons a few months later.

My guess is it's not a big deal. Pretty hard for them to argue that you actually received the summons in the mail (it's not certified or anything).

Well, that's chicago... heck, your friend's father is probably still voting in every election up there.

[terpkristin]

I got summoned for jury duty right before I moved out of Howard County, Maryland.

I went to the courthouse in the morning and sat around for about 90 minutes. Then they took us to the courtroom for selection of jurors. It was a traffic accident, if I remember correctly. Anyway, the judge called me up and the defendant thought I looked familiar/thought she knew me, so I was dismissed and got to go home. At the time, I couldn't figure out why she might have thought she knew me.

Once I got home, I realized that maybe the judge was mis-pronouncing her name, but she kind of looked like the Spanish teacher at my middle school. I'm not positive, since I took French, but I guess I did kind of know her ish.

/tk

[RainMaker]

I'm always shocked how difficult it is to get a conviction on a refusal case. I mean, why do jurors think the guy refused?

States have tried to counter that by making the refusal itself a civil violation (you get an automatic 1-year driver's license suspension in Idaho upon a refusal). Typically, if you offer to take that way, they're all too happy to plead guilty to the DUI.

With a group of 12, I think there's a good chance you will have had at least 1 person in the group who's been harassed by a cop at one time in their life. They'll view the situation a little more skeptical.

[Karlifornia]

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[molson]

With a group of 12, I think there's a good chance you will have had at least 1 person in the group who's been harassed by a cop at one time in their life. They'll view the situation a little more skeptical.

I doubt that's true, but in voir dire, you definitely try to get rid of people that would put personal grudges in front of people's lives on the highway.

Maybe all cops in Chicago suck, I don't know. But I've worked with most a ton of cops across two states, and their dedication to public service is amazing. It's a very tough job, they're grossly underpaid, and very few people could possibly do it. I've listened to hundreds of hours of police recordings (interactions with citizens), and the professionalism they show douchebags who really don't deserve it always amazes me. I've reviewed dozens of cases where the officer put his life in danger by not pulling the trigger. I resent your constant cop bashing. It's just out of line. While maybe it had some relevance in other threads, to make broad, sweeping generalizations every chance you get shows a lot of about your character. Do you sweep other segments of society with such a broad brush? I seriously doubt your prejudice is so limited. A limited, prejudiced mind in one context usually indicates a limited, prejudiced mind in others.

[lighthousekeeper]

they're grossly underpaid

totally disagree on that point. i think they are in general grossly overpaid. especially when you factor in things like overtime multipliers, early retirement, pension, etc.

[molson]

totally disagree on that point. i think they are in general grossly overpaid. especially when you factor in things like overtime multipliers, early retirement, pension, etc.

Fair enough, they do certainly get unique benefits, and if you hang around 30+ years, you can definitely do pretty well.

But if you're a rampant cop basher (not you, others), then I think by definition you'd have to think they're underpaid, because they apparently can't attract anyone competent for what they pay (maybe like Harvard grads, Navy seals).

[RainMaker]

Maybe all cops in Chicago suck, I don't know.
Well they do have one of the worst reputations in the country.

It's a very tough job, they're grossly underpaid, and very few people could possibly do it.
Actually, it's a rather easy job. That's why the entry qualifications are so low to get in. They are paid what the market dictates, receive great benefits and pensions. A brain surgeon is a tough job that few people are capable of doing, a cop is something that anyone in remotely decent shape who can read and write can handle. While you may find their efforts special, lets not dramatize this profession into something it's not.

I've listened to hundreds of hours of police recordings (interactions with citizens), and the professionalism they show douchebags who really don't deserve it always amazes me. I've reviewed dozens of cases where the officer put his life in danger by not pulling the trigger. I resent your constant cop bashing. It's just out of line. While maybe it had some relevance in other threads, to make broad, sweeping generalizations every chance you get shows a lot of about your character. Do you sweep other segments of society with such a broad brush? I seriously doubt your prejudice is so limited. A limited, prejudiced mind in one context usually indicates a limited, prejudiced mind in others.
I don't think it's out of line to believe that 1 of 12 people may have had a negative incident involving cops. I'd imagine the number is probably higher. That's not a bashing of all cops either, just a fact of life.

Despite the fact there are a lot of good, hard-working cops, there are also a lot of douchebag cops who aren't qualified for any other line of work and enjoy the power trip. The problem with them as a whole is the good cops protect the bad cops. This "brotherhood" is a big negative on the organization. Cops should be willing to weed out the trash from their ranks. Unfortunately, they don't, and often times protect that trash.

[gstelmack]

totally disagree on that point. i think they are in general grossly overpaid. especially when you factor in things like overtime multipliers, early retirement, pension, etc.

You forgot the constant threat of death...

[flere-imsaho]

Well they do have one of the worst reputations in the country.

I'm not sure I agree with that. Surely the LAPD and NYPD have worse reputations? And I don't believe Boston nor Detroit have stellar reputations either....

[albionmoonlight]

FWIW, if you are ever called for federal jury duty, you should not skip it. Every federal district court of which I am aware has no problem sending the federal marshalls for you if you don't show up.

Which isn't to say that you cannot be excused if you have a good excuse--but don't just not show up b/c the feds will come a-knockin.

[RainMaker]

I'm not sure I agree with that. Surely the LAPD and NYPD have worse reputations? And I don't believe Boston nor Detroit have stellar reputations either....

We've made national news quite often the last few years with brutality cases, DUIs, and other unmentionables. Not to mention having a 14-year old kid be able to sneak into one of the stations and go on patrol in a car for half a day without anyone noticing. Top that off with becoming the murder capital of the country and I say we make a rather compelling case.

[flere-imsaho]

OK, fair enough - it's kind of a subjective judgment anyway.

[RainMaker]

You forgot the constant threat of death...
Police officers actually don't have that high of a death rate compared to other occupations. Farmers, roofers, fisherman, truckers, and garbage collectors all have higher death rates on the job.

[gstelmack]

Police officers actually don't have that high of a death rate compared to other occupations. Farmers, roofers, fisherman, truckers, and garbage collectors all have higher death rates on the job.

Name the last farmer, roofer, fisherman, trucker, or garbage collector who was asked to run into a high rise that just got hit by a jetliner, for example.

Maybe the Alaskan crabbers come close in terms of intentionally putting their life on the line...

[RainMaker]

Name the last farmer, roofer, fisherman, trucker, or garbage collector who was asked to run into a high rise that just got hit by a jetliner, for example.

Maybe the Alaskan crabbers come close in terms of intentionally putting their life on the line...

You can dramatize it all you want, but statistically those other occupations have a higher rate of death on the job. The average steel worker is twice as likely to die at work as a cop is.

[lighthousekeeper]

Does anyone know how to get out or what happens if you ignore the summons?

if you live in texas, you get the shaft:

My Way News - Texas man jailed 83 days for skipping jury duty (http://apnews.myway.com/article/20090509/D982S7N80.html)

[Apathetic Lurker]

I had jury duty earlier this year. I went down to the county court house on day one, sat there a couple hours and everyone was assigned to their courts and times to show up. I had to go out to a Justice of the Peace court the next morning more towards a rural area. I showed up, had some nice eye candy to look at, and when it came time to pick jurors no one picked me because the defendant barely spoke English and the court was going to allow the case to be held in Spanish, I don't know much Spanish. In the end all the women were picked and no men, so I was probably safe no matter what.

The funny part is it was a small claims case (couple hours max. in length) that had to do with an accident between a car and a man's horse. :D

I may have said this here before, but my wife had the jury duty experience of all time. She served on a murder trial. She was the one person to cause it to end in a mistrial. Several others jurors agreed with her at first but they all caved to the guilty people because they wanted to finish the whole thing. My wife stood by her guns that there was reasonable doubt, and then had the state's attorney tell her afterwards how she had ruined her perfect trial record.

Same thing happened to my dad. But it was a robbery involving a prostitute. There was reasonable doubt as to if the robbery actually occured between her and the john. He stuck to his guns while everyone else wanted to get the trial over with so they were going to drop the guilty verdict on her so they could go home. Makes me leery of the whole jury by your peers thing..