Jury Duty
What’s the first thing you think when you hear that somebody is performing jury duty? Chances are, it’s “How come he couldn’t get out of it?”
On the one hand, you’d think that as popular as courtroom dramas are on TV, people would be lining up to serve on a jury. Of course, that’s fantasy, and thankfully most people can tell the difference. In reality, being has some serious downsides. For one thing, if you happen to be a juror in a high-profile murder trial, you run the risk of being sequestered for a year.
Furthermore, jury duty pays peanuts. In most states, jurors are given less than $50/day by the government. While it’s true that most (perhaps all?) states forbid employers to fire employees who miss work because of jury duty, not all states require employers to pay the employees their usual wages during that time. And if you’re self-employed, I guess you’re just out of luck.
So here’s some things I’d like to discuss: have any of you loyal readers ever been a juror? Was it a good or bad experience? What are some things that could be changed in order to make the juror experience better? Is it a bad thing (or is it even true?) that people, in general, don’t want to be jurors?
I have a wacky idea or two, but I’d like to hear from you guys. Discuss!
April 9th, 2004 at 1:57 pm
My old firm doesn’t pay when you’re on jury service, but that turned out to be a good thing, as I ended up getting an “excusal” (yes, that’s what the lady at the window called it) on that basis. Simply being a lawyer doesn’t get one off the hook anymore.
April 9th, 2004 at 2:47 pm
Maybe ten years ago, I was a juror on a two-day civil trial in Waukesha County, WI, and it wasn’t a bad experience. They could do a better job of accommodating people, in terms of both pay and scheduling, but apart from that, it wasn’t terrible.
Oddly enough, they only asked a couple of specific qualifying questions (a la “is there any specific conflict of interest that would prevent you from impartiality on this trial”), so there was no chance to try the “I hate all jews/black people/women/whatever” out. Also, they did not have us swear on a Bible, nor did they have us say “so help me God,” so I didn’t even get a chance to object to that on the grounds of my atheism.
Honestly, I don’t know how to resolve the problems associated with juries and jury duty. I just know that I don’t like most of the suggestions I hear (e.g. professional jurors, etc.).
April 9th, 2004 at 3:41 pm
One of the few advantages of living here and not being a citizen is that I get out of jury duty by simply noting that I’m a Canadian Citizen.
Having said that, I do seem to get called once every other year and I have friends who seem to get called more often than that. In California, jury duty pays something like $1.50/day plus parking (and ironically parking is usually way more than $1.50).
In Canada, I never got called for jury duty and only a couple of people that I know ever did. The major difference being that there are no juries in civil trials, only criminal.
Perhaps they should consider an optional “unemployed-only” pool of jurors where by mutual consent of the plaintiff and defense, only the unemployed would be called.
April 9th, 2004 at 9:38 pm
I’ve been several times. Not unlucky, just old.
Dallas used to call you for a week. And, if you weren’t assigned to a trial, you sat in the jury pool room (auditorium) for the whole bleak week. Bathroom breaks were at your peril, since if you missed hearing your name called to go upstairs, an arrest warrant was taken out on you.
A few years ago, the system changed. Now you show up for “one day or one trial”. With luck and a high percentage of last-minute out-of-court settlements, half the pool goes home before lunch.
The reason I hate being called is that, after multiple greeting speeches thanking you for your service to the community, you go upstairs where the judge is sure to point out that he can throw anybody in jail for contempt. Including jurors. And contempt means he doesn’t like the way you look. Or the color of your tie. Or that you’re not wearing a tie. Or getting stuck in traffic. Wonderful. Thank you so much for inviting me.
April 10th, 2004 at 12:39 am
I had a fairly benign experience on a Jury in Austin, Texas. The case was a simple assault, with a possibility of a domestic violence angle. Out of a pool of about 50 people, six were chosen. I was the first. That was Monday morning. The trial commenced Monday afternoon, and went through Tuesday morning, with long breaks for legal wrangling. Finally both sides rested. We quickly decided, with no dissent, that the state had completely failed to prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt, acquitted the guy, and went home.
The jury was interesting. In contrast to the stereotype where the lawyers are trying to get the dumbest, most malleable people on the jury, this was a highly educated bright group. Of the six, one was a physics professor, one a physician, and three self employed businessmen. The sixth was a female state employee who was the only one who had been on a jury before, so we made her the foreman.
The judge and baliff were fairly polite, with the baliff saying that any parking tickets would be dismissed, and the judge letting us drink coffee in the jury box.
Not a terrible experience, but not one I care to repeat soon. If it had been longer, I might have pled hardship, since I don’t get paid if I don’t earn.
April 10th, 2004 at 9:01 am
Never been on a jury. Been called a few times, but always managed to worm out of it based on the minor technicality that I was in the military and not actually in the state at the time.
Just a random idea on how to maybe change the jury system-require attorneys, as a condition of admission to the bar, to serve a certain number of days per year as jurors.
April 10th, 2004 at 2:42 pm
I’ve been called three times but never even interviewed to be empaneled.
The funny thing is, my wife’s been called three times since we got married. She never gets to go, though, since she’s not a citizen.
April 10th, 2004 at 5:56 pm
“Jury of your peers” my butt!
Somebody once snidely stated tht you’re getting tried by twelve people too dumb to get out of jury duty.
The truth is more likely that you’re looking at twelve ordinary citizens who must attempt to make sense out of sometimes very technical testimony presented by two attornies who are professionals at either twisting the truth or outright lying to get the judgement in their favor.
While this may be suitable for judging Billy Bob in possession of a stolen four-wheeler, can you imagine the jury trying to absorb the intricacies of a technical patent infringement case?
April 10th, 2004 at 11:27 pm
Somebody once snidely stated that you’re getting tried by twelve people too dumb to get out of jury duty.
And that bon mot was part of the motivation for the post. Being a juror is not much fun, and the rewards are piddling (except, of course, that glow you get from doing your civic duty).
I do think, based on my own experience as a juror and from the comments here, that most people who do draw jury duty take it seriously. However, I think it would be helpful if there were some way to help out people like Paul (above), who aren’t getting paid while on jury duty, so that there is less incentive for them to get excused.
I’ve kicked around the idea of a tax rebate of some kind, but that seems overly complex and in the end probably not rewarding enough. The humorist in me suggests a “get out of jail free” card as a reward, but the downsides to that one are legion. The libertarian in me says that maybe we ought not have compulsory jury duty at all, but the conservative in me recoils at toying with a system that has worked fairly well for lo these many years.
In short, I have no idea what to do, or even if there’s any pressing reason to do anything. I just like to think up wacky discussion topics.
April 11th, 2004 at 3:53 am
Heartless Lib:
Just a random idea on how to maybe change the jury system-require attorneys, as a condition of admission to the bar, to serve a certain number of days per year as jurors.
Along these lines, I’ve toyed with the idea of requiring attorneys, as a condition of admission to the bar, to periodically act as appointed counsel, thus doing away with a need for public defenders (and ostensibly improving the quality of appointed counsel).
April 11th, 2004 at 11:01 am
When called, I wear a coat and a tie. I carry the days newspaper. I look as innocent as possible. If picked, I listen to the BS put out from the judge and prosecutor, and unless the guy has strangled someone ELSES mother without provocation, I hang the jury or call for not-guilty by reason of jury nullification.
Our Smith County juries are called by mail. If you don’t want to go, just toss the summons. You are just going to be used as a prop for a lawyer charging 250 and hour and glowered at by a judge who will lie to you during jury charging.
My POINT for doing this is that almost every law, (perhaps someone could name me some exception) is over-written, over-administered, the punishment is WAY over-done.
You ought to see the prosecutor freak out and start running around when the jury comes back hung in a case where he had them on a traffic violation, dead-to-rights and fixing to be hit with a 450.00 fine….
And one vote can hang any jury. I tell them up front as soon as we sit down in the jury room: I can not and will not be part of enforcing what I see as an unjust law.
Usually we are back out in 15 minutes.
Jury nullification, IMHO, is one of the ONLY possible tools we have to fight this govt.
Every day, we get to choose between slavery and rebellion, and so far, everyone pretty ok with slavery.
April 11th, 2004 at 11:14 am
If you don’t want to go, and your summons came VIA US mail, (a post card, usually) Just toss it. There is NO follow-up and no penalty. One of my long-term renters has panic attacks. I always toss hers when I see it in the mailbox after she freaked out for a month over one years ago. Zero risk.
But I gotta tell you, its MORE fun to put on a tie and go. Lord help them if I ever get called to a grand jury. ( A GUN charge? Are you KIDDING???) The Gummint DA is not going to get ONE charge, unless the guy shot the Pope and its on video. And maybe not even then.
Want to start the rebellion? Get on those juries and start talking Nullification. If they won’t nullify, then hang it.
May 5th, 2004 at 11:23 am
Anahuy ma ut , blya , yer am p’izdet kanut , uybasty acaut ama isty bakusut.Lahta…ua madty fah’ayut