The Jury is Still Out

[hrj]

The jury duty that I postponed from back when I went on vacation last fall comes due tomorrow. So far they don't need me for the morning shift, but I have to check in before lunch to see about the afternoon. Half of me really wants to serve on a jury at some point in my life, but the other half finds this all very inconvenient.

Comments

[ppfuf.livejournal.com]

I served on a jury once, it was surprisingly dull. And frustrating, because the judge kept calling for long lunches and breaks, but not quite so long I could get back to the office and catch-up. Long lunches are tedious when you have no money, but the law library near the courthouse had air-conditioning. :)

[j-i-m-r.livejournal.com]

The couple of times I've gotten close enough to jury duty to be asked questions, I've been excused as soon as they find out what I do for a living. Attorneys don't want people who have practice at sifting through facts and making decisions on a jury. I think they want sheep.

[hrj.livejournal.com]

Mostly, the stories I've heard agree with you, although I've heard a few experiences to the contrary.

My favorite personal jury-selection story was for a DUI case. It was clear from the selection-process questioning that the defense attorney's strategy was going to be "you can't trust these laboratory blood tests to be accurate or reliable". He was asking potential jurors about their knowledge about medical testing. For some reason, he skipped those questions when he got to me, so I considered it only fair to volunteer the information that I worked at a medical laboratory doing blood testing. Funny thing: he didn't seem to care. But then again, 30 minutes later his client took a plea-bargain, so who knows.

[visc-lore.livejournal.com]

I've actually been picked to serve on two juries in my life, despite pre-trial questioning that I thought would kick me out (I've worked in the legal field, and had school age kids on a case that involved drug dealing within a school "free" zone). The good part - people really cared about their decision, and agonized over it. The bad part - people agonized over their decision. I was selected Jury Foreman both times - those who know me were not surprised at that. Definitely an experience I would recommend, as you say, "at some point in your life."

[helblonde.livejournal.com]

I've served on two juries; one civil trial and one criminal as foreman. PPFUF is correct, they can be very tedious. Nevertheless, I found the service very satisfying.