elementary
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since February 2006
Posts: 1,077
|
Post by elementary on Feb 9, 2012 11:11:59 GMT -5
So today I am sitting right now in a little 'business' cubicle waiting at the local County offices for jury duty to truly begin.
I always find this responsibility daunting, not for the duty itself - which I find vital to our system of law and order - but for the sheer drudgery of the day.
I may complain about the DMV, but at least that wait is less than a full 8 hour day.
It's like being at an airport but your plane is never leaving, never taking off, and there's no CNN playing on TV. There's no restaurants to wait at, no magazine stands to browse. All you do is sit...and sit...and sit...and if your 'flight' is called, it could be a 2 or 3 or 7 day layover before you are released back into the real world.
Again, I don't argue with my need to do jury duty, but it's going to be a long day.
And can they pick a more festive color for these walls?
|
|
|
Post by jakesrocks on Feb 9, 2012 12:34:13 GMT -5
Guess I've been lucky. In all the years I lived in CA, I was called several times. I was only chosen for a jury one time, and wouldn't you know it ? The creep defendant took a plea deal and we were dismissed. Since moving to S.D., I haven't been called in almost 16 years. Oh well. I don't own a suit, and I guess they don't like prospective jurors showing up in flannel shirts and levis. LOL
|
|
elementary
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since February 2006
Posts: 1,077
|
Post by elementary on Feb 9, 2012 13:07:31 GMT -5
10:00 o'clock and ALL'S WELL!!!
I'm on break until 10:20. I usually hate when time passes quickly but in here it's a blessing.
As for jury duty, I've been on two juries the last three times I've been called, and was the foreman of one of them. I guess they like teachers, as I'm essentially a judge jury and executioner (symbolically) in my classroom.
The last time I was called, not one jury panel was pulled. We had a fire drill at 2:30 in the afternoon and then went home. It was really kind of them to make me feel at home like that. We tend to do a drill of some kind every other week at school (fire/earthquake/lockdown - for intruders on campus) so the practice was, well, helpful, I guess.
Hoping to check in at lunchtime....
Lowell
|
|
Fossilman
Cave Dweller
Member since January 2009
Posts: 20,685
|
Post by Fossilman on Feb 9, 2012 16:14:46 GMT -5
I didn't mind jury duty in ND,got a free lunch and lots of travel pay(100 miles roundtrip).....Picked for one,got out of three.......
|
|
Sabre52
Cave Dweller
Me and my gal, Rosie
Member since August 2005
Posts: 20,466
|
Post by Sabre52 on Feb 9, 2012 18:04:00 GMT -5
*L* It is drudgery with all the waiting. It most cases I was eliminated in the selection process due to the nature of my job or my attitude ( I happen to like and respect police officers which was frowned upon in California I guess. Would I believe them over some tattoo covered twitchy skanky looking criminal? Yeah, every time and twice on Sunday.) Defense lawyers seem to hate that attitude. I think they don't allow smoking in the jury room anymore? I was on a hung jury for a vehicular manslaughter case one time and was in a room with about eight smokers for like three days. By the end of three days of sucking in secondhand smoke, I was freaking ready to engage in wholesale mayhem. I would have claimed justifiable gulldangedsmokericide! That was not a fun time.....Mel
|
|
|
Post by gr on Feb 9, 2012 18:07:47 GMT -5
Hang in there bud - day is almost done and ur rocks are ah waitin
|
|
|
Post by bobby1 on Feb 10, 2012 8:44:58 GMT -5
I was called for jury duty once and when the defense lawyer called on me I was very clear about my feelings for union workers ( the case was about a union worker being fired for "removing" something from a city storage location). I had a situation in my work environment where I had to have some union workers working in the same close proximity in an electrical substation as non union workers. The most disgusting professional behavior I have ever encountered was done by the union workers! Sabotage and picking fights, etc. It was a very time critical project and their behavior caused me to be late on the project. I'll never forget that experience! Anyway the lawyer made me wait all through the jurors questioning before he would dismiss me at the end of the day. I musta pissed him off! Bob
|
|
chassroc
Cave Dweller
Rocks are abundant when you have rocktumblinghobby pals
Member since January 2005
Posts: 3,586
|
Post by chassroc on Feb 10, 2012 14:15:49 GMT -5
In all these years I've only been called once, sigh.
never go tcalled in Jersey.
in Massachusetts, they have a great system. After you get the jury notice and a day to report, you call ahead of time to see if you still are needed. if you are you go in and the lawers screen you or just pick you. The case I got called for was a DUI case and I was psyched. Unfortunately, the prosecutor got overzealous and revealed something that the judge and lawyers had been not to reveal resuling in a mistrial...maybe next time
charlie
|
|
peachfront
fully equipped rock polisher
Stones have begun to speak, because an ear is there to hear them.
Member since August 2010
Posts: 1,745
|
Post by peachfront on Feb 12, 2012 9:28:57 GMT -5
I get called plenty but every time it is when I am scheduled to be on an out-of-town trip and can't attend. In my parish they give only 4 weeks notice, and then they are baffled that everyone already has plans. Can't understand this parish. I send in copies of my air tickets and then I get a phone call back that I am dismissed, which is fine as far as I'm concerned, but if they really wanted active, busy people to serve, why wouldn't they have the ability to re-schedule?
Also, I don't think we should feel ashamed to admit that jury service is NOT really important. If you want to know the facts about something, you don't get 12 people to vote on what they "think" are the facts. You would get scientists and investigators to study and determine the facts. The jury system dates back to a pre-scientific era, and no one has the political will or decency to change it, even though we have lots of evidence now from DNA that juries are frequently wrong.
I was in a civil case (in another parish) and it's just what people say -- the jury was loaded with people too stupid to get out of jury duty. And, icing on the cake, before the trial, the judge privately contacted me to ask me for money. I don't give bribes, so the judge told the jury to do what he told them to do. In other words, there was no reason for the jury at all. You still have to pay the judge if you want a fair decision, because the judge is the one who "instructs" the jury, and not many will risk contempt of court by making up their own minds.
|
|
Sabre52
Cave Dweller
Me and my gal, Rosie
Member since August 2005
Posts: 20,466
|
Post by Sabre52 on Feb 12, 2012 11:56:43 GMT -5
Man, I've got to agree with Peach on this one. I've only been on a few juries but most the folks in the jury room were dumber than a sack of hammers and could not understand any of the scientific evidence. Also some would never vote for the guilt of anyone of their race based on race alone and others were friggin slackers that hate the police so would vote in favor of any criminal. Top that off with judges. laws and rules of evidence that are very stupid and it's a wonder anyone gets a fair trial. That whole" Fruit of a Poisoned tree" stuff is total BS. Cop stops a crook and finds the murder weapon in the car but the search is not legal and they throw out the evidence. What a crock! The crook is still the freaking crook no matter how the evidence was discovered....Mel
|
|