And guilt or innocence is decided by 12 people too stupid to get out of jury duty
8 Responses to “And guilt or innocence is decided by 12 people too stupid to get out of jury duty”
Remember, I do this to entertain me, not you.
Uncle Pays the Bills
 |
|
Find Local
|
Categories
- ATF (769)
- Death Match (10)
- Eminent Domain (225)
- In the bag (9)
- Notes to Junior (546)
- Poker (74)
- Recipes (142)
- Shotgun Noob (11)
- The Airing of Grievances (19)
- uncategorized (47,725)
May 13th, 2015 at 10:46 pm
Jury duty: where attempting to exercise your right to remain silent will get you a contempt citation and fine.
Lawyers get to ask you carefully worded questions under threat of perjury, but you can’t have legal representation.
You’re required to go someplace so dangerous that the lawyers, judges, police, and administrative folk all nee to carry concealed weapons for their safety, and you are frankly informed that you’re expendable in case of violence, but you aren’t allowed to bring any defensive tools or even a phone to call for help.
May 14th, 2015 at 6:49 am
I’va always wondered how people who would expect a fair trial in the event that they are accused of a crime, but whine and complain about jury duty when they are called. Here is my proposed solution:
Since you can only be called to jury duty once each 12 months, people are free to lose the summons, or even refuse to serve. However, failure to do so means that you waive your right to a jury trial for one year. If you are arrested or sued for any reason during that year, you agree to a bench trial, where the judge decides your fate.
There you go, freedom of choice that preserves the system of jury trials.
May 14th, 2015 at 9:58 am
The ancient Greeks tied social security benefits to jury duty, with the result that they had juries of hundreds of old men.
Everyone called should be seated – divide up everyone by the number of cases that day, put a hundred jurors on each case, and make it 2/3 (or 3/4, or 4/5, whatever) vote rather than unanimous.
A seated juror should have the right to leave at any time, just by entering either no vote or a not guilty vote. Anyone wanting to vote guilty would have to stay. If there was only one juror left, he couldn’t no vote, but he’d still be allowed to leave by voting not guilty. This would have the effect of reducing indictments down to crimes that are actually important.
May 14th, 2015 at 12:30 pm
I got as far as voire dire once, wasn’t even trying to get out of it, but I think the lawyers, at least on one side or the other, don’t want any jurors that aren’t too stupid to get out of it.
May 14th, 2015 at 1:52 pm
Really stupid system: Got called for a jury, robbery with a knife. Potential jurors were asked if they had any prior contact with a crime, themselves or family. I wanted to serve, sounded interesting. I was truthful, though, and they tossed me so fast I may have left vapor trails as they hustled me out of there. At least 3/4 of the potential people left before they got to me. Both lawyers, and the judge, all responded at the same time.
Haven’t been called for jury duty since then. 15 years?
May 14th, 2015 at 2:15 pm
I’ve served on two juries, including as foreman. great experiences that left a positive feeling about the jury system. seeing two cops lie on the stand – that’s what i found troubling.
May 14th, 2015 at 5:09 pm
I have discovered that if called into the jury room for a case involving meth possession, if you tell the judge that you think meth users are dirtbags, you won’t have to be on the jury.
May 15th, 2015 at 10:00 am
I would gladly sit on jury, and was disappointed when – living in Cali – I was summoned in a district known for interesting cases, but told I was not needed that week. A shame.
In my current geography I am friends with the cops (who shoot at my range) and the States Attorneys. They call me and I meet a bunch for lunch every now and then. Since then it seems they don’t even send the summons anymore (it’s a small county). I suspect I would have to leave state before someone puts me on a jury.
Disappointing.