The jury selection process is in love with me

[reuben]

I've never even been called. As far as I know my job didn't exempt me, but I never asked.

[wc1934]

Originally Posted by e-RICHIE

throw away some garbage at the city dump on thanksgiving day

Yup - You can get anything you want - but will need a red VW microbus and shovels and rakes and implements of destruction.

[Peter P.]

I've been called a couple times and served on a jury once.

I don't see a problem with jury duty; I get out of work for a day, with pay, and watch how other people behave as they serve their day at jury duty!

I will admit serving on the jury for the civil trial (almost three weeks) WAS a cut in pay and I wasn't too thrilled about that, but it was my civic duty and fortunately I could afford it.

Bonus: I got to ride my bike the 20 miles from Meriden CT to the New Haven courthouse everyday, park my bike INSIDE in a secure room, AND take the elevator reserved for judges and lawyers!

[bigbill]

In 2022, I was chosen for a malpractice/wrongful death jury. I was the only person on the jury with college degrees (BS, MA). It was a sad case, a guy went in to respiratory arrest immediately after a balloon sinoplasty performed in office. He was taken off a ventilator the next morning after having no brain activity. The widow was suing the ENT who did the procedure and the Cardiologist who cleared it.

The plaintiff attorney said he would prove four things, two on each doctor, that proved they were negligent. I wrote them on the white board in the jury room. We listened to four days of expert testimony and both doctors testified. The plaintiff attorney kept misdirecting his questions to the point the judge sent us out to have a conference.

At the end, the jury foreperson said the widow should get some money, maybe a few million. I pointed to the white board and asked everyone if the plaintiff attorney proved any of four charges of negligence. Everyone agreed he had not. The foreperson said, "she still gets money because doctors are rich." This is one of the things wrong with our system, jurists don't consider the evidence, and let their personal feelings decide. In the end, I think in the rest of the jurors were tired and unanimously decided not guilty on all accounts. When we walked out, the plaintiff was screaming at her attorney. Sometimes people die under medical care, even if the doctor does everything right.

Jury duty in the county gets you a two year free pass. Mine is up, I hope we do our move to Wyoming before my name comes back up.

[Bob Ross]

Originally Posted by Red Tornado

WTH do I need to do to get out of this continuous cycle? Probably nothing short of committing a serious crime, and I'm not going down that road, so I'm probably screwed.

True Story: When I lived in Boston in the 1980s and 1990s, the jury summons they would issue included a line to the effect of "If you have been convicted of a felony in the past 7 years, check this box; you do not have to attend jury duty."

So I always checked that box.
And never served jury duty in Massachussetts despite living there for 15 years.

But karma's a bitch: New York State has no such exemption on their jury summons. So I've been called four times in 20 years, and attended jury duty all four times (was dismissed once, served on jurys for criminal trials the other three).

[robt57]

From unemployment ranks, that's freakin brilliant!

[Ken Robb]

Originally Posted by e-RICHIE

throw away some garbage at the city dump on thanksgiving day

And then go to Alice's for coffee.

[charliedid]

Stop voting and keep showing up at council meetings with a beef about cereal prices and aliens.

[merckxman]

My wife has been called 5 times, I've never been called.

[Spaghetti Legs]

Along with BigBill’s story, it is important for engaged, concerned people to serve on juries. I served once in a civil case in which an 18 year old kid was getting sued for damages after he borrowed a family member’s car and hit someone else, causing a minor injury and car damage. The plaintiff was represented by one of the local ambulance chaser firms whose were (and are) always on TV ads. The suit was for $150,000. The case was very poorly presented by the hotshot firm and first vote around the jury was mostly “sounds good, give $150k and let’s go home” but it in no way reflected the actual damages as presented and would have ruined this kid’s life trying to pay this off (he was not well off). After review of of the arguments from a couple of us, we recommended a $5k settlement which was the final outcome. The kid was making something like $15k per year.

[jlwdm]

I am old enough to get out of jury duty if I want to. I am never selected on criminal trials as I was an attorney in a Prosecuting Attorney's Office for 17 years.

Jeff

[unterhausen]

The last time I was at voir dire ruined my opinion of the whole process, not that it was all that great in the first place. All 3 cases they actually selected a jury for were frivolous. Two other cases were settled while they made us wait. They couldn't have settled any time in the months leading up to the trial, had to be that day?

The pay in Pennsylvania is criminally low. How do you get a jury of peers when most people can't really afford to participate?

Originally Posted by charliedid

Stop voting and keep showing up at council meetings with a beef about cereal prices and aliens.

I don't think either of these ideas will work. They use dmv records, for one thing. The news about council meetings is never going to make it to the courthouse

[charliedid]

Originally Posted by unterhausen

The last time I was at voir dire ruined my opinion of the whole process, not that it was all that great in the first place. All 3 cases they actually selected a jury for were frivolous. Two other cases were settled while they made us wait. They couldn't have settled any time in the months leading up to the trial, had to be that day?

The pay in Pennsylvania is criminally low. How do you get a jury of peers when most people can't really afford to participate?



I don't think either of these ideas will work. They use dmv records, for one thing. The news about council meetings is never going to make it to the courthouse

I suppose it depends on how big or small a town you live in but I digress...

[MikeD]

Originally Posted by Red Tornado

3rd time being selected in less than 12 months; 11th time in 7 years.

WTH do I need to do to get out of this continuous cycle? Probably nothing short of committing a serious crime, and I'm not going down that road, so I'm probably screwed.

Lived in this town/county for 18 years. I work with people in their 50's/60's who've lived this county their entire lives, no run-ins with the law, and would like to serve and experience the process (I know that last one doesn't factor into selection, obviously) and never been called. Would be nice if there was a process available to have someone serve in your place, if you didn't want to/couldn't serve and could find someone to stand in. I could easily find several.

Also, the wife's been summoned twice this calendar year.

Random selection? My a$$.

In California, you are only required to serve once in a 12 month period. Different where you live or not aware of the time limit?

[Alistair]

Originally Posted by MikeD

In California, you are only required to serve once in a 12 month period. Different where you live or not aware of the time limit?

He’s never actually served, just been summoned, based on his response to me asking the same thing.