i got called in for jury duty about 10, 12 years ago. i didn't know anything about it, assumed i was automatically on a jury, but i was just one of many who the lawyers had to choose from. i ended up getting picked to sit in on a trial where a middle aged man was suing an old woman after they wrecked their cars. he was suing for something like a half million, claiming he was unable to work and all that. it was interesting, but only for awhile, it got boring pretty damn fast. we ended up giving him half of what he asked for, because the evidence pointed in his favor, plus it was the little old lady's insurance who would be paying out, not her. everyone on the jury seemed a lot more willing to find in his favor once we realized it wasn't coming out of her pocket.
Reddagger and Gatorbait,
I like the fact that both of you take the same approach I do. Personally, I don't mind serving on a jury. I consider myself fortunate that we have a system like this.
I loathe people that act like serving on a jury is doing time in prison.
I believe that each person would want someone who would give them a fair and unbiased opportunity to be heard, whether in a civil or criminal matter.
I like the fact that both of you take the same approach I do. Personally, I don't mind serving on a jury. I consider myself fortunate that we have a system like this.
I loathe people that act like serving on a jury is doing time in prison.
I believe that each person would want someone who would give them a fair and unbiased opportunity to be heard, whether in a civil or criminal matter.
I to was picked for a jury back about 15 years ago in Chicago..Was then made the forman of the jury which made it even more interesting. Case was a White Schhol teacher who Hit a Black child on a bike. Of course the jury was pretty well split whites and blacks, which made for a tough job for a young forman to push along...In the end we gave the kid a small amount I think about 100k for pain and suffering, but they wanted 2 million.
I would love to do it all over again in another case!
I would love to do it all over again in another case!
yeah, nobody really knows each other, everyone basically shrugs and is like "i don't care." there's always somebody who wants to be in charge though. when i went through it, the guy was like "i was a sergeant in the army". bada bing, he was voted unanimously. he could've been lying for all we knew, but there's always someone who raises their hand and says, "fuck it, i'll do it."
i'm not sure if it's the same everywhere, but the way it worked with me in oklahoma was that i had jury duty for a month, but there was no guarantee that i'd actually sit in on a case. basically you're on standby for that month's cases. if i remember right, the first day you report is where they decide who the jury member's will be for each case. i think they selected the jurors for like 2 or 3 cases before i finally got selected. they pretty much ask you if you can be fair and if there's any reason you can't serve. i was cool with it, especially knowing that i would be excused from work. i was working night shift in a factory, so the idea of being free by 3 in the afternoon for a few days was awsome. there was this one dude, trying like hell to get out of it, judge was kind of like "fuck it, if you don't wanna be here you can go." if you don't want to serve, you're allowed to go up and speak to the judge in private, but everyone watches while you do it.
the trial i sat on lasted 3 days -- maybe 4 -- and that first day you're all ears and serious demeanor, but after a while of sitting there it's like "fuuuuuuuck"
so if you have to sit in on a trial, pray that you get a good one, because it's hard to keep focused once the novelty wears off
I get one of those letters about every year and the next time I call the number in the letter will be the very first time. For every letter I ignore, I get a follow up letter telling me I can be held in contempt of court if I don't call. NOT. You can't be held in contempt because they have to prove you got the first notice. Unless it's served to you in person, they can't prove you were notified. When I finally call and tell them this they don't know how to respond. That's because the whole legal system is run by a bunch of morons. They just sigh and then hang up on me. I never hear another thing about it until I get a new notice about a year later. Which I again ignore.
