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How to Get Out of Jury Duty (Legally)
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One of my friends has been asked to be on a jury multiple times in the last few years (I don’t know the exact details) and was wondering how she could potentially be legitimately excused. Turns out, it’s not as difficult as it sounds (neither is fulfilling your duty, as most people don’t get selected for juries).
Rule #1: Never lie. Don’t be a fool, the odds say you’ll just have to sit in a room and waste a day watching news, don’t make things worse by lying. Plus, most places will let you bring a computer into that waiting room so bring one or a book or something semi-productive to do instead of watch TV. It’s not that bad, plus you get lunch.
So, still want out?
Exclusion Rules
Each jurisdiction has its own rules for exclusion (here is a list of links to all the Jury Plans for counties in Maryland), and in Baltimore City, where my friend lives, the potential exemptions are:
- aged 70+,
- elected official of the federal legislative branch,
- active military, or,
- organized militia.
There are also potential disqualifications (the potential pool is taken from voter registration, MD Driver’s Licenses, and MD ID cards):
- not a US Citizen,
- not an adult (less than 18),
- not a City resident,
- cannot comprehend spoken English or cannot speak English,
- cannot comprehend written English, read English, or write English well enough to fill out forms,
- disabled with documentation by a health care provider,
- convicted of a crime and imprisoned for more than 6 months (w/o pardon),
- pending criminal charge with the potential for a sentance of 6 months+,
- dead.
Other Tactics
If none of those exclusions or disqualifications is true, there are other ways to try to get out of jury duty (or at least avoid being selected).
Economic Hardship: In some jurisdictions, you can be excluded from jury duty if you can show economic hardship using proof of employment, wages and tax returns. If you own and operate a business or derive a significant amount of your income as a contractor, you could claim that you are losing income by virtue of not working. It’s harder for those on a salary but you could show how closely your income is to the your expenses and try to convince the judge that way.
Change of Date: Request a change of date if you are sick, going out of town (vacation, anyone?), have children and can’t get daycare, or some other compelling reason. If you can’t get out of it, at least try to get it rescheduled at a time that’s a little more convenient for you. Some sites recommend postponing it until December, when trials are more likely to be delayed or moved.
Act Smart: I don’t like the advice of some to pretend to have preconceived or racist notions in an attempt to get disqualified, but I do like the idea of acting smart or analytical. Lawyers like people they can persuade and people who are too attached to the facts and not easily persuaded are dangerous to both sides.
Jury Veto: This is sort of the nuclear option… a jury veto (also known as ‘jury nullification of law’) is where you can vote guilty/not guilty on the basis of your belief that a law is wrong or improperly applied. So the person could be guilty of the crime in your mind but you could vote not guilty on grounds of jury nullification. Neither the defense nor the prosecution will tell you about this right, as they don’t want you to know, but if you mention it you will probably get excused.
Some more resources:
- Mental Floss’ How to Get Out of Jury Duty
- Wicked HowTo’s How To Get Out Of Jury Duty: My Story, How I Did It.
- Ask Men’s How To Get Out of Jury Duty
Hope those tips help!
(Photo: hvnlydlite)
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I wish I could get Jury Duty, but I never get it
We should all try NOT to get out of jury duty. If I was on trial I would want people like me, you and other readers on that jury.
“Getting out of jury duty is easy. The trick is to say you’re prejudiced against all races.”
-Homer Simpson
I would actually like to do jury duty, however, I know that I will not, because I do believe in jury veto and will not lie about it if asked.
Now, on no occasion that I have been summoned have I been selected, but in watching the selection process, I noted that every juror was asked about jury veto (in a roundabout way) by the participating lawyers. The question asked in the voir dire was usually along the lines of, “Do you believe that you can judge the case solely on the basis of the facts and the law, and not on your opinion of whether or not the law is right or just?” If I were ever asked that question, I would have to answer “no”.
I do not get why people try to shirk jury duty. Do they really want to leave guilt and innocence to a group of professional jurors? Can anyone suggest a system better than what we have?
yes. One where they pay jurors a living wage to leave work in order to participate in the mire of legalese created by an over-abundance of bored lawyers.
I think I if you are called to do jury duty then the court should pay one their regular wages rather tan make them lose hundreds of dollars that they would have earned if they were at work
Not everyone wants to avoid jury duty, but I would say that the vast majority want to avoid it because it takes a lot of time, primarily from your job. Very few people can stop what they’re doing for a few days without it having an impact on their work.
I agree. I am a nurse and am caring for elderly in their homes. Who is going to take care of them if I have to jury duty, if you ask me it is a hard choice to choose from. But I will be commited to caring for the people who cant care for themselves. I know there are more people outthere that care about the rights and wrongs of the law just like me.
1) Jury Duty is just that, a duty you owe due to the great many privledges and rights you enjoy as an American citizen. Almost every jury system allows for one to defer at least once (and often two or three times) before having to serve. Plus, the vast majority of cases will only take, at most, a few days of time. Moreover, most people called for duty do not actually serve at all, but are excused after the first or second day. Some jurisdictions even have a nightly phone-in/email-in service to see if you need to actually show up or not (and, more often than not, after two days of calling you you’ll be excused).
2) Jury Nullification is not a right and, actually, illegal. Theoretically, you could face contempt or worse by doing such. You get a judge with a strong opinion on the matter, mentioning it could cause you discomfort (in the pocketbook or worse). Don’t attempt it.
3) All that being said, being honest, and talking a lot, will likely get you booted by one side or another based on your answers. They, not you, however, are deciding, based on their client, whether you should serve. Showing up and being called for a panel fulfills your duty, not necessarily serving.
Are u going to back up Your opinion with some information?
If “jury nullification” is illegal, why would they teach about it in law school. Oh, I asked my lawyer about that, and they do teach about it. Not illegal.
Jury Duty is not a right due to the great many “privledge [sic]“…its a duty imposed by statute..plain and simple..
Jury Nullification is not illegal…the court can’t force you to come to vote one way or the other.
Unfortunately, showing up and sitting through voir dire of other people can take three days…none of which are paid, since you’re not actually on a jury yet. Have fun with that
If you really need to get out of jury duty just grab a tshirt and magic marker. Write “give him the chair” on it. You’ll be excused and won’t have to say a thing.
I second Mase’s comments. No one likes it, but it is your duty….hence the word jury DUTY. We are lucky to live in a country where we have the option to be judged by a jury…why leave it to those to dumb to get out of jury duty to decide your fate? Serve and help make the system work.
How sad. You still believe in the system? Lady?
The system works? This is news to me.
Look I believe in capital punishment and I try my best to fallow Gods laws. But if there are people who want to judge others and be on jury duty then why don’t they just call up those people and leave the rest of us alone. Gods will, will be done either way.
Lady In principle I agree with your statement, however our legal system has become a mockery of the justice system perpetuating an overly litigious society driven by greed and lack of morality!!!
Mase, from where are you basing your assertion that jury nullification is illegal?
Well said, Mase!
Jury null might be illegal if intent can be proven. ? Like if you told your pals that you were going to pull jury null prior to doing it??
Idea for another column: how to vote more than once in an election.
And make a complete mockery of the voting system. One person, One vote. Not one person, multiple votes. That’s not fair, and you should be ashamed of yourself for even suggesting it.
I would never be willing to serve on a jury, and I think that alone should excuse me, as a supposedly free citizen. I have been called, but was not required to appear. I made every effort to get out of it as soon as I received the notice, to no avail, but was relieved that I didn’t have to go. The truth is that I am entirely unwilling to visit a courtroom, much less judge someone based on performances by the lawyers. If I didn’t see the crime committed, I must find the accused innocent. The waste, corruption and human suffering within that system disgusts me.
“He looks like the man that I caught sleeping with my wife!!”
saladdin
> Jury Duty is just that,
> a duty you owe due to the
> great many privledges and rights
> you enjoy as an American citizen.
Interesting…because I was under the impression that I pay for these privileges and rights through my taxes?
you are so right on that one
If it’s not a financial hardship I highly recommend it. I served on a 3 week jury trial last year and it was a great experience I will never forget. Getting picked can be boring but once you’ re on a trial it gets interesting. The fascinating part of it was seeing 12 strangers from different towns and walks of life come together as a jury to decide a case. It really opened my eyes seeing all the different backgrounds and attitudes. The challenge for us was getting some jurors to decide the case on facts and let go of their personal bias. In those 3 weeks we became a close group and learned to respect our differences. It is a humbling and fascinating experience. You will be a better person after serving on a trial. Don’t miss the experience just so you can ‘work’.
Not long ago I was called for a jury pool. The standard questions pretty much made me an undesirable juror and I was kicked out by one of the parties (I don’t know which one).
My job and my education are grossly mismatched and I think neither side wanted me as a juror.
I got a notice a couple weeks ago that I will be in next month’s jury pool. I think it will be an interesting experience, and don’t mind if I get selected. Granted, I don’t want to be on a 6 month murder trial, but I certainly think it is part of my duty and could be very interesting.
Below is some language from US v. Thomas, 116 F.3d 606, 615-616 (2d Cir. 1997):
As courts have long recognized, several features of our jury trial system act to protect the jury’s power to acquit, regardless of the evidence, when the prosecution’s case meets with the jury’s “moral[] disapprov[al].” Since the famous opinion in Bushell’s Case , 124 Eng. Rep. 1006 (C.P. 1670), freeing a member of the jury arrested for voting to acquit William Penn against the weight of the evidence, nullifying jurors have been protected from being called to account for their verdicts. Moreover, and in addition to the courts’ duty to safeguard the secrecy of the jury deliberation room (discussed in greater detail below), the several rules protecting the unassailability of jury verdicts of acquittal–even where these verdicts are inconsistent with other verdicts rendered by the same jury in the same case, United States v. Carbone , 378 F.2d 420, 423 (2d Cir.) (Friendly, J. ) (recognizing link between upholding inconsistent verdicts and protecting juries’ power of lenity), cert. denied , 389 U.S. 914 (1967)–serve to “permit[] juries to acquit out of compassion or compromise or because of their assumption of a power which they had no right to exercise, but to which they were disposed through lenity.” Standefer v. United States , 447 U.S. 10, 22 (1980) (internal quotation marks omitted).
But as the quotation from the Supreme Court’s opinion in Standefer indicates, in language originally employed by Judge Learned Hand, the power of juries to “nullify” or exercise a power of lenity is just that–a power; it is by no means a right or something that a judge should encourage or permit if it is within his authority to prevent. Indeed, although nullification has a long history in the Anglo-American legal system, see Dougherty , 473 F.2d at 1130-33; Farnham, supra , at 4, and the federal courts have long noted the de facto power of a jury to render general verdicts “in the teeth of both law and facts,” Horning v. District of Columbia , 254 U.S. 135, 138 (1920); see, e.g. , United States v. Trujillo , 714 F.2d 102, 105-06 (11th Cir. 1983), courts have consistently recognized that jurors have no right to nullify. See, e.g. , United States v. Kerley , 838 F.2d 932, 938 (7th Cir. 1988) (“[J]ury nullification is just a power, not also a right . . . .”); see also Sparf v. United States , 156 U.S. 51, 102 (1895) (holding that, while juries are finders of fact, “it is the duty of juries in criminal cases to take the law from the court and apply that law to the facts as they find them”). As a panel of the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit–composed of Chief Judge Spottswood W. Robinson, III, Judge George E. MacKinnon, and then-Judge Ruth Bader Ginsburg–explained:
A jury has no more ” right ” to find a “guilty” defendant “not guilty” than it has to find a “not guilty” defendant “guilty,” and the fact that the former cannot be corrected by a court, while the latter can be, does not create a right out of the power to misapply the law. Such verdicts are lawless, a denial of due process and constitute an exercise of erroneously seized power.
United States v. Washington , 705 F.2d 489, 494 (D.C. Cir. 1983) (per curiam) (emphasis in original). Indeed, as we noted above, the exercise of this de facto power is a violation of a juror’s sworn duty to “apply the law as interpreted by the court.” United States v. Boardman , 419 F.2d 110, 116 (1st Cir. 1969), cert. denied , 397 U.S. 991 (1970). [9]
FN9. Accordingly, criminal defendants have no right to a jury instruction alerting jurors to this power to act in contravention of their duty. See United States v. Edwards, 101 F.3d 17, 19-20 (2d Cir.1996) (citing cases); see also United States v. Sepulveda, 15 F.3d 1161, 1190 (1st Cir.1993), cert. denied, 512 U.S. 1223, 114 S.Ct. 2714, 129 L.Ed.2d 840 (1994); Dougherty, 473 F.2d at 1136-37. As the Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit recognized, to instruct on nullification “would … undermine[ ] the impartial determination of justice based on law.” United States v. Krzyske, 836 F.2d 1013, 1021 (6th Cir.) (finding no error in court’s response to jury inquiry on nullification that included the admonition to the jury: “You would violate your oath and the law if you willfully brought in a verdict contrary to the law given you in this case.”), cert. denied, 488 U.S. 832, 109 S.Ct. 89, 102 L.Ed.2d 65 (1988).
I had jury duty several years ago, and it was a really good experience, interesting to see the system operating from the inside. If you have a chance to do it, I would suggest giving it a shot – you’ll get a real good feeling of knowing that you’re doing your civic duty.
Depending upon the case you get – you may not be able to get over some of the things you see or hear though. I was on a jury for a child abuse case. Very sad to see pictures of a little girl who was beaten by her dad, and then to hear her describe it. We found the guy guilty. Strange thing was that I saw the same man working at a restaurant that i was eating at – several months later. Not sure if he saw me or recognized me.
My dad was on a jury once for a murder trial where someone was bludgeoned to death. That one was even more graphic.
My advice? It may not be easy or fun, but do your civic duty!
I never once went to jury duty. Every year since I turned 18, I got the letter and ignored it, and EVERY year since my parents would tell me I better not ignore it because I will get in trouble. I no longer live with my parents of course and they still manage to find the jury duty letter on my counter that I left ignored and still give me the same lecture. Almost 20 years I’ve ignored jury duty and no repercussions. As stupid as it sounds, I just wanted to see if being fined or be sent to jail was a urban legend. So far it seems to be. Take whatever I said however you feel, but the fact remains.
@kenneth I think it depends upon where you are, but my husband and I were forced to go to court because he did not respond to an original summons. We didn’t get fined or imprisoned, but others did get fined. We’re in Northern California. Our summons claims there is no way out, and you have to call a phone number to see if your presence is required. We’ve never had to go, other than the time my husband failed to do something. I’ve never heard of being imprisoned for not responding or doing jury duty. We’ve been sent summons 6 or 7 times between us.
I actually would like to perform jury duty, but I think many defense lawyers for criminal cases would not like my super high level education.
(Yes, I’ve been through jury selection.)
Talking a lot and expressing your strong prejudices may NOT work to your advantage, especially if you annoy the judge. DO NOT ANNOY THE JUDGE. This also goes for trying to avoid jury duty altogether: Make sure you do not annoy the civil servants of a courthouse. It’s just not worth the potential pain they can wreck upon your life.
In the jury selection that I was in, several potential jurors expressed strong prejudices that would not allow them to assess in an unbiased way the truth of a cop’s testimony versus the truth of an alleged gang member’s. The judge asked the potential jurors if they could reasonably set aside their personal prejudices in order to assess the truth and honesty of testimonies in the trial. Obviously trying to get out of this criminal trial, these jurors insisted that they could not. Instead of releasing them, the judge re-assigned them directly to a civil courthouse. Ooooops!
I actually think I’d enjoy jury duty as long as it doesn’t take a ton of time (a week), I don’t mind performing my civic duty but some people have the bad luck of being selected each time they go ever few years.
Do you really want me on jury duty? I worked for the IRS so I know what morons are employed there making decisions that ruin peoples financial lives. The DEA is out of control, they don’t do what they are supposed to, the FBI is OK, the whole government is corrupt. Police lie, not just about blacks, but whites, latin, and asian. D.A.s lie, judges are human and many are corrupt and power hungry. Our legal system is severely broken. Look Mr. DA you don’t want me on the jury, civic duty or not. If you are a defense attorney, pick me!! peick me!!
I realize this is a very late reply but I came up on the discussion as I recently served JD. Since I have two children and my spouse is at home with them, I was excused due to economic hardship (the case was expected to last 6-8 weeks). In regards to Jury Nullification, it is both legal and valid to this day. The following was found on uslaw.com.
Jury Nullification
Jury nullification refers to a rendering of a verdict by a trial jury, disagreeing with the instructions by the judge concerning what the law is, or whether such law is applicable to the case, taking into account all of the evidence presented. Although a jury’s refusal relates only to the particular case before it, if a pattern of such verdicts develops, it can have the practical effect of disabling the enforcement of that position on what the law is or how it should be applied. Juries are reluctant to render a verdict contrary to law, but a conflict may emerge between what judges and the public from whom juries are drawn hold the law to be, or the legitimacy of a law itself. A succession of such verdicts may signal an unwillingness by the public to accept the law given them and may render it a “dead-letter” or bring about its repeal. The jury system was established because it was felt that a panel of citizens, drawn at random from the community, and serving for too short a time to be corrupted, would be more likely to render a just verdict, through judging both the accused and the law, than officials who may be unduly influenced to follow merely the established law. Jury nullification is a reminder that the right to trial by one’s peers affords the public an opportunity to take a dissenting view about the justness of a statute or official practices.
Notwithstanding perceived righteous applications of jury nullification, it bears noting that this verdict anomaly can also occur simply as a device to absolve a defendant of culpability. Sympathy, bias or prejudice can influence some jurors to wholly disregard evidence and instruction in favor of a sort of “jury forgiveness.”
“ I consider trial by jury as the only anchor yet imagined by man by which a government can be held to the principles of its constitution. â€
—Thomas Jefferson, 1789 letter to Thomas Paine
Historical examples include American revolutionaries who refused to convict under English law,[1] juries who refuse to convict due to perceived injustice of a law in general,[2] the perceived injustice of the way the law is applied in particular cases,[3] and cases where the juries have refused to convict due to their own prejudices such as the race of one of the parties in the case.[4]
if the person is working and paying taxes, there is no reason why the working person needs to attend jury duty. there are millions of unemployed people who would have the time to attend jury duty.
jury duty is a fraud they waste 3 to 4 weeks of your time and i told them that and that i didnt want to serve and that just made them pick me…….you shouldnt have to serve unless you want to
why is it always people with jobs that get called out to jury duty? I think the system is broken why don’t we make it a requirement that worthless people sitting at home collecting gov. benefits have to preform civil duties….we the working people are already serving our civil duties by getting up and going to work every day.
HAHA!!! Thats great Kim, you read my mind!!!
Do you think unemployed people are ‘worthless’? If you do…then you’re just another idiot who is lost in their own little world. Lose your job during this recession…and then see how you like it. Also, to all those other people out there who think us who are currently unemployed are lazy…GO F**K YOURSELVES. We’re (well, most of us) are trying hard to get back to work. I’ve applied for 1,100 + jobs and have only been to around 6 interviews…and still nothing. The interviewers treat us like cattle…because there are so many of us applying for the same job…that they’ve lost any empathetic ability to relate to us interviewees. Plain sucks… Back to the grind.
Been there, done that. It really, really sucks to be unemployed. I know it sounds trite, but good luck – keep at it. I eventually found something and now I do everything I can to in-source work (there’s a concept) and actually add employees. Drives the execs crazy but they can’t argue with the payback.
What a horrible thing to say, kim. “worthless people sitting at home collecting gov. benefits”. The worth of a human being doesn’t come from whether or not they are in the workforce or from their source of legal income. I also don’t know that it is a civil duty to get up and go to work every day, but if you think that it is and that is the reason that you do it, I can understand your attitude to a degree. In that case, going to work or the nature of your work have nothing to do with what you are made of or your worth.
Though I agree that working people should not be threatened and forced to serve on a jury or make extraordinary efforts to get out of it. And neither should people who would prefer to sit at home twiddling their thumbs or rearranging their stereo wires be inconvenienced.
Yes Yana worthless people not trying to better them selves…you know getting gov. checks their whole lives not going to school/work not trying at all….you know those kind of people we pay taxes to support. FOREVR and Ever. My civil duty is to get up and GO to WORK so that I can be a productive citizen of the US and NOT drag this country down (any more than people already have)….too many people with their hands out. they think everything is a right. I don’t break the laws so why whould I suffer and waste my time if I do not want to trying to find out if some one is guilty or not….most of the time they are anyway.
i happen to be “worthless”, according to you, then, HUH!? i’m manic bipolar and PTSD and get social security every month. i don’t get enough to actually LIVE. i still live with my mom. after paying my equal of bills and maybe stamps? i get 40$ for 29days. that’s below-poverty to the max. every time i try to get a job? i’m denied. i’d love to go to college. and before you bitch about it, I HAVE A DIPLOMA. stick that in your pipe and smoke it. i’d love to get more than just 450$ and be “normal” for once. the problem? i can’t fucking afford it!! FAFSA and grants can only cover SO FAR. if i took out loans i’d just be in debt for the rest of my broke-ass life.
i have a jury duty summons at the moment, LOOKATTHAT OMFG. and you know what? i don’t wanna go. where they want me to attend is absolutely unattainable. why? again, cost. gas is expensive. i don’t have my own car. oh! and i can’t drive, either! I COULD NEVER AFFORD TO PAY FOR CLASSES! hell, i can’t afford to renew my ID! 1hr they expect me to drive to and from the courthouse? I DON’T THINK SOOO! that’s money i don’t freaking have to spend on gas, AND my mom doesn’t know her way around the city. if it weren’t a money issue, i’d go–hell yeah. but 1hr of monotonous driving probably multiple times? hell NO.
even if you, KIM, got a summons- with your attitude? the pre-questioning would deem you biased and unfit to serve in jury. so take your awesome life and shove it. not everyone who depends on government checks WANT to be that way.
excuses , excuses, excuses. WE DON’T BELIEVE YOU HAVE A DISEASE or any illness!! As a matter of fact , with the way the medical world is, WE are all sick of something. LOL!!
Kim,
i’m with you on this one.
People like you are so stupid. You are just making generalizations.
Tell the Vietnam veteran with his legs blown off to go through all the trouble of getting there, all the discomfort because it’s his “civic duty”, just so he can get his 40$ and fulfill some stupid ideal.
What about someone who has some mental deficiency?
Why should they be a juror?
Do you really want someone’s life in the hands of a Charles Manson?
You have no basis for your argument, the only viable one is jealousy. For what?
Because you don’t think you should?
What did you do that’s so important?
You’re just a sheep in the flock, coming and going every day, doing what you’re told, you are insignificant.
Actually, you are less than worthless to society if you suck from the coffers without putting anything back. Anyone can at least volunteer in their community.
has anyone tried to say they are Buddhist?
I was told by my Asian friend that Buddhists can’t pass judgment on people, thus cannot be jurors.
Anyone know of someone that used this to get excused?
Richard not really Gere – I’d like to know that too, because although I’m not a Buddhist, I don’t feel I can pass judgement on someone based on egomaniacal theatrics by the lawyers. I can’t think of anything much worse than being wrongly convicted, and I want no part of that. I can’t be convinced of guilt or innocence in any way outside of seeing the deed committed.
“Civic Duty”, what a bunch of pussies some of you are.
As Norm Crosby said, “When you go into court you are putting your fate into the hands of twelve people who weren’t smart enough to get out of jury duty”, hahahaha.
Yep, I get out of jury duty, and do so with no remorse or sense of guilt. I run a business and I have a right to earn a living and no one, no government official, no liberal judge has a right to restrict that right. And I was told, when I indicated it was a financial hardship because I was the sole operator of my business that, “well, since you are a citizen of this country, and because you can run a business, then you have an obligation to serve on jury duty, period”. So, in other words, screw you and your livelihood. So that was my turning point, I have plenty of legal reasons now and I use them.
On the other hand, if some of you are so enamored with the prospect of serving jury duty, you out to volunteer for lots and lots more of it.
The rest of you, keep asking around, keep researching it, there are lots of excuses you can legitimately get and you will find them if you keep looking for them.
Thanks for holding the fort down for me and all my comrades serving overseas. I’m glad people like you are able to deny your civil service with no remorse or regrets. I’m so glad I’ve had to watch my comrades-in-arms die so you can live freely under our legal system. It pleases me to know that you will be there helping us out while we are fighting for our lives overseas. As for me, I would love to partake in our legal system. I just have to live long enough to get the opportunity to.
I believe that while the legal system has problems, it also has benefits. The system may not be right, but people like you sure don’t help out those trying to do right.
Enjoy your business.
Last I checked we have not had a draft recently so you WILLINGLY chose to join the military. Don’t try to guilt anyone into anything because you are “fighting for our lives”. It’s you job, you chose it and joined, just like I chose my job. If you don’t like it, perhaps you shouldn’t have joined in the first place.
I agree, seriously.
Yeah you’re so overseas fighting for the rights of American’s….ok?
I’m a “Law and Order” junkie and I never miss an episode.
If I’m called to jury duty, it’ll be my dream come true.(finally get to cast a vote on the jury) On “Law and Order” episodes from the last 15 years, the jury voted GUILTY 37% of the time, and NOT GUILTY 59% of the time, and lastly DEADLOCKED for the remaining cases. In reality, jury trials are probably the same, so I’ll cast my vote according to the TV episodes.
This works everytime … Goto court house wearing a suit and lawyers will automatically dismiss you as they dont want ‘smart’ people as they judge you based on appearence on jury. They want people they can persuade.
I was just called to jury duty for 2 months and think it is pure bull shit! $30.00 a day for two months or how ever long! Even loosing a days wages is a huge hardship for me with no husband. I rely on my income alone and was told when I called in if I told the judge I couldn’t afford to be there he would tell me to move to a different country. Ok folks here is my thinking here. There are hundreds of thousands of people in this country without jobs currently.. My father has lived on unemployement and now still not employ3ed gets nothing and I have a full time job and the dumb asses call me. It puts my full time job in jepordy and I can’t afford to be a juror however my father getting no unemployement could use the 30.00 a day. Why can’t they call all the unemployed people first! Is that really that hard to figure out. They need the money and I need my full time job. Bullshit in my opinion completely a country ran by men! Not a womans thinking by no way! Bullshit!
Three years ago I was called to jury duty on the first day of my new job. I told the judge that it was my first day on a new job and wanted to be excused. There was another potential juror who said he was currently looking for work in the same field. He got dismissed and I wasn’t. He was unemployed; he could use $30 a day!
I received a summons recently. I took it as I am supposed to be dragged into a boring courtroom. Miss work, and pay. All becuz some jerk broke the law and doesnt wanna be judged by a judge and requested a jury trail? And even if I find him/her guilty, the judge still gets to decide his/her sentence? And will probably let them go after they serve a quarter of it or so? No thank you!! I can honestly say that I “could never unbiasedly” judge anyone, cuz I would go with whatever got me outta there faster!! The defendant would be better off letting the judge decide his/her fate, basically doing their job.
I just got my second request denied. they obviously don’t care if you have an elderly parent in the next state over that you have to look after. im going to call them tomorrow to see if i can get a waiver, if not, im going to wear a black panther t-shirt or “no justice, no peace” shirt with dark shades, and see how they take me. what do you guys think?
I am a full time student at UC-San Diego. I moved to San Diego about two and a half years ago, but never changed my address from where I used to live (LA) to my current address because I move around SD a lot (after every school year). My mom (in LA) got my jury duty mail stating that I’ve failed to serve jury duty and been fined 1500. We, however, never got the first mail telling me that I have jury duty or anything. I strongly believe that I shouldn’t be fined, at least not that much for not serving jury duty. I mean I didn’t know about it until now, when it is too late. I really don’t know what to do. Call them? Go to the court and explain to them my situation? Any advice??
momo, you can try and explain to the judge that you had moved every year and never received the summons. Tell him that Mom may or may not have received the summons and you knew nothing about it.
Wow, you guys are all a bunch of idiots. LMFAO.
For one, stop crying.
For two, grab a kleenex. Ffs.
When will everyone just stop and realize that the country we live in is always going to remain corrupt and under quasi-dictatorship. Our so-called democracy is a joke when we aren’t even granted the right to request for our own dismissal from a jury summons. It makes me sick to read over and over that people who have to care for someone disabled were sneared at by the judges and told to “get a babysitter”. I showed up to a jury and luckily I wasn’t chosen in the end, but the judge gave us all a disclaimer basically saying that he will ask everyone if they want to state their reason why they need to be excused but he really doesn’t care about any reason. That cancer in the robe had the audacity to say that he doesn’t excuse jurors, he only post-pones. He also sneezed and coughed a lot…oh how I prayed he’d collaspe and die right there in his chair. A cherry on top would also be if when he fell out of his seat to the floor that his gavel would also fall on his head, crushing his skull to confirm his death.
I don’t known why someone thinks Jury Nullification is illegal because it isn’t (at least in the US).
“It is presumed, that juries are the best judges of facts; it is, on the other hand, presumed that courts are the best judges of law. But still both objects are within your power of decision… you [juries] have a right to take it upon yourselves to judge of both, and to determine the law as well as the fact in controversy”. State of Georgia v. Brailsford, 3 U.S. 1, 4 (1794) by the Supreme Court. This was again reiterated in in SPARF v. U S, 156 U.S. 51 (1895)
U.S. v. Moylan, 417 F.2d 1002 (4th Cir.1969) and United States v. Dougherty, 473 F.2d 1113 reaffirmed this.
As for U.S. v. Thomas No. 95-1337 (2nd Cir. 5-20-97) that case was about the removal of a juror because of their belief in Jury nullification NOT on nullification itself.
In fact in US vs Polouizzi (2009) by the 2nd circuit it was stated “Although jurors have the capacity to nullify, it is not the proper role of courts to encourage nullification. Although jurors have the capacity to nullify, it is not the proper role of courts to encourage nullification. See Thomas, 116 F.3d at 615.”
To Getting out of jury duty is easy…I don’t like god.
Jury duty dont pay enough should be 100 a day
How about leaving us working stiffs alone! You have 9.1% unemployment right now. Let them earn their checks by wasting their day in the courtroom and let me go to work!!!!
I agree with the notion of “employing” the unemployed to a point. It is a great system – best in class, really. My problem is when I am out of the office no one covers my work. When I get done with jury duty, I get to go to work. Oh, well, it could be worse.
The justice system is a game in Australia, and getting out of jury duty is a national sport. The whole system is broken. Judges get lifetime appointments and are not investigated or accountable for stupid decisions. Sentences are out of touch with community standards. Evidence is “withheld” from juries for being too prejudicial, even though it is relevant. There is no search for the truth, and the rich get better results because they can afford better lawyers. Overall, the whole court system is a game. This clip pretty well sums up how the system has failed everyone except the lawyers http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iHFa30pD3N8
I told the judge that I believe in Jury Nullification and he was angered by that. I didn’t know it then, but he had already decided to excuse me for other reasons. But had he known about my belief in Jury Nullification, he said he would have sent me to a courtroom that tries civil cases where that wouldn’t be as likely to be an issue.
I admire people who do Jury Duty and clearly we need jurors. I’d like to see a volunteer system so that those who are freer to serve than I am could do so and also would be paid decently. Possibly, we could save quite a bit of money by cutting down on the number of people who have to be called and sifted through who are determined not to serve. That money could go towards compensating people interested in serving.
Civic duty my @ss. Plain and simple, this is a pain in the @ss antiquated system. Face it, ninety-nine percent of the people hate this garbage. They want to bring down the unemployment rate? Hire professional jurors and pay them a decent wage and quit wasting our time with this BS. I will do anything I can to avoid this circus, whether these b*stards like it or not.