# anyone done jury duty?



## newfieannie (Dec 24, 2006)

I just went to the mail and I got a summons for jury duty. I don't want to do this. I'm sure I'm not qualified for something like this. I wouldn't have a clue. there is a paper I can make out to be excused. I can't be excused for sickness because I don't have any problems. although we don't have to have a doctors certificate if we are over 70. but I can't lie about it. this is the one thing I would probably get stressed over. I'm stressed already just thinking about it.~Georgia


----------



## shawnlee (Apr 13, 2010)

I have heard about every 30 years or so they will threaten you if you do not do jury duty...….I am 50 and have just tossed all the ones I get.


----------



## newfieannie (Dec 24, 2006)

not up here if I refuse without being excused it's 1000 dollars and could be arrested


----------



## AggieChris (May 9, 2015)

If they don’t send it certified mail, how can they be certain you received it?


----------



## Hiro (Feb 14, 2016)

I have been called to jury duty 4 times. My wife (about the same age) has never, ever even been summoned. I think it is reverse sexism........


----------



## newfieannie (Dec 24, 2006)

that's true too but they probably know everything! I'm going to make out the excuse form later tonight and mail tomorrow. not sure what i'll say yet. ~Georgia


----------



## Alice In TX/MO (May 10, 2002)

If you have anxiety, just say so. It’s ok.


----------



## happy hermits (Jan 2, 2018)

I did grand jury duty last year. It took me far out of my comfort zone. Three to four days a week for a month. I got so it was not so bad and I learned a lot.While we were being questioned a man said he could not keep a secret, he was a blabber mouth they excused him.


----------



## ticndig (Sep 7, 2014)

When I got the jury notice it said do not make an excuse , well I did anyway . I told them I take pills for back pain after a botched surgery and am unable to stay alert and may even snore if I fall asleep. everyone told me that I was in big trouble for doing that , 10 years have past and not a peep out of the courts.


----------



## newfieannie (Dec 24, 2006)

that's a good one but I do take muscle relaxant once in a while when I rolled the 4wheeler or when I've been lifting heavy rocks or transplanting trees or whatnot. anyway I just went upstairs and made out the excuse form.

I didn't lie. I just said what I told you guys I just don't think I'm qualified for something that important and I thought it would stress me out although that's probably not true because I'm usually steady as a rock. we'll see if they excuse me. I just know I couldn't help to sentence anyone to prison .~Georgia


----------



## Farmerjack41 (Jun 6, 2017)

Just received one from Federal court, first one of those. Have never been allowed to serve on state or local courts, because of law enforcement occupation. Its at the second half of the month, so time will tell. Maybe they will see I am a conservative, grumpy Ole fart and not let me in!


----------



## whiterock (Mar 26, 2003)

I've been summoned, but never chosen. Once the lawyers question me, I get excused


----------



## hiddensprings (Aug 6, 2009)

I’ve only been called once so far in my life. I’d like to serve. The defense attorney asked me one question “are you related to anyone in law enforcement?” I said “yes”. He said you are excused. End of my adventure in jury duty


----------



## Terri (May 10, 2002)

I was called but I did not have to serve.


----------



## Oregon1986 (Apr 25, 2017)

I was called too but was not picked


----------



## Bearfootfarm (Jul 13, 2006)

Tell them you're extremely happy they chose you, and you can't wait to get there and start hanging all those evil crooks!!

I bet they will tell you to stay at home.


----------



## Oregon1986 (Apr 25, 2017)

Bearfootfarm said:


> Tell them you're extremely happy they chose you, and you can't wait to get there and start hanging all those evil crooks!!
> 
> I bet they will tell you to stay at home.


Bwhaha


----------



## newfieannie (Dec 24, 2006)

Bearfootfarm said:


> Tell them you're extremely happy they chose you, and you can't wait to get there and start hanging all those evil crooks!!
> 
> I bet they will tell you to stay at home.



gee I wish I'd seen that before I filled out the form.


----------



## Bearfootfarm (Jul 13, 2006)

newfieannie said:


> gee I wish I'd seen that before I filled out the form.


Send them an E mail and ask if you can bring your own personal handcuffs too.


----------



## Evons hubby (Oct 3, 2005)

I've served on several jury's, two of them went all the way through trial, the others were plea bargained out before finishing. Nothing stressful about it to me. Quite entertaining actually.


----------



## alida (Feb 8, 2015)

I've been called, and wasn't picked. Sitting there waiting for a couple days waiting to be called in was boring and if I'm called again I will bring better reading material(s). This summer I received the Annual Jury Duty form to fill out and return,which I did. That means that during the next year I could be called for jury duty and I wouldn't mind doing so, but not for a long trial. I'm fortunate that my employer would continue to pay me if I'm called, many people would not be paid and that's the reason they give for not being able to serve. These rules are for Ontario; I imagine other provinces/states work in a similar way.


----------



## snowlady (Aug 1, 2011)

I’ve been called for petit jury several times but haven’t even had to go in. I served on our county’s grand jury. That was one day a month for six months. You just decide if the states attorney has enough evidence to proceed with a trial. It was really interesting. I have no experience with the legal system so it was interesting to see how it works.


----------



## AmericanStand (Jul 29, 2014)

I can’t imagine why you wouldn’t want to do jury duty

It’s your chance to make sure somebody gets a fair trial

When you sit on the trail remember the guy that’s been accused is not guilty
He is innocent until proven guilty.
Don’t believe the cops the prosecutor and the judge or even necessarily a public defender they all get their paychecks from the same place and they’re all on the same side ! The defende is for the most part up there by himself.


----------



## Clem (Apr 12, 2016)

Here, about a hundred people are called in, and once they fill the jury pool, everybody else is excused without even being questioned.
I find that, if questioned, looking at the judge, pointing a quavering finger, and screaming, "I know that thieving rascal" will generally get you disqualified.

The $12 a day is pretty nice, once I told them I needed the money, and they excused me anyway.


----------



## AmericanStand (Jul 29, 2014)

Funny how many people here happily discussing how to avoid the draft


----------



## AmericanStand (Jul 29, 2014)

I wish this was like the service where I can go ahead and sign up for four years


----------



## no really (Aug 7, 2013)

Been called a few times always excused due to my job.


----------



## FarmboyBill (Aug 19, 2005)

SO Georgia, U saying if you sat in judgement on a 30yr old man who had sex with a 9yr old boy or girl, and all the other jurors thought he was guilty, that you couldn't bring yourself to cast a deciding vote?


----------



## FarmboyBill (Aug 19, 2005)

I got called 30yrs ago on a murder case. I was working nights, so Id go out to the car and sleep during breaks, lunch. Never got called again. Once, a neighbor told me he had got called, long after I had. He went up to the court. The judge asked all those having a reason for not serving to come into the courtroom. When his turn came, he told the judge that he was 72yrs old, had a ranch and horses and cows and hogs and chickens to take care of. The judge told him, Mr ? Cole , I want you on my jury. Im sure you can find someone to take care of your ranch for the time ill need you. He served.


----------



## Pschmidt (Dec 31, 2017)

I got summoned, picked, and served last year. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, anxiety issues and all. Only lasted 2 very long days, thank goodness. Figured it was a roll of the dice, if picked, there was a reason to be there. Saying that, I hope to not be summoned and picked again. Even though it only lasted 2 days, sitting in one spot for that long (we went late both nights) is not my idea of fun.


----------



## newfieannie (Dec 24, 2006)

FarmboyBill said:


> SO Georgia, U saying if you sat in judgement on a 30yr old man who had sex with a 9yr old boy or girl, and all the other jurors thought he was guilty, that you couldn't bring yourself to cast a deciding vote?



I guess when you put it like that Bill . it's nothing to do with not wanting to do my duty. I guess I was under the impression everyone that did this had gone to university and I didn't. I maybe could have done it but not something I've ever done or ever been asked to do. or even ever thought about. my son when he found out said "mother you could have done it" anyway I went out today and posted my form. we'll see what happens. ~Georgia


----------



## emdeengee (Apr 20, 2010)

We have both been called for jury duty but not selected. The worst thing about jury duty is that you do not know or have any control over what case you will be asked to sit on. A friend is still suffering from what I would definitely call PTSD over the murder trial that was her jury duty. She did not even realize how much she was affected until after the trial.


----------



## muleskinner2 (Oct 7, 2007)

Fill our the form, tell them you think that all suspects are guilty. Works for me.


----------



## Alice In TX/MO (May 10, 2002)

The jury pool is regular humans. Most humans have not been to college.


----------



## shawnlee (Apr 13, 2010)

AmericanStand said:


> Funny how many people here happily discussing how to avoid the draft



Funny how some here think it is ok to judge others...…...especially without all the facts,....much like a court case.


----------



## AmericanStand (Jul 29, 2014)

Alice In TX/MO said:


> The jury pool is regular humans. Most humans have not been to college.


Yes it’s one of the few redeeming features of most juries. In fact that’s the very reason that they are there otherwise known as the common sense of the workingman


----------



## AmericanStand (Jul 29, 2014)

shawnlee said:


> Funny how some here think it is ok to judge others...…...especially without all the facts,....much like a court case.


Could you explain this post a little more detail?


----------



## Alice In TX/MO (May 10, 2002)

I didn’t say it, but people make assumptions based on their personal experience. It is inevitable. 

Peace.


----------



## AmericanStand (Jul 29, 2014)

Alice In TX/MO said:


> I didn’t say it, but people make assumptions based on their personal experience. It is inevitable.
> 
> Peace.


 Off-topic but I’ve noticed you often finish posts with the word peace .
Are you a child of the 50s that grew up in the hippy days of the 60s or is it a religious thing with you?


----------



## Alice In TX/MO (May 10, 2002)

It’s a recommendation. 

So often, threads become contentious. 

I was born in 1954.


----------



## AmericanStand (Jul 29, 2014)

Lol I hadn’t thought of it that way almost like an incantation


----------



## shawnlee (Apr 13, 2010)

AmericanStand said:


> Could you explain this post a little more detail?


 I would love to, but not in text on here. It would take pages,...a small booklet many pages long to even brush the surface with a over view.


Like most things governmental or judicial, they no longer function as intended...…..

I will not pass "Official" judicial judgement on another with a small portion of the facts that others deem as the ones you can know …….serving on jury duty is much like the story of viewing the world thru a pin hole.


A good start is to look up the definition of peer by many sources , especially older texts......this is just a start into the rabbit hole the judicial system has become. WE have taken liberties and made up our own definitions on this and many more facets of the legal system.


Voluntary complicity has become accepted and ok, when it is not, its a moral compromise.


----------



## AmericanStand (Jul 29, 2014)

Lol thanks for that Blast from the past! And now somewhat back to topic ;
For a few years in school I thought the words to the song were “ A queer and us “
Many years later I mentioned that to a gay friend of mine he about busted a gut laughing after he recovered himself he apologized to me It seems he thought it was his fault since he had spent those years singing the song that way as a sort of secret confession.

Now I can just find the bathroom to the right ......


----------



## FarmboyBill (Aug 19, 2005)

I never knew what Aquarius band looked like.


----------



## Oxankle (Jun 20, 2003)

Georgia: Twice. Once I was on a jury in a civil case. Homeowner sued a contractor for installing a two-story bay window with the putty inside instead of out. Of course it leaked. Problem was that both parties seemed to us to have tried to cheat the other and we gave about an third of the judgement sought. 

Second, a divorce, wife claimed husband was a child molester and sought sole custody. I was called, asked what I did. When I explained that I had been an investigator, the junkyard dog in our office, the lawyer recognized me and dismissed me. 

In a murder in our community a few months back I had suspected a kid (the murderer) had been abused. Three interviews and I had confirmed it to my satisfaction and I told the kid's lawyer that if I could find it that quickly he damned sure could before trial. The kid, disturbed, was locked up until his 18th birthday. Later, that same lawyer was made a judge and presided when Barb and I were married. LOL married in the "Wagoner County Detention Center".

It is an interesting experience and calls for plain common sense and a fair treatment. A college education is useless on jury unless the facts are so technical that a layman cannot understand them. Even then it is the lawyer's job to explain the facts in simple terms,.


----------



## Alice In TX/MO (May 10, 2002)

I was excused every time because my BIL is an FBI agent.


----------



## MoonRiver (Sep 2, 2007)

Tell them you need a bathroom break every 30 minutes.


----------



## Robotron (Mar 25, 2012)

I have been called quite a few times, served once. Most of the times work gets me excused even though I would rather serve. I feel it’s the one duty as a citizen to engage in. If I’m up as a defendant, I would truly hope that the jury of my “peers” would be an across the board representation of my community. If I have that expectation, then I must be willing to sacrifice and serve when my neighbors need that help. Last thing we want are professional jury pools.


----------



## Terri (May 10, 2002)

I always regarded jury duty as a tax. The government taxes our income and, sometimes, our time


----------



## newfieannie (Dec 24, 2006)

MoonRiver said:


> Tell them you need a bathroom break every 30 minutes.


come on now MR I can't say that because out of all my friends I'm the only one to escape that. I can go all day. ~Georgia


----------



## emdeengee (Apr 20, 2010)

Alice In TX/MO said:


> I was excused every time because my BIL is an FBI agent.


So they tell you why you are excused? I wish they did that here as I have wondered for all these years why I was excused.


----------



## Bearfootfarm (Jul 13, 2006)

emdeengee said:


> So they tell you why you are excused?


That could depend on how far you get in the process.

If you are called for a specific case, you can be excused "for cause" after the lawyers ask some questions. That would be different than being excused from the pool in general.


----------



## Alice In TX/MO (May 10, 2002)

They asked the pool who has a relative in law enforcement. We were all let go.


----------



## Danaus29 (Sep 12, 2005)

AmericanStand said:


> I can’t imagine why you wouldn’t want to do jury duty
> 
> It’s your chance to make sure somebody gets a fair trial


When I was called I had 2 children under 5, was still nursing the youngest. No babysitter to watch the kiddos and not enough income to pay for daycare. No car to get there and the jury pay was not enough to cover parking fees.


----------



## AmericanStand (Jul 29, 2014)

Danaus29 said:


> When I was called I had 2 children under 5, was still nursing the youngest. No babysitter to watch the kiddos and not enough income to pay for daycare. No car to get there and the jury pay was not enough to cover parking fees.


Lol if you don’t have a car why would you care about parking fees?
Call the sheriff for a ride and take kids with you !
A Women with children would seem to me to be a significant contribution to a jury pool .


----------



## newfieannie (Dec 24, 2006)

I haven't heard anything yet but I only walk over to get my mail every 2 weeks. nobody writes me anymore and I pay all my bills through automatic banking. I really only go to clean out all the flyers from my mailbox. in any case i'm not doing it. i'll pay the 1000 dollars if I have to rather than buck that traffic in Halifax.


----------



## emdeengee (Apr 20, 2010)

Interesting about you being dismissed because you have relatives in law enforcement. That question was never asked of my husband or myself. I actually don't see what that has to do with your ability to sit on a jury.


----------



## Alice In TX/MO (May 10, 2002)

My ability to sit is fine. 

The prosecutors don't want people with law enforcement mindsets on juries. We have a tendency to be less forgiving of illegal behavior.


----------



## [email protected] (Sep 16, 2009)

or maybe the trial coming up had something to do with a law enforcement officer ??


----------



## Alice In TX/MO (May 10, 2002)

Nope. Had a criminal involved.


----------



## whiterock (Mar 26, 2003)

that LEO question is pretty common in Texas courts.


----------



## AmericanStand (Jul 29, 2014)

Alice In TX/MO said:


> Nope. Had a criminal involved.


No reason he can’t be both a criminal and a law enforcement official. 
From my experience it seems to be a requirement


----------



## Alice In TX/MO (May 10, 2002)

In my experience, my brother in law was not a criminal. He was the agent in charge of the mob case that the film Casino was based on, if you are interested. He played himself in the movie. Both he and the mob dude were on the set on some days of filming.


----------



## AmericanStand (Jul 29, 2014)

I haven’t met your brother-in-law he may be the exception


----------



## Danaus29 (Sep 12, 2005)

AmericanStand said:


> Lol if you don’t have a car why would you care about parking fees?
> Call the sheriff for a ride and take kids with you !
> A Women with children would seem to me to be a significant contribution to a jury pool .


I told them to send a car for me and to make sure it had 2 child car seats as required by law. They never showed. I'm sure I could have rented a car but was not going to offer that option.


----------



## newfieannie (Dec 24, 2006)

I didn't have to go in and answer any questions or anything. just sent in the form and got a call a couple days ago that I was excused. ~Georgia


----------



## FarmboyBill (Aug 19, 2005)

See there? Worried bout nothing lol


----------



## newfieannie (Dec 24, 2006)

if you had to drive around in the snarl of traffic in Halifax you wouldn't say it's nothing Bill. that's the most I was worried about. and I wouldn't hire any cab around here. (theres a service run by women but its at the airport and doesn't cover us)I want to go shopping over there because they have the higher end stores for women but I can't face it. ~Georgia


----------



## mnn2501 (Apr 2, 2008)

Yvonne's hubby said:


> I've served on several jury's, two of them went all the way through trial, the others were plea bargained out before finishing. Nothing stressful about it to me. Quite entertaining actually.


I agree, I've been on a jury twice and called 3 or 4 more times. You get out of work (paid for me), and learn a lot about whatever the trial is about and about our justice system too. I'm glad to do my civic duty.


----------



## FarmboyBill (Aug 19, 2005)

It kinda numbs your mind on say a 3 day murder trial to try to remember everything that was said, and by who said it.


----------



## haypoint (Oct 4, 2006)

mnn2501 said:


> and about our justice system too


I learned that Courts do not determine guilt or innocence. That isn't how it works. Courts determine guilt. If they cannot prove guilt, then it is simply not guilty.
Also, I learned that guilt cannot be determined when the only evidence is a statement by the victim. He said/she said evidence is not prosecutable, ever.


----------



## Farmerjack41 (Jun 6, 2017)

Called in last evening, was told did not need to show up on Monday and did not need to call again. Guess they did not want an ole worn out conservative retired LOF.


----------



## newfieannie (Dec 24, 2006)

well, I can't say I'm old and worn out because it's just not the case but civic duty or not I'm glad I don't have to bother going over there. 4 min or so from here is the toll bridge and after that the worst traffic imaginable. took my son 4 hours to go 40 miles home last week because he got caught in it. ~Georgia


----------



## [email protected] (Sep 16, 2009)

do you know that if they can't fill the jury box, that they can go out and recruit a passer by on the street ?


----------



## FarmboyBill (Aug 19, 2005)

I saw Jury pools where they had around 30 people in them. They would divide that into the various courts and the rest would wait out in the main hallway until they were either called or they were dismissed and told to come back tomorrow


----------



## geo in mi (Nov 14, 2008)

Got a notice of possible duty and a questionnaire, but never called. Last one I got it said if you're over seventy, you can ask to be excused permanently. I took that option, though I wouldn't mind serving. Can you imagine a jury of old codgers like me serving? It would make for a very long trial, with pee breaks every twenty minutes...……

geo


----------



## FarmboyBill (Aug 19, 2005)

That's what my old friend and neighbor tried to do, as he was over 70, but the judge said (I want you on my jury Mr Cole. Im sure you can find someone to tend your livestock for a few days)


----------



## whiterock (Mar 26, 2003)

Guess who got a summons to Jury Duty in the mail yesterday.


----------



## frogmammy (Dec 8, 2004)

Jinx!

Mon


----------

