Not all judges are reasonable, back in the 80’s I was in the jury pool for the court case where prisoners from the Attica takeover/riot were suing the State, NYS corrections department, the NYS police and several other parties. The judge said the trial could last more than 6 months, but then immediately said that having plans during that time,even if they included non-refundable airfare or what ever, was not grounds for dismissal from the jury pool. I ended up being the last person released before the jury was seated, and three months into the trial, the judge puts everything on hold and goes on vacation for a month. Can you imagine losing the cost of scheduled vacation, due to the judge, only to have him take a vacation in the middle of the case. I’d have been like the guy that flung himself over the bench to attack the judge this week
If a judge did this to me I would nullify, judges and lawyers have this idea that they are better and more important than everyone else, possibly the most smug occupation there is
Jurors SHOULD be paid for long trials if they are going to lose work and money. You are not taking time off work for fun, you are ordered to be in a court room for that time.
In my state at least, jurors are paid daily. That being said... It's a pittance. Realistically it's not even enough to cover your food for the day. Especially since one of those meals is going to have to be at a nearby restaurant. Unless you're gonna skip out on lunch. I'm sure it was a fair wage back in the 50s when the rate was set. Today though, yeah, it's most definitely not. As far as I'm concerned, this really should be viewed in the same way that imminent domain is. Yeah, it's a necessity, but you should be fairly compensated. Of course, no court is *ever* going to rule that way. For obvious reasons. I have been a juror on 3 trials now. I count myself lucky that they where all pretty short. Each less than a week. I can only imagine the nightmare of losing out on half a year's worth of pay or something.
In my state the daily compensation isn't enough to even afford to buy lunch. They used to provide lunch, though, but when covid happened they stopped that. Now that the pandemic is over you'd think they would restart that but nope. No lunch and not even enough compensation to buy lunch. Also, no free parking.
I don't know if I agree with this. Last time I was called to Jury Duty the judge said that they are a few responsibilities that citizens must do as part of their obligations to the nation/state and there are a few ways to pay for your citizenship. One way to pay for your citizenship is through military service for example (all veterans were last to be called up for screening). The other way is to serve your other citizens by jury duty. I do find this interesting and understand how some may feel like they are being forced to do something that they don't want to do; however, when I think about how little the country asks of us (in comparison to other countries), I would willfully go and serve my country or state again. On the other hand, how much would it raise taxes for the government to pay jurior; or do what some companies have done and pay their employees for jury duty? I have worked for companies that pay during jury duty our of a sense of duty to the nation.
@@pete9924 Service members get paid though don't they? And they get housed? And fed? When your jury pay isn't even enough to be able to afford a couple of meals for the day, much less make rent, that's really bad. It's not such a big deal if it's a short trial lasting a couple of days. It would be a real nightmare if you're tied up and unable to make ends meet for months on end. Judicial platitudes aren't going to stop your car from getting repo'ed are they? If you find a way feed that judge's words to your children, you let the rest of us know.
My daughter was recently called for Jury duty and the letter she was sent stated that Financial concerns would NOT be considered as reason for not being able to serve. I mean who wouldn't want to grab this 12 dollar a day windfall.
a lot do not even get that, my county has a ruling that says if its only for 2 to 3 days you get bupkis and maybe a thank you for your service if the judge is nice. They do not provide any food or drink beyond court house coffee(cheapest most awful tasting stuff that probably been sitting in the boiler room since the 1800s.). You get about $0.18 per mile if you live outside city limits. If you live within the city(only about 20ish miles wide fyi) you get nada fuel vouchers..etc. If you miss work tough cookies. Unless your extremely bias, racist...basically any ism...or if you have covid you can get out of it. Basically if you are a warm body and don't have obvious bias or relationship with defendant you serve. Feels like playing Russian roulette every time the summons comes and they say they will contact you 8 days before such and such date after you fill out the online stuff. So yeah...not fun. Waiting for the text or call...checking the site throughout the day leading up to the end time. smh
They really need to update the pay. If they can't financially update it then do something like provide cards that'll pay for food and other necessities.
In Australia, Usually you get paid leave for jury duty by your employer. You're shit out of luck if you're self employed though, Although that may be a good enough excuse to get out of it.
My mom passed in 2017 and recently I received a jury notification for her. (I bought my parents place is why I received the notification) I called to let the court know mom had passed and would not be able to attend jury selection. The lady insisted she had to update mom’s information,address etc. instead of arguing with her I gave her the address of the cemetery including lot number. (It did not phase her) to date moms grave has not been dug up so I assume she hasn’t been arrested yet. Go figure.
I can see them not immediately taking your word. People will pull every trick in the book to get out of jury duty. As she's gone, there's no reason to even fool with the courts.
I did that when my Dad passed and usaa refused to cancel his auto insurance. Every single other place I had to deal with was professional, but not them.
@@punchcat0736 many people are not rich, and live paycheck to paycheck. Many employers don't pay their employees while on jury duty, and so losing your income for several months could easily mean losing your housing, food, medical care or other necessities. Being forced to be on a jury could literally ruin some people's lives.
@punchcat0736 Lmao no thanks. I give a chunk of my paycheck to a country that opposes me for people that will never work a day in their life. I pay that Judge's salary, every single juror whose time is spent in that courtroom should be compensated for every hour they're in that courtroom. If someone can't afford to be there, they shouldn't be obligated to do so. You might be ok with being nothing more than a trained tax ape, but some of us are not.
@@Blue-ke5sb Colorado has some what addressed this here is Colorado law on jury pay. Compensation and Jury Duty All regularly employed trial or grand jurors shall be paid regular wages, but not to exceed fifty dollars per day unless by mutual agreement between the employee and employer, by their employers for the first three days of juror service or any part thereof. Regular employment shall include part-time, temporary, and casual employment if the employment hours may be determined by a schedule, custom, or practice established during the three-month period preceding the juror's term of service. After the 3rd day you get jury pay. Job Protection and Jury Duty State law protects a juror's job, an employer shall not threaten, coerce, or discharge an employee for reporting for juror service as summoned. An employer shall make no demands upon any employed juror which will substantially interfere with the effective performance of jury service.
Yeah the $10 or $15 will not pay for your gas or lunch. You don't get any credit on your taxes. We are suppose to do our civic duty and serve on a jury. I have done it twice and both times I could see the case evidence was so obvious that the person was guilty.
And somehow police can come into the court and lie and make all sorts of bogus excuses and they get off free and easy. But if a juror does something wrong they are immediately hauled off to jail. It’s some bs.
Here is one thing that really pisses me off. As an emergency room, nurse, I have been attacked and assaulted multiple times pressing charges on multiple patients and family members involved. Every single one of those cases has been dismissed. When someone lies under oath, and it results in a conviction, that person is never Jailed. However, if you attack a judge, even slightly, you go to jail. If you lie under oath, and it results in a mistrial, you go to jail. It's amazing the double standards that the legal system has. It's OK for something to happen outside of the courtroom, and everything be dismissed. But if it happens inside the courtroom, they take it personally, and sent someone to jail. It is absolutely unacceptable.
@@silverhammer7779 These so called "gods" are going to be tormented in Hell day and night forever and ever. These Demons will pay a most heavy price. We'll see what kind of "power" they have then.
I've been called to jury duty several times, and I do believe we should do our civic duty as Americans, but when the question arises, "Sir, do you believe our judicial system if fair and unbiased?", my answer is "No, I believe it's corrupt at it's core". I am always dismissed from that duty. Justice is no longer blind, just expensive.
In other words you don't want to do your civic duty. If you believe the justice system is not fair, you can listen with an open and fair mind and change it… From the jury box
@@aigtrader2984 I don't just believe it's not fair, I know it for a fact. And you're right about me not wanting to do my 'civic' duty, I will not participate in that circus of corruption. There is no such thing as a fair, or speedy trial anymore. The judges, attorneys, and the law enforcement are worse than the criminals they put on trial.
@@aigtrader2984 Would you have a problem if someone answered that they are a racist? Would you think they are simply trying to "get out of it" or are they telling the truth? Can people express an opinion anymore even when others don't share or like it?
@@aigtrader2984 It sure sounds to me that he is fully serious about his opinion. He's not shirking his duty, he's expressing an opinion the court NEEDS to hear before they put him on a jury. That's exactly why they ask that question.
I was on a jury pool in a criminal trial. I was selected to the jury. The judge asked if there was anyone who should not be on the jury. I raised my hand. The judge asked why. I asked to approach the bench. In low tones, in front of the judge, the prosecutor and the defence, I told them I knew both the defendant and the victim pretty well, as we all worked in the same prison, and as far as I was concerned, the victim deserved it. I was immediately removed from the courtroom, thanked for being there and have never even been asked since.
I was stressed when my deceased son was summoned. I had returned his voters registration so that hopefully no one else could use his name (since we still have no ID required) Two years later when he received another summons I didn't even call back to let them know. I thought well if you're gonna keep him active just let them come and get his ashes. he had a good sense of humor and he would not have minded.
Your story reminds me of a similar one I read on reddit, except instead of letting the juror speak privately with the judge he made him tell the whole room that he had served on a previous jury that found the defendant guilty. And because the judge reused to let them speak privately the entire jury pool was tainted and had to be dismissed (after they looked up the case and verified that OP's story was correct).
@@cybersal7 The next time they send him a Summons, perhaps you should take him there...Then they can't say he didn't show up... Besides, you can also enjoy the looks of WTF? on their faces when you gently place an Urn on the table when his name is called... 😄😁😆😅😂🤣
Not possible. One of the first questions they ask you during the selection process is if you know the defendant or victim or anyone else connected to the trail. You wouldn’t have been selected to be on the jury and then get asked.
Is it really a trial by a jury of your peers if you're working class individual and the jury's made up of people who can afford to take 6 weeks off of work? 🧐
To your point, is it really a trial of your peers or even a fair trial, if the jury is "voire dired" i.e. chosen for their likely probability to result in a conviction inspite of the laws involved having been allegedly violated being clearly unconstitutional? Every, and I mean EVERY citizen who is subject to possible jury service should have a reasonably good understanding of our constitution and bill of rights or you should not serve. Also, you should vote According to the dictates of the constitution and bill of rights. Read article six of said constitution for a better understanding.
@@escapetherace1943 I thought same. Change would be to compensate the work-time your are off. Germany does that, but these persons are not inside a jury, they are amateur judges and sitting on same bench with barred judges.
My employer pays my salary if i get called for Jury Duty up to 6 months. My previous employer (big box store) paid my hourly rate minus whatever the courts would pay me.
I served on a jury in a criminal case here in SC many years ago and have to say, it did not give me warm fuzzies about our justice system. We had one juror begin preaching to the rest of us about "Judge not lest ye be judged and stating that we are to judge no one" this went on for about 10 minutes while the rest of us explained what the duty of a jury was to her. Also (this one is my favorite) was a man who walked into the jury room saying 'Well, I don't know about the rest of you, but I am ready to say guilty and go home' we asked to look at the evidence first and he slammed a picture down on the table stating "this is a case of assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature. Now you tell me she wasn't highly aggravated when she done that!" We eventually found the defendant not guilty, but I got a real eye opener as to how uninformed many are who are allowed to serve on a jury.
In jury service, I had the pleasure of watching the looks on the lawyer's faces and the judge when one juror demanded to know if the defendant confessed before the lord and if he did, then he was innocent, otherwise if he was an atheist then only the death penalty for him because mortal man was not fit to judge god's creatures and she was here to ensure the lord's work was done right and... yea, rest of the rant forgotten. She was unhinged, to put it mildly. Judge cut her off and then just asked the bailiff to get her escorted her back to the sitting room with instructions to BAN her from his courtroom, permanently. That judge was pissed... especially when she called him a heathen. "Bailiff, nevermind. Downstairs please."
@@Internal_Investigation yep. It's scary when you think that you could be judged by 12 people who werent smart enough to figure out how to get out of jury duty.
I was called for jury duty once and one of the standard questions was, "Do you feel you can be fair and impartial?" I said, "No." I had heard about the case on the news and such. The lawyer and judge started berating me about my answer being against the law. I told them, "What do want me to do, lie?" "If he's here he must have done something." They had a dilemma to either take my answer or force me to perjure myself. They let me go. I really did have a prejudice against the guy and thought he was guilty already. I told them, "I can't help the way I feel." Not really a good question if you ask someone how they feel if you don't expect a truthful answer.
During jury selection of the one jury I served on years ago, two juror candidates answered that they were prejudiced, with no further elaboration. In both cases, an obviously canned speech was made, "The defense thanks and excuses juror number (whatever)" (or something similar). No arguments.
It's all theater. That business about raising your right hand, swearing to tell the whole truth is all pantomime. Not as bad as donning the white wigs, but still.
"if he's here he must have done something." Well, if you think that way then you're better off not serving on a jury. Just hope that if you're ever wrongfully accused of something that you don't have a juror think the same thing about you.
Yeah I don't see how that's even legal. I read a story a few months ago about law makers in my state debating raising the jury pay for the first time in like 4 decades, but the people opposing it had the nerve to argue that it would be too burdensome on the counties to have to pay more, as if $9 a day isn't a burden on people who have to give up their living wages to serve. $9 a day isn't even enough to pay for parking some places in my state.
Last time I served, I got $0 for day 1, $5 for day 2 or more. This was over 20 years ago, but still not much. I met a couple of small businessmen who really hoped for short trials. On top of that they made us park 3 blocks away, and only on the top level. The elevators were broken.
I've multiple psychiatric disorders...guess who was getting Jury Duty summons for over 5 years? Six 'Doctor Notes'? Nope! It took me writing them a quick note: "Do you really want a psychiatric patient to be empaneled? I'm a walking, talking mistrial!" That actually worked!
I only had to turn in the doctor's note about my various mental disorders twice before they stopped summoning me. That it took more than once never ceases to amaze me, but 6 is beyond ridiculous 😂
My father got called a few times after he retired and he used to love it. He could never get on a jury and he knew it, so he just walked around making small talk with folks in the courthouse. He was a Vietnam vet with a masters degree whose mother and wife were both nurses, two sons who were engineers, and a nephew who was a drug dealer. No lawyer wanted him anywhere near their case.
I will probably never serve on a jury as well for some of the same reasons. I am a Afghan vet, former law enforcement have friends who are LEO's, multiple degrees, and my wife used to work at the local jail. They don't like people who know how to think on juries.
@@StudleyDuderight No, these are the reasons the lawyers on both sides will remove people from the jury pool. Anyone who through education, training, or experience being spoon fed bs and will let the other jury members know.
@@StudleyDuderight Actually, they prefer jurors they can manipulate. Those with weak minds. Those who are malleable. Smart, educated, professional people tend not to be that way.
I’m self employed and I have complained about them demanding my time for a mere pittance. Every time the Judge in essence said sit down and shut up. Judge, prosecutor, lawyers and even the bailiffs are getting paid so why shouldn’t the jury ? Even if they paid the jury what the bailiff’s earn it would be better than the $40 a day my county pays.
@@NotALoonOhio yeah because saying it and writing it down is just that easy s/ smh. You go tell the person that is waiting on tables that, or do not think that is a real job. You go tell a teacher that, or do you not think that is a real job.
I’ve been summoned for jury duty 17 times. Basically almost every other year of my adult life. I have been through voir dire 4 times, served on a trial. I no longer view this as a free country, the judicial system can threaten innocent people with jail at any time if you don’t come work for them for free. Our judicial system is dispensing “justice” through an injustice.
It's called Civic Responsibility and is part of the Civil Contract we share as citizens. I've served so many times I've lost count and yes, it can be boring and yes, it can be frustrating. But it's one of the great benefits of living in a democracy and shouldn't be taken lightly.
@@hopefletcher7420 I disagree, that’s false rhetoric to justify a tyrannical action. We need a system of ethical, professional jurors who understand intelligent assessment without bias. Beyond that juror selection allows bias in the juries.
I was selected for a grand jury in NC once and it was hell. It's a year long selection, so once a month you have to appear in court. You get crammed into a TINY TINY room with I forget how many other jurors. There were so many people in that TINY room you felt like you couldn't breathe. And the entire process was a joke. I don't think there was a single case we didn't indict on. The cops and the prosecutors word was always gold. Each sitting would take 4-6 hours, and we'd get paid maybe $15 for the day? That's not civic duty, that's slave labor masquerading as justice. I'm still flabbergasted that they managed to fit that many of us in such a tiny room.
There's an old joke that a prosecutor can indict a ham sandwich. My mom served in a grand jury as well; she mentioned one case they did not indict, and it was because it was all minor stuff and my mom convinced the rest of them that the sheriff was trying to railroad his daughter's boyfriend and the entire thing was questionable.
It was a month long affair for me 😢. And unlike a normal jury there is no way out. I was maliciously compliant, just didn't vote yay or nay. Honestly didn't care to be involved in other people's business. Not saying everyone should live like me, but that's how I've always been. Unfortunately my Mal compliance didn't matter as I still had to show up. 😂
The grand jury duty I was on did the same thing. Basically a guy in black with a ski masked robbed a store and he parked 5 miles away and walked there. Note there was no video cameras except at the store. His family testified against him because he didn't want to get a job and they said he acted suspicious. We talked separately about the case and I said the case is flimsy. The other juror said that's for the trial to decide. I said so we are just here to green light everything. The guy didn't reply. They voted to send it to trial. I voted against it. I never saw what happened to the guy. But indicting a guy because his family was pissed off is kinda messed up. He might have done that but shouldn't the evidence have been stronger.
This is the reason I'd hate to actually be selected for a jury: they think your time is worthless. If you want people to actually be impartial on a case, you'd better make sure they are compensated enough so that they don't just want to get it over with so they can go back to their lives. Make it at least $100 a day and that'd be a start.
You can tell the court, it doesn't mean they care. My dad was sole proprietor and he had written a letter but they didn't excuse his jury service. When he went in, he actually got called to court and was asked questions and informed them that without him being able to work his business and income were dead and could have a severe effect on his business. They didn't care, and he was selected for the jury anyway. The trial lasted over a week and he lost a client due to his "service" and the business itself was in trouble as he had recently started it and did not have solid financial footing yet. Since that... my dad always lied to them to get out of service, and imo for good reason. It's one thing to serve, it's another for the court to give you the finger. Obviously this lady had what was coming, but I have zero sympathy for the govt.
PA sent me a summons for jury duty in WEST VIRGINIA, the mail wasn't forwarded it was for the WV address. I complied and responded I didn't even live in the state and got an excuse reply letter. Our taxes at work
Jury service isn't for the government, it is for the people. Governments are more than happy to convict people without a jury, but the Sixth Amendment guarantees you the right to be heard by your peers.
@@MrDLRu I thought they pay you something, it's just that it's not even minimal wage after all is said and done. Sometimes the pay might be reasonable rate for the hours served, but the problem is your whole day is blanked out even if you only needed to serve a hour or two, so it doesn'ta actually work. That said, the duty is a service, kind of like part of taxes. In fact, in age of yore, tax often came with a labor component, this is much akin to that. Except in modern days, we have recgonized that the poor can't afford to pay taxes(so those who earn below a certain threshold functionally don't) yet somehow forget to also relieve of them of this service which is equally burdensome.
I served as juror on a murder/rape death penalty case back in 2013. I saw more people trying to get on the jury than people trying to get out of it. Both the prosecutor and defense attorney did a very good job of weeding out both biased jurors and overly excited to serve jurors.
I would love to server on a murder case. I am pretty sure I can set aside my bias and think logically. Most people have too many feelings where I have some yet feeling do not matter to me. Logic and reason is what one needs. You can be bias yet as long as you do not use that bias to sway your judgement.
@@alex2143 just because it's common doesn't mean it's not sick. If I have to explain it to you, you're probably just as self absorbed as they are. It's childish. Adults acting like children is sickening to me.
@@maxwellblackwell5045 You literally just described being a human. Wanting to be useful and a part of something bigger than yourself? That's like the human condition.
Why don't they put jury nullification in the jury instructions? Is it because they don't want people to know that they have the power to basically say this law is unjust?
This is something that I can not believe is done without the judges being immediately disbarred for lying to the jury. The Supreme Court said, in two cases (one in 1794 and one in 1972), that it is the right of the jury to decide the law in question in addition to the facts of the case. So when a judge says you have to apply the law as he explains it, he is not only lying to you but breaking the law in direct defiance of the Supreme Court. In any other profession, if you directly defy the job's highest authority, you get fired or, in some cases, criminally prosecuted. I fly for a living, and I am pretty sure if I did something against FAA rules and lied about it, I wouldn't be flying anymore and facing charges.
Pretty sure that is why my name hasn't come up for jury duty for over 20 years now. The one time I had to show up, once inside I proclaimed very loudly "I can't wait to put jury nullification to work". About 10 minutes later someone came up to me and said I would no longer be needed. Never been selected since.
When jury service ruins your life. I served on one jury and it ruined mine. I didn't go to jail but the bullying I got from the other jurors because I wouldn't go along with their verdict was very revealing. Don't ask someone to be a juror and not respect their opinion of the facts presented. They did not get the conviction they were hoping for because the verdict had to be unanimous. This is the whole point of the judicial system but it seems to escape people. If I voted like they did I'm not sure I could live with myself.
I remember one time when called for jury duty, I was picked from the gallery to take my seat in the jury box, I was excited to be a juror in this up coming trial. I took my seat and waited until all 12 of were seated. The judge started asking each juror questions about whether or not we could perform all the duties and were able to be a juror as long as necessary. When it came for me to answer the judge's questions, I was asked if there was any reason I could not do my duty as a juror. Then the judge asks me, do you know any of the people prosecuting or any of the defendants now in the court room. Well, I told the judge that my daughter is a paralegal and had been in the employee of the defense attorney. He told me right then that I was excused and would I leave this court room. I left. I really wanted to serve. I'm to old and 100% disabled and my name has been removed from any list.
First time I got called for jury duty I was young and excited to be participating in the system. The case ended up being very traumatic and I saw photos of things that shook me up so bad I didn't speak a word to anyone about my experience for 2 years, and even now only ever to my therapist. I really hope I never have to go through anything like that again, I would never do anything illegal to get out of it but I certainly have sympathy for people who would go to great lengths to avoid being a part of that.
I'm befuddled as to why I always get excused from jury duty because, as I always say, I would make a very good juror because I'm able to tell whether or not someone is guilty just by looking at them.
When I was in college, I got a jury summons. The trial was to be during the week of my class finals. The professors were very rigid about absences during finals week -- NO EXCUSES. I called the court clerk and explained my issue. She said college classes were no excuse to miss jury duty. I just told her that I wasn't going to piss away an entire semester and I wouldn't show up for jury duty. I didn't show up and there were no consequences, but they sure were jerks about it.
Maybe it is reasonable for you to consider the clerk a jerk. Maybe. She was correct, though. That is not a valid reason to miss jury duty. And no matter what a professor says, most school administrators you would have been able to appeal to would have granted you an extension. This has been litigated, and case law is clear. Professors cannot penalize you for obeying a jury duty summons. Case law is less clear about employers, and at-will work. It seems to be very context-specific. Union and other contract employment structures are much clearer.
As an ER Nurse I was called for jury duty in the midst of a severe flu season. When given an opportunity to express any conflicts, I was in line with several others who wanted to avoid serving. Most were not allowed to escape, however, I approached the Judge, explained my need to remain at work and offered to willingly return in 6 months, after flu season. I was let off, but as agreed, was back in the jury pool six months later.
I have never been selected... I simply ask for clarification on whether capital punishment is an option for misdemeanors. For some reason, they never pick me! LMAO
@@apburner1 Just a guess, but most cities will have a grace period after you've been called / selected for jury duty. So if you can't normally be called again for 2 years in her area, she likely made an agreement to be able to be called again in 6 months. That doesn't mean she would be called, just could be called. I know I generally don't assume everyone knows the exact correct term for any given profession. To the general public the jury pool could mean being able to be called up, rather than the exact group that was called up for a given trial selection.
My near-mistrial story: I was selected as the alternate juror in a 1 day DV trial. During jury selection we were asked if we knew the defendant, victim, attorneys, police officer, judge, etc. One guy is immediately dismissed as he was a bail bondsman that worked in the building with them! Everyone had a good laugh and he went on his merry way. The rest of us said we didn't know anyone involved. Thirteen of us are selected and dismissed to the hallway outside the courtroom while some pre-trial business was taken care of. The prosecutor and victim walk past on their way to the courtroom and the victim greets one of the jurors "Oh hi Wendy!" The poor juror gets this look of horror on her face and the bailiff with us gets this pissed expression and basically drags the woman into the courtroom. After about 20 minutes of intense grilling by the judge, she's dismissed and the twelve of us remaining are led back in. Turns out the unfortunate juror worked as a receptionist at the local hospital and the victim was one of hundreds of employees there. The victim knew the juror by name but to the juror she was just one of hundreds of faces she saw every day without ever knowing their names. The judge reinterviewed the rest of us, far more carefully than the first time. Several of us asked directly where the defendant and victim may also have ties, as no one else wanted to find out they went to the same gym or something. I specifically asked if anyone was affiliated or even had graduated from the university I worked at at the time, as I was in the same situation the first juror was in - hundreds of faces a day going past that might recognize me but I'd never recognize them. Luckily everyone else was clear of conflicts and the trial wrapped up in an afternoon.
I was called for jury duty back in April for my county's Superior Court (criminal court). Ultimately five trips to the courthouse, never selected for a jury, and got paid mileage since I'm retired. Interestingly, the judge over that court was charged with DWI last week. I never would have noticed that story in the local newspaper if I hadn't sat in his courtroom those five times. I actually recognized him from the booking picture that was published, though he was slightly more disheveled than he appeared in court. The resolution of his DWI case will determine how I vote on his office next time he appears on the ballot.
A man that I worked with appeared for a jury summons in Kansas City, Missouri, about 20 years ago. Not enough people answered the summons to empanel a jury. The judge told those who showed up that they were excused and would be taken out of the jury pool for one year. Then he turned to the clerk and told her to swear out bench warrants for those who ignored the summons.
A cop can lie under oath and do terrible things to people but hardly ever does that make a judge upset. This woman obviously should have said something sooner but did she really deserve what she got when cops do worse and get to go home. But i guess ita all about who you are and who you know in this country.
There's a case where a cop lied on a ticket. He checked the box indicating the defendant blew over the limit. In fact, the defendant was never tested. Even though the jury found her guilty of driving without a license, the judge pointed out that had it not been for the lie, the woman would not have lost her license in the first place. The judge asked the prosecutor to charge the cop with perjury. The prosecutor declined, saying it was an "honest mistake".
Judge thought dismissing the charges was good enough. I had to explain to the cop he will never have to worry about lying in court again if our paths cross. Cop quit and left town. The secret to standing up to the system is being able to back it up.
Um no she should have gotten into trouble for this because she obstructed justice in a sense with her lie. And her lie wasted a bunch of money in court costs with her lie. That is a pretty big deal.
Sleeping in deliberations sealed her fate. She disrespected everyone. I wonder if there would have been a different verdict in the OJ trial if this case had notoriety back then.
I have an acquaintance who is a defense attorney. He once told me the catch-22 of the jury trial system is that if you aren't smart enough to get out of jury duty, you probably aren't smart enough to serve on a jury.
Yep. The jury system relies on the woefully ignorant. (Fortunately, some jurors get seated by being both ignorant and too honest to make a reasonable excuse.) When my father told a judge “I have no confidence in the district attorney” he was outside walking back to his truck pretty quickly.
My father in law told the judge that having previously been a victim of police blatantly lying in order to obtain a conviction against him, he would would never believe any police testimony he heard in court, but other than that was willing to participate. The prosecutor immediately dismissed him, and he has never been called back.
For those looking for THE guaranteed way to avoid jury duty, show up, and during the questioning pay close attention to the screening questions. They will ask you something to the effect of (though not exactly word for word) "Do you have any deeply held beliefs or convictions that may prevent you from making your ruling purely based on the letter of the law?" This is your cue! Respond with "Are you asking about Jury Nullification?" and you will not only be removed from that jury pool that day, but also removed from the list entirely and never risk being called again.
One of the scariest moments in my life happened when I was summoned for jury duty, but had a legitimate medical emergency and was really out of it in the ICU for a few days. (fully recovered now.) As soon as I realized what had happened, I was thinking "bench warrant" and called in a panic. I was so grateful to be reassured that it was okay, I wasn't in trouble. The person I talked to even thanked me for letting them know, so I guess if I hadn't, they wouldn't even have noticed. So yes, don't just blow off jury duty, but don't be afraid to call either.
If the jurors had to show they would have noticed. Most likely they were expecting a trial that ended up not starting during those days so it didn't matter because everyone was told not to show when they called.
I was supposed to report at noon and had a 10am doctor's appointment. The locations are about 30 minutes apart. Had the doctor been on time I'd have made it. We were pulling out of the doctor's parking lot about 15 minutes before I had to check in at the courthouse, so I called. No trouble at all to postpone my service for a week. The following week I landed in an "on call" list and never actually had to show up.
I'm wondering if working out of state is an excuse they'll accept. I got summonsed last month and put in for a three-month deferment online, but I'm probably still going to be working on the other side of the country when it comes back up and having to go back just for that is going to be really expensive.
I was picked for grand jury duty that required me to be at the courthouse every Tuesday. I told the deputy that I couldn't afford it and that I worked 2 jobs. She told me she didn't care and to work more at my pt job. My brother moved into my house to help with the mortgage. I worked more hours at my pt job and returned after proceedings to my day job. I did the 2 years but was worn out when it was done. I think I had a breakdown every other week from stress and exhaustion.
I've been invited a few times to serve on the civil grand jury, but it's entirely optional where I live. A lawyer friend told me that if I were invited to serve on the criminal grand jury I should seriously consider it, because it was MUCH more interesting than the civil. But I've never been invited to that.
Where the h*** do you live? Grand jury duty isn't 2 YEARS. It's 6 months. Around here (Wake Co. NC) it's one day every two weeks. (every other monday.) Also, there isn't _one_ grand jury, there are a bunch of them.
I was sent a letter I was picked once and replied I would happily serve but no one was going to prison since i saw how someone I knew was treated through the whole process. Never got the letter to appear. Trials are a joke. The jury only gets to hear the truth that is allowed in court.
@@marcusthompson4324 Gag orders and no cameras are not the same as non-public. Gag orders only last a certain amount of time, and cameras aren't strictly required to get accurate reports and transcripts of court proceedings.
I wouldn't be able to feed my family on what they pay. In today's inflation a family definitely couldn't afford to lose the bread winner of the family.
You inform the court when called. Usually if someone has something important, they write in when they get a summons. Courts do different things at that point, like asking for more information or saying, yeah, okay.
I think low jury pay is a MAJOR problem. As the jury pay is so low that many potential jurors are excused due to financial hardship (as they should be if there is financial hardship), then the jury pool is NOT truly a fair representation of the populace. I’m not sure if any person that has been convicted has used that as reasoning for appeal, but it seems to make sense.
Every company I worked for paid for unlimited jury duty, so I actually came out a little ahead since I didn't have to turn over my jury pay. I was called close to 15 times for jd and the longest I served at any one time was 6 weeks. I live in Los Angeles County and waaay back when you had to serve for one month and could be on multiple trials you could be sent to Criminal, Civil, or Traffic, all in different court houses.
I was working as a contract employee and what was done was that I brought in my check stub for Jury Duty pay to my employer and they just subtracted the amount of my Jury Duty pay from my regular pay (I had deposited the check already).
The fact that we've created a society where a jury trial takes ages, and few potential jurors can spare those ages, creates some obvious problems with this TYPE of justice system.
Exactly, a liar could come in… Lie and never fess up… boom, there goes justice. I understand that much of society are morons, but it’s moronic for professionals in court to assume that people are competent and honest, especially when they are treating people as if they are incompetent or dishonest.
Oh it is MUCH worse than that, when you actually know the law. Namely, the law states you must have a Jury of your "Peers". Well me. what is a "Peer"? Would a "Peer" be, you're a medical student so the Jury is full of other Medical Students too? Or would it be Random people, from all across the state, who have never interacted with you, never done any of the work or job you do, with no knowledge or experienced shared by you? Guess what? the court believes it's the second one, which makes NO FUCKING SENSE. A Truck Driver, who spends 99% of the day outside of the state he lives in, driving trucks all across the state, and rarely gets to go home. Is NOT a "Peer" To a Medical Doctor who committed manslaughter by accidentally unplugging the wrong cord and accidentally killing a patient. They are NOT "Peers" in ANY form of the word! The ONLY Common thing, is that their "Home Address" is in the same state. THAT'S IT! It's MINDBLOWING how INSANELY illegal and Unconstitutional Jury Trials are.
@@dennisanderson3895 If someone told you you had a flat tire, and you said, "Well, then, fix it, boob!"... what should they respond? And that's just working within the system. Our civilization is broken, so DO NOT lecture me about getting elected to congress.
I made the mistake when I was younger of staying on a jury on a civil trial for way too long of time, so many postponements that damaged my relationships back at work. But, it was quite the education for me, seeing a group of people from different walks of life not agree on the potential outcome. They were so lucky to have settled while we were in deliberations.
If I tell them when they are interviewing me as a potential juror "Until the supreme court overrules the ability of police officers to lie to citizens I can not in good conscience take the word of ANY law enforcement official as truth or their eyewitness testimony as anything other than hearsay." Will that get me removed from their mailing list as a juror or will they continue to pester me to drive 30 miles away to be bothered with this again?
@@notmyname3883 No. DO NOT EVER explain why you voted the way you voted on a jury. No one can compel you to explain, and if you explain voluntarily, that's how you get in trouble.
Was picked for a jury selection process in Phila Pa around 12 years ago . When the judge asked the question who in this courtroom was ever convicted of a felony 3/4 of the people stood up and were promptly escorted out . I walked in with my I believe in Jury Nullification shirt which resulted in my dismissal. It was for a murder trial and all of the gangbangers friends were hanging out inside of the court room hallways getting a good look at the perspective jurists.
@jeffreycler495 12th and Filbert is all too familiar. Called for jury duty 4 times. Served on 2 criminal cases and 1 civil. I walked into the courtroom with the 40 others and saw quite a few attorneys, paralegals, and plenty of document boxes. I recognized an attorney from the large firm where I was a legal secretary. Upon being questioned, I was allowed to leave. Left Philly 7 years ago. Your experience at the Justice Center 😂😂😂 One year when I was called, they gave out Philly soft pretzels and soft drinks when we were filling out the paperwork. Guess they thought people would be rushing in to serve just to get a free Philly soft pretzel. 😂😂
If you want to be excused from jury duty wear an American flag T-shirt and randomly use the world Constitution when answering questions during jury selection. Especially if the ask for something in writing. For example "When I read the Constitution last night, I learned....." Works every time.
You can also go the opposite route and say, "I believe cops lie and plant false evidence." Quote Marx and wear a Che Guevara shirt. Get a prominent (temporary) ACAB or 1312 tattoo.
I had a female friend who was a single, working mother with a young daughter. She was distraught when she received a jury notice and asked me what she should do. She was already having financial problems and the father had never paid a dime in child support over all those years. So having served on 3 juries myself plus having also been an expert witness in 3 trials, I told her to appear in the jury room and when they asked if anyone there had a hardship to then raise her hand and get in line. She and several others then had to speak to the judge who was a lady. My friend told the judge about her being a single mom, that the father would not pay child support and that missing even a day of work would be financially difficult plus not being at home when her daughter got home from school. The judge immediately told the clerk to declare my friend's case a hardship and she was dismissed. I won a lot of praise from my friend for my helping her!
Decades ago my older sister was the single mother of a toddler, trying to claw her way out of dependence on welfare. The child's father could not be located, so no child support. My sister always said that if she got called for jury duty, she would take her child with her and say she couldn't afford a babysitter. (Which was entirely true.) I always wondered what would have happened if she actually tried that.... And she eventually did get off of welfare, had a successful career, and her child is quite successful as well.
I was working and taking care of my mother who had Alzheimer's, 2004-2009 and called the court office and told her and was released and didn't get another jury duty notice till last year, now I hit a age that they won't contact me anymore
I recently served as juror on a murder trial. We were paid $50 for 6 days of a 3 week trial and so many people had to back out due to the money crippling them that they started NOT allowing us to back out due to financial distress. Juror selection took 2 weeks before the trial. The court didn't provide parking so we had to pay 10+ dollars a day to park. It also cost me over $15 a day in gas to drive the hour there and hour back. The Just US system is making it very clear that if you are poor you will never be on a jury of your peers and are making it so only the well off will be able to afford to be jury members. I lost THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS of income to do what I was more or less forced by the state to do. Oh, and that $50 a day didn't kick in until after, like, 11 days of being on jury and was TAXED. So, take the 15 in gas and the 10 in parking out of it and I got 25 a day to live on... Oh wait, tax... I got about 17 a day. Welcome to the MA court system.
Apropos of Steve’s story at the end, I got called for Jury duty this past summer but couldn’t make it because I was teaching a summer class and no substitute was available. All I had to do was write a statement and have it notarized at the courthouse. They never asked for any proof.
I will go thru jury selection on Monday, Jan 8th, and also plan to use that term. I am self-employed and will lose $300-$500 per day, while I sit on a jury.
@@blaqlabspodcast5816 What do you mean "unfortunately"? Understanding your rights as a juror is a good thing, and exercising those rights can only be done while seated on a jury. If choosing not to hide your ignorance of jury nullification doesn't result in your dismissal (which it always, always has before), then that is a good thing, too. If you're just looking for a magic phrase to get you out of jury duty, quote Carlin: "Tell him you'd make a terrific juror because you can spot guilty people."
I was called for jury duty, I told the court that I have 2 court orders to fix my problem to another court case. I was sole provider for me and my 3 employees and the court refuse to let me off. All of us lost wages and I sat never be called for jury duty that week. One employee was evicted from apartment and left the state. YEAH AA county Courts.
The federal government was easier to get off. If you were important at your job they let you out. The foreman in my job had to leave federal jury duty cause the other person who did his job quit. He was the only person who could do the job for his company. He was a chemist.
I lived in a city where there were so few people that were eligible jurors that the pool of jurors was small and the request for jury trials were high. Jury duty paid $25 a day, that didn't cover parking and lunch. I'd get the summons yearly, have to drive downtown, pay $20 to park, another $10-15 for lunch, to sit around most of the day, for some numbnut judge to decide he might want to empanel a jury @4:30PM. We didn't get out until after 8:00PM, so no one was happy. The court system is a joke. Nothing runs on time. Jurors were required to report by 8:00AM, watch a propaganda video on how important the jury system is, only to sit until just before a working person eats lunch, then sent off the a court room, where you were excused for lunch @ 1:00PM, but be back by 2:30PM. Total amount of time in the court room was less than 3 hours a day. I've been the foreperson 3 times, twice for murder trials and once for a attempted murder. In one murder trail and the attempted murder trial, the State royalty botched the case, with failing to send evidence for testing and failure of their expert witness to show up. The other murder trial took three days, less than 2 hours to decide his guilt. (home invasion of a drug stash house) One case was featured by the Innocence Project.
Got out of jury duty last year due to a (legitimate) medical issue; I just had to call them and tell them it would be problematic. They didn't even ask for evidence (e.g. letter from my doctor); just said "if you believe this is a temporary condition we'll contact you again in a few months". Just yesterday I received another summons, and this time I plan to serve. Smooth functioning of our justice system requires the active participation of the public, and I intend to do my part.
Was out of state for 5 years and was called up twice, but the clerk accepted my reason and dismissed my jury duty. The year after I got back , though, I was called up and even though I was not selected for the jury I stayed for the trial and it was very educational about how the trial process works. Learned that the defense counsel can straight up lie in closing statements... that it is the job of the prosecution to catch the lie and point it out to the jury and the prosecution did not catch it. Apparently it is ok to sow doubt in the jury's mind with statements not supported by witness' testimony if that lie is not debunked by prosecution. For some naive reason, I thought attorneys on both sides had to be truthful.
I hope you were told at the beginning of the trial and just before you began deliberating that opening and closing statements are not evidence or testimony, so you can't consider them in your deliberation. I don't know that attorneys actually lie, but they can stretch the truth at times.
That's why the answer to the age-old question you see on TV shows, "Are you aware, sir, that you are under OATH?" is, "Yes, counsellor, just as I am aware that YOU are NOT."
@@james-pYes and no. Both attorneys for the prosecution and defense are considered officers of the court, and held to a somewhat higher standard than the citizens participating in court proceedings. Steve actually talks about this in one of his videos.
Im gonna show up for duty. The answer to the first question would be. What are the odds of a lawyer, prosecutor or judge being corrupt? Why would I be part of this trial.
When I was called to serve on a jury I found out that State employees would still receive their salaries if selected for jury duty.That was in California back in the early 1970s.That really made me mad as I worked construction and was told if I was selected for jury duty and the job was completed before a verdict I would be dismissed from the company as the construction jobs are temporary,and legal for them to lay me off.I protested to the court and I did not have to serve.I had a letter from the Company that documented the state law and the company policy.I have never felt the same about serving on a jury since.Never thought of wearing a shirt stating I believe in jury nullification,of course you might be found in contempt of court for not wearing the correct clothes.
I put down the same thing on the form every time they send one out. "I do not believe in punishment for a victemless crime and will not vote to convict someone of alleged crime." Never been called in for jury duty in my 15 years of eligibility.
I served on a jury in 2021 for a child molester. Very sad and shocking testimony daily. He will be a guest of the state for many years to come. My employer paid me my full hourly wages for every day served. I had to give them the check from the court.
I've been called 3 times. The 1st time, I could not have afforded missing work as a substitute teacher. 2nd time, wasn't needed. Since then I filled out the online form with an unfortunate truth: I now have a traumatic brain injury that could make it very difficult for me to understand testimony. I haven't heard anything since then, but I assume they won't want me for a federal grand jury. It's kind of a bummer because I think it could be very interesting to be a juror.
I got called in for jury duty on a civil case. The plaintiffs attorney represented me a couple of years prior on a minor traffic citation that I decided to fight. When I was asked why I should be excused, I said "because I like the attorney, he did a good job representing me", and I was allowed to leave right away.
Steve: I am a trial lawyer. I have never had this happen in one of my cases, thank goodness. Surprisingly, I really enjoy listening to your videos. Sometimes a learning event. Best wishes
Last time I received a jury summons I was able to defer a month. I am the only one left to run our small power plant. I am on call all the time but after September I rarely get called to run the plant. October, I had to report but wasn't selected. I have seen lots of people excused the first day of selection. I find your videos very informative. Thank you for making them.
Easiest way to get out of jury duty is when the defense lawyer asks you if you could be a fair and impartial juror, you say yes, but your client does look a little guilty..They'll hustle you right out of there.
I've been called for duty several times but was never selected to be on the bench. They always remind us how serious they take these trials and the risk you take if you do something to disrupt or compromise them.
I just want to know if we are going to jail a juror for lying under oath then how about we start jailing these police officers who lie under oath to try and maliciously prosecute an innocent man or woman.
Was called to jury duty once, showed up wearing raggedy old clothes, didn't shave or shower for two weeks. Was dismissed immediately and never called again.
I served on a statutory rape case once... An older guy about 35 or 40 and a girl who was 17 at the time of the alleged offense but 18 in reality. The girl was tangentially friends with my GF at the time... When they asked if there was any reason I couldn't be there I explained I said "I am pretty sure she is friends with my girlfriend" which I thought would get me thrown out but it didn't. I wasn't thrilled to do it but went along for the experience. The case had no physical evidence only verbal testimony and the guy was either married or in a long-term relationship. All of us jurors came to the conclusion that it was certainly possible they had a 'relationship' in some form but the state simply had absolutely no evidence... We couldn't in good conscience send him away on what amounted to a he said-she said. Honestly I was pretty young at the time but I was amazed that they even brought the case against him considering the lack of evidence/witnesses. Pretty sure the guys wife even said the girl was motivated by his rejection of her flirting... 😅 Of course she would say that either way... It makes it hard to make a good decision and you have to deeply consider the fact that you'd be sending someone 'down the river' In a way we essentially defaulted to him being innocent since he wasn't proven guilty.
You did exactly what you are supposed to do. If the state cannot prove guilt, and prove it beyond a reasonable doubt, vote not guilty. This is how the system is supposed to work.
Sounds like you did everything right. You brought your potential conflict of interest up to the appropriate authority and let them decide if it disqualified you. Defaulting to him being innocent since you didn't believe the prosecution proved his guilt was exactly what you were supposed to do too. Good on you for doing your civic duty, and doing it the right way.
it's sad these days most people will be found guilty with just that stuff now, they include stuff like cell phone texts as well as evidence even though it's just fricken words on a screen tiny lcd screen.
I was on a jury, and at one point they had us all leave the courtroom and wait in the lobby between the courtrooms. I was totally board, and didn't have a cell phone as they hadn't been invented yet, I was so board I was reading the dockets on the other courtrooms. I was really interested in noticing our defendant was listed on one of the other courtrooms. I did the smart thing and kept my mouth shut. We convicted our guy of assault with a deadly weapon, causing serious bodily harm. It was his third offense so he went away for quite some time. Much later I ran across the DA and told him what I'd seen. He got a kind of shocked look on his face, then thanked me for not saying anything as it could have caused a mistrial. And no, seeing his name didn't affect my vote, the guy was a scumbag and was totally guilty.
We had over 80 people show up for our jury pool. The judge asked the room some questions and people raised their jury number up like an auction after each question. They tracked which numbers were raised. The prosecutor and defense attorney chatted for several minutes after the questioning was done and the pool was picked. It was an interesting morning.
Ill never show up for jury again. Woman was malicious an ill natured but shouldn't be jailed for 6 months. When she was sleeping in deliberation, she should have been ousted. She shouldn't have been picked in the firat place.
Probably the reason Steve that you've been through the process but never select to actually serve on a jury is because you are an attorney and 1 side or the other wasn't comfortable with that
Stating that you believe criminals should be held accountable and serve full term sentences will get you out quicker than stating that you have typhoid fever cough cough.
I'm sure that's the case. The one time I was called for jury service there was a guy in our jury pool who was a lawyer who argued cases before that same judge all the time. But before any jurors could be dismissed the defendant cut a plea deal and we went home.
@@shadowninja6689 you bring up a good point that the attorney could very well know the judge or an officer of the court. What I was getting at is that 1 of 2 scenarios are possible the 1st is that the prosecutor may not have a very good case and having some who knows things like the various rules of evidence, and just a better working knowledge of the law would not work to their advantage in that situation even though the judge is there to enforce those rules there is always the chance that the judge will either miss something or let it slide and so if a potential jurors happens to be an attorney they wouldn't have any chances of winning their case. The 2nd scenario is that the defence Doesn't want an attorney on the jury for a similar reason to the 1st that someone who has legal training may not see something about the defense strategy of the case itself the same as a general member of the public , and I have to point out that the 2nd scenario is likely as how that is a common reason to take a jury trial over a bench trial and given that a jury trial is a lot more expensive then a bench trial that was definitely considered
@@cybersal7 well so is saying that you don't believe in the war on drugs or that you don't believe that people should go to jail for possession of marijuana if it happens to be a drug case , or for that matter stating that you don't trust police will also get you the same thing. For that matter according to sociology black people are less likely to trust the police which for a long time has been viewed as a reason to try to keep them from serving on juries as they are less likely to convict so I guess what I'm saying is that the knife 🔪 cuts both ways. And I'm not completely sure that I really believe in jurors selection as I feel that a jury may should be a completely random segment of the public and not cherry 🍒 picked so that 1 side or the other has an easier time making their case on the other hand I'd hate too be the defendent in that in that case if I had a juror that will convict simply because they didn't like my race , or gender or something about me that has nothing to do with the case at hand But I would have to say that if you're looking at it from the point of view that they may remove a potential juror from the jury because they want to be tough on crime bare in mind that a prosecutor will award work to what ever extent is necessary to make their case where as public defenders are often over worked under paid and limited on resources, often times they don't even have enough to familiarize themselves with a give case to provide for adequate defense let alone cherry picking jurors to a greater extent so I would have to say that if you don't have a paid attorney juror select does not work in your favor so the final thing I will say is from the point of view that you put forward, that saying that someone should be punished to the full extent of the law will get you removed from a jury well if your point of view is that we are not tough enough on crime, then juror select actual results in your favor as it results in harsher penalties and higher conviction rates because many people can't afford to hire a private attorney
Depends on whether he was challenged peremptorily or for cause. Both the prosecution (plaintiff in a civil case) and the defense get a specified number of peremptory challenges, meaning that they can disqualify a potential juror without having to give a reason. But, when they have exhausted their preemptory challenges, every subsequent challenge must be for cause. But you're right, the fact that he was an attorney was almost certainly the reason for his disqualification.
Each time I go to jury duty, I tell the judge I'm biased against everyone. Last trial, I said I was biased against tax drivers cause they don't know how to drive, entire courtroom burst out laughing (not sure why). When we returned from a break, the taxi company had settled the case and we were free to go. I made $80.
I remember as a cop I got called for jury duty once. Now I did have knowledge of the case as it occurred on a the night shift and I came on the day shift the next day. My boss knew I was not going to sit on the jury. But when my boss asked the prosecutor if I do even need to show, I was told yes. So I did sit through voir dire. Got to the point of the judge and attorneys asking if anyone has knowledge of the case. Of course, I raised my hand. Judge asked if it's real or coffee shop knowledge, I said it's real knowledge your honor. Eventually, the defense attorney asked me what I do for work, and I said a police officer. Immediately followed, asking I be dismissed as a jurror. Side note I was the 2nd person dismissed. The first was someone who was a close family friend of the defendant and was quite adimate they did not want to sit in judgment. They tried, but he still persisted and eventually agreed to dismissed that person.
Reminds me of the Curtis Flowers case, when Judge Loper jailed Mr. Bibbs and had him indicted on 2 counts of perjury because he was the lone holdout for a guilty verdict. The charges were dropped by the AG.
How about the few cases Steve’s covered where the judge doesn’t like the jury’s verdict and over rules it…imagine sitting there for weeks listening to evidence, deliberating for hours/days, then deliver a verdict only to have the judge tell you it was all for naught. *edit - naught 4 not
My brother was on a jury a few years ago. He was pretty unhappy to be there because it was during a scheduled vacation and they wouldn't even delay his service. He told the other jurors that he hoped it would go quickly so he could meet up with his friends for at least the last couple of days. One of the women said her vacation started in three days and she didn't care she was going anyway. It wasn't over and and she didn't show up. He said the judge asked them if they knew why and when he heard he issued a warrant for her right then. They did have an alternate so proceeded. He never found out what happened to her.
That's crazy. If you can prove you've got a scheduled vacation they should let you out of duty while telling you that you'll be called back after your vacation.
The vast majority of judges are very reasonable when it comes to jury duty, but there are a few A-holes. One judge who I call "Judge Jerk (JJ)" told us, during jury selection, that if we had sick time or vacation time we would be required to use it and he would not allow us to be dismissed because, "My employer pays for 10 days and I've already been here (in and out of the jury assembly room) for 8 days." That was the exact situation I was in and I wasn't happy at the thought of having to use precious vacation time for jury duty (my company wouldn't allow me to use sick time for jury duty). JJ was also a control freak (go figure!) and told us sternly that we would have to abide by HIS interpretation of the law and nothing else when he gave us instructions at the beginning of deliberations. JJ also said if we had a problem with that then we were duty bound under penalty of perjury to tell him NOW!. So I raised my hand and when called upon (rather wearily, since I'd already made a pest of myself) I told that judge that if what he said flew in the face of common sense then I wouldn't abide by it. I also said that considering some of the verdicts that had been in the news recently I had to believe the jurors were going by the judge's instructions instead of using common sense. JJ asked me for examples and I quickly gave him three. He didn't look happy and I didn't care. I ended up being the second person dismissed and I didn't waste any time leaving JJ's courtroom.
People think that they can just decide not to show up one day for jury duty, like they were back in school and just decided not to show up on test day, or any classes. Our court system is not like your school experience. You can’t just “cut court” without serious ramifications. It’s a whole different ballgame where your BS doesn’t work.
@@zombieshoot4318 The feeling I got was that neither the brother nor the woman said anything to the judge. In the woman's case, it sounds like she just took off and didn't show up which is not a good move. When I've been called for jury duty, most judges are good about dismissing anyone who already had plans that would be impacted by the trial, but you have to speak up and let them know. Many people are afraid they will get in trouble if they do this. When I tell people what I said to Judge Jerk, they are surprised and ask if I got in trouble. I tell them no, I didn't get in trouble. I wasn't disrespectful, just truthful. I have my First Amendment right to free speech and the judge basically ordered us to let him know if we had a problem with having to use only his interpretation of the law. The fact that he didn't like my answer was his problem, not mine.
It kinda depends. I remember my mom complaining about a panel where several people pretended to be biased. She said that several of them were selected. It would be exactly the same, unless you're great at acting. It's probably better to cite your real reason. Be prepared to go into detail and provide evidence. If you feel like your reason isn't good enough, try it anyway. Those work more often.
I have been called for jury duty several times here in Washtenaw County. The only time i got picked for a trial was the first time. Back then, you had to serve for a month. I served on 3 trials over the month. Definitely an eye opening experience for someone who has never been in court before.
Since this is about jury duty, I'll relate my experience, I got the notice for jury duty for the FIRST day of in person trials in Ocala, FL after COVID. I arrived at the courthouse about 15 minutes before the appointed time, 8:00 AM, signed in, filled out the paperwork the court gave us and found a seat in the jury pool room. There were around 150 of us in the room. After about 20 minutes someone from the courts came in and explained that there were two trials happening that day and a judge would be coming down at some point to talk with anyone who had any hardships. About an hour and a half later, they told us that one of the cases had come to a plea deal and the judge would be in shortly. She came in, sat behind an official looking courtroom bench and talked to about 25 people, most of whom were allowed to leave. They then called 20 people to go to the courtroom of the remaining trial. The rest of us sat there. Around 12:30, they came in, said they were going to call another 20 to stay in case they ran through the first 20 without seating a full jury and the rest of us were thanked for our time and dismissed. So that was my post COVID jury experience, show up, fill out some papers, watch people talk to a judge and sit in a chair for 4 and a half hours.
my experience with jury duty... happened when covid hit. they closed the courts and cancelled all cases for jury and I did not even have to turn up. now that its over I am expecting another juror summons any day now
@@silverhammer7779 _It's a very inefficient process._ It's about as efficient as it can be... other than the BS questioning from the lawyers. They have to call jurors a month before hand, and rarely have their shit together enough to know what trials will be happening in a month. Then they know nothing at all about the people they're calling, so there's a fair number that check the boxes and are excused. And then there's some that don't show, for numerous reasons. So on a day they're seating for two trials, they may still call 300 people, just to get the ~100 they need. The last selection I sat through, there were 60 people sent to the court. By the time we had 14 seated, there were only a dozen+ left in the gallery. And we started at 10am. As there's no limit on the number that can be dismissed "for cause", it's impossible to know how many potentials you'll need.
@@ghostwriter720 So many people had bad trials during covid. Doing things remote that should be done in person is a very, very bad idea. You lose all sense of body language and perception. They really did a disservice to America.
I got an application for jury duty about 20 years ago. I wrote that I will not sit in judgment of my fellow man. No matter the evidence presented by the state my vote will be not guilty. I have never been contacted since.
"do you have any financial reasons to not serve on a jury" Aka, the poors who are overwhelming the ones subjected to policing will never get a jury of their peers.
I work for a newspaper. I was called once, and when I walked in the courtroom the judge said hi Jim and that was it I got sent back. The next time around they asked if anybody knew any police officers. I raised my hand. They asked me how many and how well. I told him I had most of the command staff in my cell phone. That got me sent back. Basically they call for a week here and you have to go everyday and show up unless you're not needed. I've done that three times and never sat on a jury once. As soon as they find out I'm with the paper I'm done. The last time was pretty neat though. We were all in the main assembly room at the start of the first day and the court clerk reminded everyone that you could get out of jury duty but that you would be recalled for a later panel. He also strongly suggested that we sit for this one because even if we were sent home our jury duty was filled for two years. One guy insisted that he had a business to run. The court clerk basically told him that you should just sit here and wait it out. He didn't he left. 30 minutes later they said both cases had settled and we all got to go home with our jury duty fulfilled for 2 years. He on the other hand got to go back to the next panel and you only get one get out unless it's one of the mandatory ones
I've never served on a jury, but I've always been worried about getting selected and causing a mistrial because I can see a possibility where the evidence and testimony might not be enough for me to make a decision.
"evidence and testimony might not be enough for me to make a decision." You can still make the decision to vote *not guilty.* Not guilty doesn't mean *innocent.* It just means they didn't prove the case *beyond a reasonable doubt.*
That's called "reasonable doubt" and you're supposed to deliver a not guilty verdict. Don't feel bad or recuse yourself! Most jurors are probably biased to deliver a guilty verdict. Our culture has a heavy bias toward punishing the "bad guy." There's also such a pro-police bias in mass media. Your consideration of the evidence and testimony is correct. A lot of false convictions are caused by flimsy evidence and bad testimony!
Did anyone even take a little time to ask the woman why she did what she did? The couple of times that I have been called, the judge and the lawyers were so condescending and acted as if what THEY do is the most important thing in the world. It was incredibly off putting. I was sitting there totally bored out of my mind for 5 days and they still weren't even half way thru seating a jury. Every time I could see the judge glance at the rest of the court room I would give a little gesture as in "lets move this along". When finally in the "hot seat" I expressed my desire that if this is how long it was taking to seat a jury then I wanted nothing to do with the trial. The people in the black robes (what's with that anyway) need to learn that people have lives too.
I've _always_ wanted to serve on a jury, but have only been called once. For some reason, they seem to keep rejecting me when I tell them that I can tell if someone is guilty or not simply by looking them in the eyes.... if their eyes are too close together, they are guilty!
Not all judges are reasonable, back in the 80’s I was in the jury pool for the court case where prisoners from the Attica takeover/riot were suing the State, NYS corrections department, the NYS police and several other parties. The judge said the trial could last more than 6 months, but then immediately said that having plans during that time,even if they included non-refundable airfare or what ever, was not grounds for dismissal from the jury pool.
I ended up being the last person released before the jury was seated, and three months into the trial, the judge puts everything on hold and goes on vacation for a month. Can you imagine losing the cost of scheduled vacation, due to the judge, only to have him take a vacation in the middle of the case. I’d have been like the guy that flung himself over the bench to attack the judge this week
Rules for thee but not for me...
I trust you helped the Prisoners win their case.
If a judge did this to me I would nullify, judges and lawyers have this idea that they are better and more important than everyone else, possibly the most smug occupation there is
I laughed so hard at that video.
Well, the jury could have taken a vote and told him to cancel his vacation or go to jail for contempt of court.
Jurors SHOULD be paid for long trials if they are going to lose work and money. You are not taking time off work for fun, you are ordered to be in a court room for that time.
In my state at least, jurors are paid daily. That being said... It's a pittance. Realistically it's not even enough to cover your food for the day. Especially since one of those meals is going to have to be at a nearby restaurant. Unless you're gonna skip out on lunch. I'm sure it was a fair wage back in the 50s when the rate was set. Today though, yeah, it's most definitely not.
As far as I'm concerned, this really should be viewed in the same way that imminent domain is. Yeah, it's a necessity, but you should be fairly compensated.
Of course, no court is *ever* going to rule that way. For obvious reasons.
I have been a juror on 3 trials now. I count myself lucky that they where all pretty short. Each less than a week. I can only imagine the nightmare of losing out on half a year's worth of pay or something.
In my state the daily compensation isn't enough to even afford to buy lunch. They used to provide lunch, though, but when covid happened they stopped that. Now that the pandemic is over you'd think they would restart that but nope. No lunch and not even enough compensation to buy lunch. Also, no free parking.
Agreed. They would attract a much better jury pool.
I don't know if I agree with this. Last time I was called to Jury Duty the judge said that they are a few responsibilities that citizens must do as part of their obligations to the nation/state and there are a few ways to pay for your citizenship. One way to pay for your citizenship is through military service for example (all veterans were last to be called up for screening). The other way is to serve your other citizens by jury duty. I do find this interesting and understand how some may feel like they are being forced to do something that they don't want to do; however, when I think about how little the country asks of us (in comparison to other countries), I would willfully go and serve my country or state again.
On the other hand, how much would it raise taxes for the government to pay jurior; or do what some companies have done and pay their employees for jury duty? I have worked for companies that pay during jury duty our of a sense of duty to the nation.
@@pete9924 Service members get paid though don't they? And they get housed? And fed?
When your jury pay isn't even enough to be able to afford a couple of meals for the day, much less make rent, that's really bad.
It's not such a big deal if it's a short trial lasting a couple of days. It would be a real nightmare if you're tied up and unable to make ends meet for months on end.
Judicial platitudes aren't going to stop your car from getting repo'ed are they? If you find a way feed that judge's words to your children, you let the rest of us know.
My daughter was recently called for Jury duty and the letter she was sent stated that Financial concerns would NOT be considered as reason for not being able to serve. I mean who wouldn't want to grab this 12 dollar a day windfall.
The last company I worked for had a policy of paying you your full salary for days you have jury duty
a lot do not even get that, my county has a ruling that says if its only for 2 to 3 days you get bupkis and maybe a thank you for your service if the judge is nice. They do not provide any food or drink beyond court house coffee(cheapest most awful tasting stuff that probably been sitting in the boiler room since the 1800s.). You get about $0.18 per mile if you live outside city limits. If you live within the city(only about 20ish miles wide fyi) you get nada fuel vouchers..etc. If you miss work tough cookies. Unless your extremely bias, racist...basically any ism...or if you have covid you can get out of it. Basically if you are a warm body and don't have obvious bias or relationship with defendant you serve. Feels like playing Russian roulette every time the summons comes and they say they will contact you 8 days before such and such date after you fill out the online stuff. So yeah...not fun. Waiting for the text or call...checking the site throughout the day leading up to the end time. smh
They really need to update the pay. If they can't financially update it then do something like provide cards that'll pay for food and other necessities.
In Australia, Usually you get paid leave for jury duty by your employer. You're shit out of luck if you're self employed though, Although that may be a good enough excuse to get out of it.
@@aa-yt7wocool and my company has 3 month paid maternity and paternity, why is everyone else who doesn't work for then complaining? Lol
My mom passed in 2017 and recently I received a jury notification for her. (I bought my parents place is why I received the notification) I called to let the court know mom had passed and would not be able to attend jury selection. The lady insisted she had to update mom’s information,address etc. instead of arguing with her I gave her the address of the cemetery including lot number. (It did not phase her) to date moms grave has not been dug up so I assume she hasn’t been arrested yet. Go figure.
I can see them not immediately taking your word. People will pull every trick in the book to get out of jury duty. As she's gone, there's no reason to even fool with the courts.
I did that when my Dad passed and usaa refused to cancel his auto insurance. Every single other place I had to deal with was professional, but not them.
Well... if they still sent another notice... bring an urn...
@dancunningham4316
You should've send a copy of his death certificate.
@@sblijheid I could have lied and told them we sold his car. You must work for usaa.
I'm *pretty sure* prosecutors and judges have thwarted "justice" way more than this one woman.
They should pay jurors real pay for their time. People might take it more seriously.
How spoiled are you . Its one of the few things the country asks you to do . Get over it
@@punchcat0736 many people are not rich, and live paycheck to paycheck. Many employers don't pay their employees while on jury duty, and so losing your income for several months could easily mean losing your housing, food, medical care or other necessities. Being forced to be on a jury could literally ruin some people's lives.
@punchcat0736
Lmao no thanks. I give a chunk of my paycheck to a country that opposes me for people that will never work a day in their life. I pay that Judge's salary, every single juror whose time is spent in that courtroom should be compensated for every hour they're in that courtroom. If someone can't afford to be there, they shouldn't be obligated to do so. You might be ok with being nothing more than a trained tax ape, but some of us are not.
@@Blue-ke5sb Colorado has some what addressed this here is Colorado law on jury pay. Compensation and Jury Duty
All regularly employed trial or grand jurors shall be paid regular wages, but not to exceed fifty dollars per day unless by mutual agreement between the employee and employer, by their employers for the first three days of juror service or any part thereof. Regular employment shall include part-time, temporary, and casual employment if the employment hours may be determined by a schedule, custom, or practice established during the three-month period preceding the juror's term of service. After the 3rd day you get jury pay.
Job Protection and Jury Duty
State law protects a juror's job, an employer shall not threaten, coerce, or discharge an employee for reporting for juror service as summoned. An employer shall make no demands upon any employed juror which will substantially interfere with the effective performance of jury service.
We have unending supplies of the publics money today for everything under the sun but somehow we don't have any real money to pay jurors justly.
Yeah the $10 or $15 will not pay for your gas or lunch. You don't get any credit on your taxes. We are suppose to do our civic duty and serve on a jury.
I have done it twice and both times I could see the case evidence was so obvious that the person was guilty.
And somehow police can come into the court and lie and make all sorts of bogus excuses and they get off free and easy. But if a juror does something wrong they are immediately hauled off to jail. It’s some bs.
Here is one thing that really pisses me off. As an emergency room, nurse, I have been attacked and assaulted multiple times pressing charges on multiple patients and family members involved. Every single one of those cases has been dismissed. When someone lies under oath, and it results in a conviction, that person is never Jailed. However, if you attack a judge, even slightly, you go to jail. If you lie under oath, and it results in a mistrial, you go to jail. It's amazing the double standards that the legal system has. It's OK for something to happen outside of the courtroom, and everything be dismissed. But if it happens inside the courtroom, they take it personally, and sent someone to jail. It is absolutely unacceptable.
I was told long ago that, as a juror, you are often seen as more guilty than the defendant. These judicial abuse cases just drive that home.
That is why they call it a "Just Us" system.
In a courtroom, there are two kinds of people: Judges, and everyone else. Judge = God. You = whale scat, or lower.
@@silverhammer7779 These so called "gods" are going to be tormented in Hell day and night forever and ever. These Demons will pay a most heavy price. We'll see what kind of "power" they have then.
How come the charges get dismissed?
I've been called to jury duty several times, and I do believe we should do our civic duty as Americans, but when the question arises, "Sir, do you believe our judicial system if fair and unbiased?", my answer is "No, I believe it's corrupt at it's core". I am always dismissed from that duty. Justice is no longer blind, just expensive.
In other words you don't want to do your civic duty. If you believe the justice system is not fair, you can listen with an open and fair mind and change it… From the jury box
@@aigtrader2984 I don't just believe it's not fair, I know it for a fact. And you're right about me not wanting to do my 'civic' duty, I will not participate in that circus of corruption. There is no such thing as a fair, or speedy trial anymore. The judges, attorneys, and the law enforcement are worse than the criminals they put on trial.
@@aigtrader2984 Would you have a problem if someone answered that they are a racist?
Would you think they are simply trying to "get out of it" or are they telling the truth?
Can people express an opinion anymore even when others don't share or like it?
No thanks
@@aigtrader2984 It sure sounds to me that he is fully serious about his opinion. He's not shirking his duty, he's expressing an opinion the court NEEDS to hear before they put him on a jury. That's exactly why they ask that question.
That it cost $200,000 and that isn’t fairly compensating a jury is more astounding. Screw that judge.
The whole system is so messed up. Start paying judges $10/day and they might be a little more understanding of why people cant commit to a jury.
...and pay the same to lawyers
Do you really think the judge just needed to be "more understanding" of this case?
The rules and regulations of old traditions don't often change. It seems someone forgot about inflation.
Marcus: EXACTLY!
You should get paid your regular daily pay for serving on a jury then you wouldn’t have any problems with getting people to serve.
I was on a jury pool in a criminal trial. I was selected to the jury. The judge asked if there was anyone who should not be on the jury. I raised my hand. The judge asked why. I asked to approach the bench. In low tones, in front of the judge, the prosecutor and the defence, I told them I knew both the defendant and the victim pretty well, as we all worked in the same prison, and as far as I was concerned, the victim deserved it. I was immediately removed from the courtroom, thanked for being there and have never even been asked since.
I was stressed when my deceased son was summoned. I had returned his voters registration so that hopefully no one else could use his name (since we still have no ID required)
Two years later when he received another summons I didn't even call back to let them know. I thought well if you're gonna keep him active just let them come and get his ashes. he had a good sense of humor and he would not have minded.
You could be summoned any day.
Your story reminds me of a similar one I read on reddit, except instead of letting the juror speak privately with the judge he made him tell the whole room that he had served on a previous jury that found the defendant guilty. And because the judge reused to let them speak privately the entire jury pool was tainted and had to be dismissed (after they looked up the case and verified that OP's story was correct).
@@cybersal7 The next time they send him a Summons, perhaps you should take him there...Then they can't say he didn't show up...
Besides, you can also enjoy the looks of WTF? on their faces when you gently place an Urn on the table when his name is called...
😄😁😆😅😂🤣
Not possible. One of the first questions they ask you during the selection process is if you know the defendant or victim or anyone else connected to the trail. You wouldn’t have been selected to be on the jury and then get asked.
Government: Puts you under oath, because this is “serious stuff”
Also Government: Pays you well below minimum wage for serving on a jury.
Frankly, for doing a civic duty, you shouldn't be paid.
@@benjaminsorensonselecting only people who can afford to take the time off creates a bias
@@benjaminsorenson I told my landlord that and he said rent is due
@@Laembort , okay, and what's your point? The poorest of the poor should serve, period.
@@gaim44 yeah, because you being called to do your civic duty is not their problem, only yours.
Is it really a trial by a jury of your peers if you're working class individual and the jury's made up of people who can afford to take 6 weeks off of work? 🧐
no it's a jury of people found to be as close to 100% as assuming you are guilty as possible
To your point, is it really a trial of your peers or even a fair trial, if the jury is "voire dired" i.e. chosen for their likely probability to result in a conviction inspite of the laws involved having been allegedly violated being clearly unconstitutional? Every, and I mean EVERY citizen who is subject to possible jury service should have a reasonably good understanding of our constitution and bill of rights or you should not serve. Also, you should vote According to the dictates of the constitution and bill of rights. Read article six of said constitution for a better understanding.
_Someone's_ been drinking the Marxist Kool-Aid.
@@escapetherace1943 I thought same. Change would be to compensate the work-time your are off. Germany does that, but these persons are not inside a jury, they are amateur judges and sitting on same bench with barred judges.
My employer pays my salary if i get called for Jury Duty up to 6 months. My previous employer (big box store) paid my hourly rate minus whatever the courts would pay me.
I served on a jury in a criminal case here in SC many years ago and have to say, it did not give me warm fuzzies about our justice system.
We had one juror begin preaching to the rest of us about "Judge not lest ye be judged and stating that we are to judge no one" this went on for about 10 minutes while the rest of us explained what the duty of a jury was to her. Also (this one is my favorite) was a man who walked into the jury room saying 'Well, I don't know about the rest of you, but I am ready to say guilty and go home' we asked to look at the evidence first and he slammed a picture down on the table stating "this is a case of assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature. Now you tell me she wasn't highly aggravated when she done that!" We eventually found the defendant not guilty, but I got a real eye opener as to how uninformed many are who are allowed to serve on a jury.
There have been many people convicted by juries with little or no evidence. Scary😳
In jury service, I had the pleasure of watching the looks on the lawyer's faces and the judge when one juror demanded to know if the defendant confessed before the lord and if he did, then he was innocent, otherwise if he was an atheist then only the death penalty for him because mortal man was not fit to judge god's creatures and she was here to ensure the lord's work was done right and... yea, rest of the rant forgotten.
She was unhinged, to put it mildly.
Judge cut her off and then just asked the bailiff to get her escorted her back to the sitting room with instructions to BAN her from his courtroom, permanently.
That judge was pissed... especially when she called him a heathen. "Bailiff, nevermind. Downstairs please."
Smart people make up good excuses and get out of it.
@@Internal_Investigation yep. It's scary when you think that you could be judged by 12 people who werent smart enough to figure out how to get out of jury duty.
I was called for jury duty once and one of the standard questions was, "Do you feel you can be fair and impartial?" I said, "No." I had heard about the case on the news and such. The lawyer and judge started berating me about my answer being against the law. I told them, "What do want me to do, lie?" "If he's here he must have done something." They had a dilemma to either take my answer or force me to perjure myself. They let me go. I really did have a prejudice against the guy and thought he was guilty already. I told them, "I can't help the way I feel." Not really a good question if you ask someone how they feel if you don't expect a truthful answer.
During jury selection of the one jury I served on years ago, two juror candidates answered that they were prejudiced, with no further elaboration. In both cases, an obviously canned speech was made, "The defense thanks and excuses juror number (whatever)" (or something similar). No arguments.
It's all theater. That business about raising your right hand, swearing to tell the whole truth is all pantomime. Not as bad as donning the white wigs, but still.
"if he's here he must have done something."
Well, if you think that way then you're better off not serving on a jury. Just hope that if you're ever wrongfully accused of something that you don't have a juror think the same thing about you.
@@specialsause949 They admitted to the bias. What more do you want?
I could see how a judge and attorney could confuse honest and inconvenient for them with against the law. 😂
I have been called many times, served once in a civil case. My biggest gripe is they compensate you less than minimum wage for your time.
Yeah I don't see how that's even legal. I read a story a few months ago about law makers in my state debating raising the jury pay for the first time in like 4 decades, but the people opposing it had the nerve to argue that it would be too burdensome on the counties to have to pay more, as if $9 a day isn't a burden on people who have to give up their living wages to serve. $9 a day isn't even enough to pay for parking some places in my state.
Right, isn’t that illegal?!?
@@shadowninja6689 $9 a day is bowl of gruel starvation wages. You can't even get a full "value" meal from McDonalds.
It is not a job it is a civic duty.
Last time I served, I got $0 for day 1, $5 for day 2 or more. This was over 20 years ago, but still not much. I met a couple of small businessmen who really hoped for short trials. On top of that they made us park 3 blocks away, and only on the top level. The elevators were broken.
I've multiple psychiatric disorders...guess who was getting Jury Duty summons for over 5 years?
Six 'Doctor Notes'? Nope!
It took me writing them a quick note: "Do you really want a psychiatric patient to be empaneled? I'm a walking, talking mistrial!"
That actually worked!
I only had to turn in the doctor's note about my various mental disorders twice before they stopped summoning me. That it took more than once never ceases to amaze me, but 6 is beyond ridiculous 😂
@@sararaven it must have been worms on the notes... they can't read it... /s
My father got called a few times after he retired and he used to love it. He could never get on a jury and he knew it, so he just walked around making small talk with folks in the courthouse. He was a Vietnam vet with a masters degree whose mother and wife were both nurses, two sons who were engineers, and a nephew who was a drug dealer. No lawyer wanted him anywhere near their case.
I will probably never serve on a jury as well for some of the same reasons. I am a Afghan vet, former law enforcement have friends who are LEO's, multiple degrees, and my wife used to work at the local jail. They don't like people who know how to think on juries.
@@Knights_Oath They just don't want people who are biased one way or the other, which you and the OP clearly are.
@@StudleyDuderight No, these are the reasons the lawyers on both sides will remove people from the jury pool. Anyone who through education, training, or experience being spoon fed bs and will let the other jury members know.
@@Knights_Oath Speaking of spoon-feeding bullshit. You're offering, but I'm not eating it.
@@StudleyDuderight Actually, they prefer jurors they can manipulate. Those with weak minds. Those who are malleable. Smart, educated, professional people tend not to be that way.
I’m self employed and I have complained about them demanding my time for a mere pittance. Every time the Judge in essence said sit down and shut up. Judge, prosecutor, lawyers and even the bailiffs are getting paid so why shouldn’t the jury ? Even if they paid the jury what the bailiff’s earn it would be better than the $40 a day my county pays.
Living paycheck to paycheck doesn't give people the opportunity to serve on a jury. Bills don't stop for jury duty
Any employer that doesn't pay their employees while they are on jury duty, is a shit employer.
I got lucky my employer did. Just be honest in court.
Absolutely wrong. Grow up and save some money for emergencies. It is your duty to serve on a jury and is a serious matter.
I always thought the pool should be chosen from those on unemployment. They are already getting paid.
@@NotALoonOhio yeah because saying it and writing it down is just that easy s/ smh. You go tell the person that is waiting on tables that, or do not think that is a real job. You go tell a teacher that, or do you not think that is a real job.
I’ve been summoned for jury duty 17 times. Basically almost every other year of my adult life. I have been through voir dire 4 times, served on a trial. I no longer view this as a free country, the judicial system can threaten innocent people with jail at any time if you don’t come work for them for free. Our judicial system is dispensing “justice” through an injustice.
It's called Civic Responsibility and is part of the Civil Contract we share as citizens. I've served so many times I've lost count and yes, it can be boring and yes, it can be frustrating. But it's one of the great benefits of living in a democracy and shouldn't be taken lightly.
See United States Constitution, Amendment No. 13, about "involuntary servitude."
@@hopefletcher7420 I disagree, that’s false rhetoric to justify a tyrannical action. We need a system of ethical, professional jurors who understand intelligent assessment without bias. Beyond that juror selection allows bias in the juries.
@@hopefletcher7420 Nothing you just talked about exists.
@@hopefletcher7420- slavery is slavery.
That juror in your second story was completely right. He wasn’t there the next day.
Yet the judge had him arrested for telling the truth.
But he was in the building!
See, they didn't need him after all.
@@raybrensike42he swore he’d be there earlier, so, no, she took him in for cappin
@@benchoflemons398did he swear? Even if he did, you sure it wasn’t under duress?
I was selected for a grand jury in NC once and it was hell. It's a year long selection, so once a month you have to appear in court. You get crammed into a TINY TINY room with I forget how many other jurors. There were so many people in that TINY room you felt like you couldn't breathe. And the entire process was a joke. I don't think there was a single case we didn't indict on. The cops and the prosecutors word was always gold. Each sitting would take 4-6 hours, and we'd get paid maybe $15 for the day? That's not civic duty, that's slave labor masquerading as justice. I'm still flabbergasted that they managed to fit that many of us in such a tiny room.
There's an old joke that a prosecutor can indict a ham sandwich. My mom served in a grand jury as well; she mentioned one case they did not indict, and it was because it was all minor stuff and my mom convinced the rest of them that the sheriff was trying to railroad his daughter's boyfriend and the entire thing was questionable.
It was a month long affair for me 😢. And unlike a normal jury there is no way out.
I was maliciously compliant, just didn't vote yay or nay. Honestly didn't care to be involved in other people's business. Not saying everyone should live like me, but that's how I've always been.
Unfortunately my Mal compliance didn't matter as I still had to show up. 😂
The grand jury duty I was on did the same thing. Basically a guy in black with a ski masked robbed a store and he parked 5 miles away and walked there. Note there was no video cameras except at the store. His family testified against him because he didn't want to get a job and they said he acted suspicious.
We talked separately about the case and I said the case is flimsy. The other juror said that's for the trial to decide. I said so we are just here to green light everything. The guy didn't reply.
They voted to send it to trial. I voted against it. I never saw what happened to the guy.
But indicting a guy because his family was pissed off is kinda messed up. He might have done that but shouldn't the evidence have been stronger.
This is the reason I'd hate to actually be selected for a jury: they think your time is worthless. If you want people to actually be impartial on a case, you'd better make sure they are compensated enough so that they don't just want to get it over with so they can go back to their lives. Make it at least $100 a day and that'd be a start.
@@dandotvid I would love to sit for a grand jury. I got my first federal questionnaire a few months back. Have not head anything. There is still hope.
You can tell the court, it doesn't mean they care. My dad was sole proprietor and he had written a letter but they didn't excuse his jury service. When he went in, he actually got called to court and was asked questions and informed them that without him being able to work his business and income were dead and could have a severe effect on his business. They didn't care, and he was selected for the jury anyway. The trial lasted over a week and he lost a client due to his "service" and the business itself was in trouble as he had recently started it and did not have solid financial footing yet. Since that... my dad always lied to them to get out of service, and imo for good reason. It's one thing to serve, it's another for the court to give you the finger. Obviously this lady had what was coming, but I have zero sympathy for the govt.
PA sent me a summons for jury duty in WEST VIRGINIA, the mail wasn't forwarded it was for the WV address. I complied and responded I didn't even live in the state and got an excuse reply letter.
Our taxes at work
the ridiculous thing about jury duty, they pay you nothing while all the other players are making bank
Jury service isn't for the government, it is for the people. Governments are more than happy to convict people without a jury, but the Sixth Amendment guarantees you the right to be heard by your peers.
@@MrDLRu I thought they pay you something, it's just that it's not even minimal wage after all is said and done. Sometimes the pay might be reasonable rate for the hours served, but the problem is your whole day is blanked out even if you only needed to serve a hour or two, so it doesn'ta actually work.
That said, the duty is a service, kind of like part of taxes. In fact, in age of yore, tax often came with a labor component, this is much akin to that. Except in modern days, we have recgonized that the poor can't afford to pay taxes(so those who earn below a certain threshold functionally don't) yet somehow forget to also relieve of them of this service which is equally burdensome.
@@astropythagorean Not true if the criminal penalty is 6mos or less
I served as juror on a murder/rape death penalty case back in 2013. I saw more people trying to get on the jury than people trying to get out of it. Both the prosecutor and defense attorney did a very good job of weeding out both biased jurors and overly excited to serve jurors.
I would love to server on a murder case. I am pretty sure I can set aside my bias and think logically. Most people have too many feelings where I have some yet feeling do not matter to me. Logic and reason is what one needs. You can be bias yet as long as you do not use that bias to sway your judgement.
People are sick. Desperately trying to attach themselves to something important just for the sake of feeling useful.
@@maxwellblackwell5045that's pretty normal human behavior. What's so sick about that?
@@alex2143 just because it's common doesn't mean it's not sick. If I have to explain it to you, you're probably just as self absorbed as they are. It's childish. Adults acting like children is sickening to me.
@@maxwellblackwell5045 You literally just described being a human. Wanting to be useful and a part of something bigger than yourself? That's like the human condition.
Why don't they put jury nullification in the jury instructions?
Is it because they don't want people to know that they have the power to basically say this law is unjust?
Yes
This is something that I can not believe is done without the judges being immediately disbarred for lying to the jury.
The Supreme Court said, in two cases (one in 1794 and one in 1972), that it is the right of the jury to decide the law in question in addition to the facts of the case.
So when a judge says you have to apply the law as he explains it, he is not only lying to you but breaking the law in direct defiance of the Supreme Court.
In any other profession, if you directly defy the job's highest authority, you get fired or, in some cases, criminally prosecuted.
I fly for a living, and I am pretty sure if I did something against FAA rules and lied about it, I wouldn't be flying anymore and facing charges.
Jury Nullification happens a lot.
Better to vote not guilty, because sometimes saying jury null can cause problems.
Pretty sure that is why my name hasn't come up for jury duty for over 20 years now. The one time I had to show up, once inside I proclaimed very loudly "I can't wait to put jury nullification to work".
About 10 minutes later someone came up to me and said I would no longer be needed. Never been selected since.
When jury service ruins your life. I served on one jury and it ruined mine. I didn't go to jail but the bullying I got from the other jurors because I wouldn't go along with their verdict was very revealing. Don't ask someone to be a juror and not respect their opinion of the facts presented. They did not get the conviction they were hoping for because the verdict had to be unanimous. This is the whole point of the judicial system but it seems to escape people. If I voted like they did I'm not sure I could live with myself.
The other jurors didn’t ask you to serve. They all got asked just like you did. They can disagree with you or dislike you all they want.
Good on you for taking it seriously and standing your ground.
That shows true character! Good on you for sticking to your beliefs. Its not a game, your decision had real world consequences.
You did your duty. Screw them.
How did it 'ruin' your life?
I remember one time when called for jury duty, I was picked from the gallery to take my seat in the jury box, I was excited to be a juror in this up coming trial. I took my seat and waited until all 12 of were seated. The judge started asking each juror questions about whether or not we could perform all the duties and were able to be a juror as long as necessary. When it came for me to answer the judge's questions, I was asked if there was any reason I could not do my duty as a juror. Then the judge asks me, do you know any of the people prosecuting or any of the defendants now in the court room. Well, I told the judge that my daughter is a paralegal and had been in the employee of the defense attorney. He told me right then that I was excused and would I leave this court room. I left. I really wanted to serve. I'm to old and 100% disabled and my name has been removed from any list.
First time I got called for jury duty I was young and excited to be participating in the system. The case ended up being very traumatic and I saw photos of things that shook me up so bad I didn't speak a word to anyone about my experience for 2 years, and even now only ever to my therapist.
I really hope I never have to go through anything like that again, I would never do anything illegal to get out of it but I certainly have sympathy for people who would go to great lengths to avoid being a part of that.
I'm befuddled as to why I always get excused from jury duty because, as I always say, I would make a very good juror because I'm able to tell whether or not someone is guilty just by looking at them.
im using this next time lol
When I was in college, I got a jury summons. The trial was to be during the week of my class finals. The professors were very rigid about absences during finals week -- NO EXCUSES. I called the court clerk and explained my issue. She said college classes were no excuse to miss jury duty. I just told her that I wasn't going to piss away an entire semester and I wouldn't show up for jury duty. I didn't show up and there were no consequences, but they sure were jerks about it.
Your professor was in the wrong.
A shame more places aren't like the Los Angeles courts. Summons can be postponed once for any reason.
Maybe it is reasonable for you to consider the clerk a jerk. Maybe. She was correct, though. That is not a valid reason to miss jury duty. And no matter what a professor says, most school administrators you would have been able to appeal to would have granted you an extension. This has been litigated, and case law is clear. Professors cannot penalize you for obeying a jury duty summons. Case law is less clear about employers, and at-will work. It seems to be very context-specific. Union and other contract employment structures are much clearer.
@@taoliu3949 I have heard this crap from professors before. I have seen and heard EVEN WORSE. I have seen people failed out of classes for less.
@@siryoda8145 They can and do and colleges uphold this behavior. And thanks to title 9, you will NEVER get justice in such a case.
As an ER Nurse I was called for jury duty in the midst of a severe flu season. When given an opportunity to express any conflicts, I was in line with several others who wanted to avoid serving. Most were not allowed to escape, however, I approached the Judge, explained my need to remain at work and offered to willingly return in 6 months, after flu season. I was let off, but as agreed, was back in the jury pool six months later.
Smart judge. He probably has family and realizes if one of them gets the flu he wants you in the hospital not tied up in court.
I have never been selected... I simply ask for clarification on whether capital punishment is an option for misdemeanors. For some reason, they never pick me! LMAO
You make your story unbelievable when you add "but as agreed, was back in the jury pool six months later". That's not how jury pools/selection work.
@@apburner1 actually the judge can handpick anybody he wants to be removed or reentered into the jury pool for any reason.
@@apburner1 Just a guess, but most cities will have a grace period after you've been called / selected for jury duty. So if you can't normally be called again for 2 years in her area, she likely made an agreement to be able to be called again in 6 months. That doesn't mean she would be called, just could be called.
I know I generally don't assume everyone knows the exact correct term for any given profession. To the general public the jury pool could mean being able to be called up, rather than the exact group that was called up for a given trial selection.
My near-mistrial story: I was selected as the alternate juror in a 1 day DV trial. During jury selection we were asked if we knew the defendant, victim, attorneys, police officer, judge, etc. One guy is immediately dismissed as he was a bail bondsman that worked in the building with them! Everyone had a good laugh and he went on his merry way. The rest of us said we didn't know anyone involved.
Thirteen of us are selected and dismissed to the hallway outside the courtroom while some pre-trial business was taken care of. The prosecutor and victim walk past on their way to the courtroom and the victim greets one of the jurors "Oh hi Wendy!" The poor juror gets this look of horror on her face and the bailiff with us gets this pissed expression and basically drags the woman into the courtroom. After about 20 minutes of intense grilling by the judge, she's dismissed and the twelve of us remaining are led back in. Turns out the unfortunate juror worked as a receptionist at the local hospital and the victim was one of hundreds of employees there. The victim knew the juror by name but to the juror she was just one of hundreds of faces she saw every day without ever knowing their names.
The judge reinterviewed the rest of us, far more carefully than the first time. Several of us asked directly where the defendant and victim may also have ties, as no one else wanted to find out they went to the same gym or something. I specifically asked if anyone was affiliated or even had graduated from the university I worked at at the time, as I was in the same situation the first juror was in - hundreds of faces a day going past that might recognize me but I'd never recognize them. Luckily everyone else was clear of conflicts and the trial wrapped up in an afternoon.
I was called for jury duty back in April for my county's Superior Court (criminal court). Ultimately five trips to the courthouse, never selected for a jury, and got paid mileage since I'm retired. Interestingly, the judge over that court was charged with DWI last week. I never would have noticed that story in the local newspaper if I hadn't sat in his courtroom those five times. I actually recognized him from the booking picture that was published, though he was slightly more disheveled than he appeared in court. The resolution of his DWI case will determine how I vote on his office next time he appears on the ballot.
A man that I worked with appeared for a jury summons in Kansas City, Missouri, about 20 years ago. Not enough people answered the summons to empanel a jury. The judge told those who showed up that they were excused and would be taken out of the jury pool for one year. Then he turned to the clerk and told her to swear out bench warrants for those who ignored the summons.
Experienced similiar with the "no shows "
What about no-shows that never got a notice because it got lost in the mail?
@@mcrvids6860Tell it to the judge 👩⚖️
Not surprising, except the warrants for the no shows. Mail is so slow now, I've received more than one summons after the date it said to appear.
@@mcrvids6860 Exactly. They better send out notices by registered mail with signature required if they plan to jail people for this.
A cop can lie under oath and do terrible things to people but hardly ever does that make a judge upset. This woman obviously should have said something sooner but did she really deserve what she got when cops do worse and get to go home. But i guess ita all about who you are and who you know in this country.
There's a case where a cop lied on a ticket. He checked the box indicating the defendant blew over the limit. In fact, the defendant was never tested.
Even though the jury found her guilty of driving without a license, the judge pointed out that had it not been for the lie, the woman would not have lost her license in the first place.
The judge asked the prosecutor to charge the cop with perjury.
The prosecutor declined, saying it was an "honest mistake".
Judge thought dismissing the charges was good enough. I had to explain to the cop he will never have to worry about lying in court again if our paths cross. Cop quit and left town.
The secret to standing up to the system is being able to back it up.
She didn't just wait a little too long to say something. She deliberately tanked the case by forcing a mistrial. I'm glad she's in jail
Um no she should have gotten into trouble for this because she obstructed justice in a sense with her lie. And her lie wasted a bunch of money in court costs with her lie. That is a pretty big deal.
Sleeping in deliberations sealed her fate. She disrespected everyone. I wonder if there would have been a different verdict in the OJ trial if this case had notoriety back then.
I have an acquaintance who is a defense attorney. He once told me the catch-22 of the jury trial system is that if you aren't smart enough to get out of jury duty, you probably aren't smart enough to serve on a jury.
Yep. The jury system relies on the woefully ignorant. (Fortunately, some jurors get seated by being both ignorant and too honest to make a reasonable excuse.)
When my father told a judge “I have no confidence in the district attorney” he was outside walking back to his truck pretty quickly.
My father in law told the judge that having previously been a victim of police blatantly lying in order to obtain a conviction against him, he would would never believe any police testimony he heard in court, but other than that was willing to participate. The prosecutor immediately dismissed him, and he has never been called back.
For those looking for THE guaranteed way to avoid jury duty, show up, and during the questioning pay close attention to the screening questions. They will ask you something to the effect of (though not exactly word for word) "Do you have any deeply held beliefs or convictions that may prevent you from making your ruling purely based on the letter of the law?" This is your cue! Respond with "Are you asking about Jury Nullification?" and you will not only be removed from that jury pool that day, but also removed from the list entirely and never risk being called again.
Damn right!
Except we WANT people on juries that belive in jury nullification. That's how it works.
Exactly people now dont want to take any responsibility for their decisions. We have a nation of adults who have the mindset of children
@@cult_of_odinwe the people might, but the judges & lawyers don’t.
Be heard saying the defendant looks guilty as hell.
One of the scariest moments in my life happened when I was summoned for jury duty, but had a legitimate medical emergency and was really out of it in the ICU for a few days. (fully recovered now.) As soon as I realized what had happened, I was thinking "bench warrant" and called in a panic. I was so grateful to be reassured that it was okay, I wasn't in trouble. The person I talked to even thanked me for letting them know, so I guess if I hadn't, they wouldn't even have noticed. So yes, don't just blow off jury duty, but don't be afraid to call either.
If the jurors had to show they would have noticed. Most likely they were expecting a trial that ended up not starting during those days so it didn't matter because everyone was told not to show when they called.
I’ve been excused as well for medical purposes, when I received the notice I let them know right away and they removed me
@@fakjbf3129Not where I live. The judge sent officers after missing people. "Go get him!" Was heard more than once.
I was supposed to report at noon and had a 10am doctor's appointment. The locations are about 30 minutes apart. Had the doctor been on time I'd have made it. We were pulling out of the doctor's parking lot about 15 minutes before I had to check in at the courthouse, so I called. No trouble at all to postpone my service for a week. The following week I landed in an "on call" list and never actually had to show up.
I'm wondering if working out of state is an excuse they'll accept. I got summonsed last month and put in for a three-month deferment online, but I'm probably still going to be working on the other side of the country when it comes back up and having to go back just for that is going to be really expensive.
I was picked for grand jury duty that required me to be at the courthouse every Tuesday. I told the deputy that I couldn't afford it and that I worked 2 jobs. She told me she didn't care and to work more at my pt job. My brother moved into my house to help with the mortgage. I worked more hours at my pt job and returned after proceedings to my day job. I did the 2 years but was worn out when it was done. I think I had a breakdown every other week from stress and exhaustion.
I had a roommate who was called for grand jury. He actually loved it. It was not 2 years, though. Only 6 months, so it wasn't you.
@@bartsanders1553it was very interesting the cases i did. I think fgjd would be easier to get people if it was only 6 months
@@bartsanders1553lengths of a grand jury being empaneled varies.
I've been invited a few times to serve on the civil grand jury, but it's entirely optional where I live. A lawyer friend told me that if I were invited to serve on the criminal grand jury I should seriously consider it, because it was MUCH more interesting than the civil. But I've never been invited to that.
Where the h*** do you live? Grand jury duty isn't 2 YEARS. It's 6 months. Around here (Wake Co. NC) it's one day every two weeks. (every other monday.) Also, there isn't _one_ grand jury, there are a bunch of them.
I was sent a letter I was picked once and replied I would happily serve but no one was going to prison since i saw how someone I knew was treated through the whole process. Never got the letter to appear. Trials are a joke. The jury only gets to hear the truth that is allowed in court.
Until courts are fully open and transparent, we should not consider them serious places.
They are. You can go to the courthouse tomorrow and go sit in any court you want, and watch.
@@james-p "Sit in any court you want" That's not true, their are cases that are completely behind closed doors, both to the public and the media.
@@TRENCHESandTREADS Really? Name one.
@@james-p fisa courts, gag orders, no cameras, etc
@@marcusthompson4324 Gag orders and no cameras are not the same as non-public.
Gag orders only last a certain amount of time, and cameras aren't strictly required to get accurate reports and transcripts of court proceedings.
Lol. She "thwarted justice"? More than the judge had ever seen before? F'n judges.
They are justice in their minds
I wouldn't be able to feed my family on what they pay. In today's inflation a family definitely couldn't afford to lose the bread winner of the family.
You inform the court when called. Usually if someone has something important, they write in when they get a summons. Courts do different things at that point, like asking for more information or saying, yeah, okay.
My civil service job pays me while I'm stuck on jury duty and I still won't do it lol.
I think low jury pay is a MAJOR problem. As the jury pay is so low that many potential jurors are excused due to financial hardship (as they should be if there is financial hardship), then the jury pool is NOT truly a fair representation of the populace. I’m not sure if any person that has been convicted has used that as reasoning for appeal, but it seems to make sense.
Every company I worked for paid for unlimited jury duty, so I actually came out a little ahead since I didn't have to turn over my jury pay. I was called close to 15 times for jd and the longest I served at any one time was 6 weeks. I live in Los Angeles County and waaay back when you had to serve for one month and could be on multiple trials you could be sent to Criminal, Civil, or Traffic, all in different court houses.
I was working as a contract employee and what was done was that I brought in my check stub for Jury Duty pay to my employer and they just subtracted the amount of my Jury Duty pay from my regular pay (I had deposited the check already).
The fact that we've created a society where a jury trial takes ages, and few potential jurors can spare those ages, creates some obvious problems with this TYPE of justice system.
Exactly, a liar could come in… Lie and never fess up… boom, there goes justice. I understand that much of society are morons, but it’s moronic for professionals in court to assume that people are competent and honest, especially when they are treating people as if they are incompetent or dishonest.
Oh it is MUCH worse than that, when you actually know the law. Namely, the law states you must have a Jury of your "Peers". Well me. what is a "Peer"? Would a "Peer" be, you're a medical student so the Jury is full of other Medical Students too?
Or would it be Random people, from all across the state, who have never interacted with you, never done any of the work or job you do, with no knowledge or experienced shared by you?
Guess what? the court believes it's the second one, which makes NO FUCKING SENSE. A Truck Driver, who spends 99% of the day outside of the state he lives in, driving trucks all across the state, and rarely gets to go home. Is NOT a "Peer" To a Medical Doctor who committed manslaughter by accidentally unplugging the wrong cord and accidentally killing a patient. They are NOT "Peers" in ANY form of the word! The ONLY Common thing, is that their "Home Address" is in the same state. THAT'S IT! It's MINDBLOWING how INSANELY illegal and Unconstitutional Jury Trials are.
Develop and write up a better one in absolute detail which no one can argue against, get elected to congress and introduce the legislation.
@@dennisanderson3895 If someone told you you had a flat tire, and you said, "Well, then, fix it, boob!"... what should they respond?
And that's just working within the system. Our civilization is broken, so DO NOT lecture me about getting elected to congress.
The judge, lawyers, bailiff, and staff are well paid. The jury is there for free = BS.
I made the mistake when I was younger of staying on a jury on a civil trial for way too long of time, so many postponements that damaged my relationships back at work. But, it was quite the education for me, seeing a group of people from different walks of life not agree on the potential outcome. They were so lucky to have settled while we were in deliberations.
If I tell them when they are interviewing me as a potential juror "Until the supreme court overrules the ability of police officers to lie to citizens I can not in good conscience take the word of ANY law enforcement official as truth or their eyewitness testimony as anything other than hearsay." Will that get me removed from their mailing list as a juror or will they continue to pester me to drive 30 miles away to be bothered with this again?
You should sit on the jury. And vote not guilty if it's based on cop testimony. THEN explain why.
@@notmyname3883 you don't have to explain why. Tell them to wait for the book to come out. LOL
@@notmyname3883 No. DO NOT EVER explain why you voted the way you voted on a jury. No one can compel you to explain, and if you explain voluntarily, that's how you get in trouble.
The guy who said “I won’t be here tomorrow” was merely predicting the future. And as far as I can tell he was spot on.
Was picked for a jury selection process in Phila Pa around 12 years ago . When the judge asked the question who in this courtroom was ever convicted of a felony 3/4 of the people stood up and were promptly escorted out . I walked in with my I believe in Jury Nullification shirt which resulted in my dismissal. It was for a murder trial and all of the gangbangers friends were hanging out inside of the court room hallways getting a good look at the perspective jurists.
This was In Philly. 12th and Filbert St..
Isn't Chester in north Jersey?@@major__kong
Wearing that shirt could have landed you in more trouble. Judge could have perceived you to be interfering with the trial.
@jeffreycler495 12th and Filbert is all too familiar. Called for jury duty 4 times. Served on 2 criminal cases and 1 civil. I walked into the courtroom with the 40 others and saw quite a few attorneys, paralegals, and plenty of document boxes. I recognized an attorney from the large firm where I was a legal secretary. Upon being questioned, I was allowed to leave. Left Philly 7 years ago. Your experience at the Justice Center 😂😂😂 One year when I was called, they gave out Philly soft pretzels and soft drinks when we were filling out the paperwork. Guess they thought people would be rushing in to serve just to get a free Philly soft pretzel. 😂😂
I halfway expected the juror's lie to be that she either believed in jury nullification or opposed the death penalty and lied about it.
If you want to be excused from jury duty wear an American flag T-shirt and randomly use the world Constitution when answering questions during jury selection. Especially if the ask for something in writing. For example "When I read the Constitution last night, I learned....." Works every time.
Wear a MAGA hat
You can also go the opposite route and say, "I believe cops lie and plant false evidence."
Quote Marx and wear a Che Guevara shirt. Get a prominent (temporary) ACAB or 1312 tattoo.
Or wear a punisher T-shirt. That one got me dismissed from a double murder case.
Or the Bill of Rights
Two magic words: "Juror nullification."
I had a female friend who was a single, working mother with a young daughter. She was distraught when she received a jury notice and asked me what she should do. She was already having financial problems and the father had never paid a dime in child support over all those years. So having served on 3 juries myself plus having also been an expert witness in 3 trials, I told her to appear in the jury room and when they asked if anyone there had a hardship to then raise her hand and get in line. She and several others then had to speak to the judge who was a lady. My friend told the judge about her being a single mom, that the father would not pay child support and that missing even a day of work would be financially difficult plus not being at home when her daughter got home from school. The judge immediately told the clerk to declare my friend's case a hardship and she was dismissed. I won a lot of praise from my friend for my helping her!
Decades ago my older sister was the single mother of a toddler, trying to claw her way out of dependence on welfare. The child's father could not be located, so no child support. My sister always said that if she got called for jury duty, she would take her child with her and say she couldn't afford a babysitter. (Which was entirely true.) I always wondered what would have happened if she actually tried that.... And she eventually did get off of welfare, had a successful career, and her child is quite successful as well.
I was working and taking care of my mother who had Alzheimer's, 2004-2009 and called the court office and told her and was released and didn't get another jury duty notice till last year, now I hit a age that they won't contact me anymore
Here’s your Gold Star!
Spare me the ‘daddy won’t pay’ and every other ‘I’m a victim’ BS. You get the call to serve, you serve.
@FR-tb7xh I agree too many people lie about fathers not paying their child support to me those stories of top or pure bullshit.
I recently served as juror on a murder trial. We were paid $50 for 6 days of a 3 week trial and so many people had to back out due to the money crippling them that they started NOT allowing us to back out due to financial distress. Juror selection took 2 weeks before the trial.
The court didn't provide parking so we had to pay 10+ dollars a day to park. It also cost me over $15 a day in gas to drive the hour there and hour back.
The Just US system is making it very clear that if you are poor you will never be on a jury of your peers and are making it so only the well off will be able to afford to be jury members. I lost THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS of income to do what I was more or less forced by the state to do.
Oh, and that $50 a day didn't kick in until after, like, 11 days of being on jury and was TAXED. So, take the 15 in gas and the 10 in parking out of it and I got 25 a day to live on... Oh wait, tax... I got about 17 a day.
Welcome to the MA court system.
The payment of jurors is atrocious. It should be attached to the minimum wage instead of being stuck in the 1950;s.
Apropos of Steve’s story at the end, I got called for Jury duty this past summer but couldn’t make it because I was teaching a summer class and no substitute was available. All I had to do was write a statement and have it notarized at the courthouse. They never asked for any proof.
Easiest way to get dismissed from jury duty: "I have heard of, and believe in, jury nullification."
I will go thru jury selection on Monday, Jan 8th, and also plan to use that term. I am self-employed and will lose $300-$500 per day, while I sit on a jury.
unfortunately many will still seat you these days.. Its crazy.
@@blaqlabspodcast5816🧢
@@blaqlabspodcast5816 What do you mean "unfortunately"? Understanding your rights as a juror is a good thing, and exercising those rights can only be done while seated on a jury. If choosing not to hide your ignorance of jury nullification doesn't result in your dismissal (which it always, always has before), then that is a good thing, too.
If you're just looking for a magic phrase to get you out of jury duty, quote Carlin: "Tell him you'd make a terrific juror because you can spot guilty people."
I was called for jury duty, I told the court that I have 2 court orders to fix my problem to another court case. I was sole provider for me and my 3 employees and the court refuse to let me off. All of us lost wages and I sat never be called for jury duty that week. One employee was evicted from apartment and left the state. YEAH AA county Courts.
The federal government was easier to get off. If you were important at your job they let you out. The foreman in my job had to leave federal jury duty cause the other person who did his job quit. He was the only person who could do the job for his company. He was a chemist.
I lived in a city where there were so few people that were eligible jurors that the pool of jurors was small and the request for jury trials were high. Jury duty paid $25 a day, that didn't cover parking and lunch.
I'd get the summons yearly, have to drive downtown, pay $20 to park, another $10-15 for lunch, to sit around most of the day, for some numbnut judge to decide he might want to empanel a jury @4:30PM. We didn't get out until after 8:00PM, so no one was happy.
The court system is a joke. Nothing runs on time. Jurors were required to report by 8:00AM, watch a propaganda video on how important the jury system is, only to sit until just before a working person eats lunch, then sent off the a court room, where you were excused for lunch @ 1:00PM, but be back by 2:30PM. Total amount of time in the court room was less than 3 hours a day.
I've been the foreperson 3 times, twice for murder trials and once for a attempted murder. In one murder trail and the attempted murder trial, the State royalty botched the case, with failing to send evidence for testing and failure of their expert witness to show up. The other murder trial took three days, less than 2 hours to decide his guilt. (home invasion of a drug stash house)
One case was featured by the Innocence Project.
Got out of jury duty last year due to a (legitimate) medical issue; I just had to call them and tell them it would be problematic. They didn't even ask for evidence (e.g. letter from my doctor); just said "if you believe this is a temporary condition we'll contact you again in a few months". Just yesterday I received another summons, and this time I plan to serve. Smooth functioning of our justice system requires the active participation of the public, and I intend to do my part.
Was out of state for 5 years and was called up twice, but the clerk accepted my reason and dismissed my jury duty. The year after I got back , though, I was called up and even though I was not selected for the jury I stayed for the trial and it was very educational about how the trial process works. Learned that the defense counsel can straight up lie in closing statements... that it is the job of the prosecution to catch the lie and point it out to the jury and the prosecution did not catch it. Apparently it is ok to sow doubt in the jury's mind with statements not supported by witness' testimony if that lie is not debunked by prosecution. For some naive reason, I thought attorneys on both sides had to be truthful.
@snsnplpl A major problem with the justice system is the cops are allowed to lie to you but you aren't allowed to lie to them.
I hope you were told at the beginning of the trial and just before you began deliberating that opening and closing statements are not evidence or testimony, so you can't consider them in your deliberation. I don't know that attorneys actually lie, but they can stretch the truth at times.
The prosecutor can lie as well as cops.
That's why the answer to the age-old question you see on TV shows, "Are you aware, sir, that you are under OATH?" is, "Yes, counsellor, just as I am aware that YOU are NOT."
@@james-pYes and no. Both attorneys for the prosecution and defense are considered officers of the court, and held to a somewhat higher standard than the citizens participating in court proceedings.
Steve actually talks about this in one of his videos.
Im gonna show up for duty. The answer to the first question would be. What are the odds of a lawyer, prosecutor or judge being corrupt? Why would I be part of this trial.
I had federal jury duty once in Philadelphia and it was horrible. I will do everything within my power (legally) to avoid having to do it again.
it seemed lots of people in Philadelphia feel the same.
Same
When I was called to serve on a jury I found out that State employees would still receive their salaries if selected for jury duty.That was in California back in the early 1970s.That really made me mad as I worked construction and was told if I was selected for jury duty and the job was completed before a verdict I would be dismissed from the company as the construction jobs are temporary,and legal for them to lay me off.I protested to the court and I did not have to serve.I had a letter from the Company that documented the state law and the company policy.I have never felt the same about serving on a jury since.Never thought of wearing a shirt stating I believe in jury nullification,of course you might be found in contempt of court for not wearing the correct clothes.
So you stated your reasons for not being able to serve and were let off...
What's the issue?
Not the courts fault your employers were assholes.
I put down the same thing on the form every time they send one out. "I do not believe in punishment for a victemless crime and will not vote to convict someone of alleged crime." Never been called in for jury duty in my 15 years of eligibility.
I was lucky to work for a company that compensated their employees for serving on Jury Duty minus the pittance you get from the court ($10 per/day).
I served on a jury in 2021 for a child molester. Very sad and shocking testimony daily. He will be a guest of the state for many years to come.
My employer paid me my full hourly wages for every day served. I had to give them the check from the court.
I've been called 3 times. The 1st time, I could not have afforded missing work as a substitute teacher. 2nd time, wasn't needed. Since then I filled out the online form with an unfortunate truth: I now have a traumatic brain injury that could make it very difficult for me to understand testimony. I haven't heard anything since then, but I assume they won't want me for a federal grand jury.
It's kind of a bummer because I think it could be very interesting to be a juror.
I got called in for jury duty on a civil case. The plaintiffs attorney represented me a couple of years prior on a minor traffic citation that I decided to fight.
When I was asked why I should be excused, I said "because I like the attorney, he did a good job representing me", and I was allowed to leave right away.
Steve: I am a trial lawyer. I have never had this happen in one of my cases, thank goodness. Surprisingly, I really enjoy listening to your videos. Sometimes a learning event. Best wishes
Last time I received a jury summons I was able to defer a month.
I am the only one left to run our small power plant. I am on call
all the time but after September I rarely get called to run the plant.
October, I had to report but wasn't selected. I have seen lots of people
excused the first day of selection. I find your videos very informative.
Thank you for making them.
Easiest way to get out of jury duty is when the defense lawyer asks you if you could be a fair and impartial juror, you say yes, but your client does look a little guilty..They'll hustle you right out of there.
well you can't determine guilt by looks, so maybe good to send you home
Just don't go. Unless they come get you, you aren't required to be there.
It depends on the race
@cathymcmahan7530 if they have tattoos you can tell they are guilty.
@@TheBagOfHolding no it doesn't
I've been called for duty several times but was never selected to be on the bench. They always remind us how serious they take these trials and the risk you take if you do something to disrupt or compromise them.
Problem with putting jurors in jail is that when a prospective juror hears it, they're less likely to be willing to serve
I just want to know if we are going to jail a juror for lying under oath then how about we start jailing these police officers who lie under oath to try and maliciously prosecute an innocent man or woman.
@@skillethead15Police rarely go on the witness stand, and when they do, they can absolutely be prosecuted if what they say is false.
I'm glad this judge got to dispense justice for perjury, which is more than the US Congress seems to be able to do.
Was called to jury duty once, showed up wearing raggedy old clothes, didn't shave or shower for two weeks. Was dismissed immediately and never called again.
I served on a statutory rape case once... An older guy about 35 or 40 and a girl who was 17 at the time of the alleged offense but 18 in reality. The girl was tangentially friends with my GF at the time... When they asked if there was any reason I couldn't be there I explained I said "I am pretty sure she is friends with my girlfriend" which I thought would get me thrown out but it didn't.
I wasn't thrilled to do it but went along for the experience.
The case had no physical evidence only verbal testimony and the guy was either married or in a long-term relationship.
All of us jurors came to the conclusion that it was certainly possible they had a 'relationship' in some form but the state simply had absolutely no evidence... We couldn't in good conscience send him away on what amounted to a he said-she said.
Honestly I was pretty young at the time but I was amazed that they even brought the case against him considering the lack of evidence/witnesses.
Pretty sure the guys wife even said the girl was motivated by his rejection of her flirting... 😅 Of course she would say that either way...
It makes it hard to make a good decision and you have to deeply consider the fact that you'd be sending someone 'down the river'
In a way we essentially defaulted to him being innocent since he wasn't proven guilty.
Most prosecutors care about winning not justice.
You did exactly what you are supposed to do. If the state cannot prove guilt, and prove it beyond a reasonable doubt, vote not guilty. This is how the system is supposed to work.
Sounds like you did everything right. You brought your potential conflict of interest up to the appropriate authority and let them decide if it disqualified you. Defaulting to him being innocent since you didn't believe the prosecution proved his guilt was exactly what you were supposed to do too. Good on you for doing your civic duty, and doing it the right way.
So you did what you supposed to do, innocent until proven with no doubt guilty.
it's sad these days most people will be found guilty with just that stuff now, they include stuff like cell phone texts as well as evidence even though it's just fricken words on a screen tiny lcd screen.
I was on a jury, and at one point they had us all leave the courtroom and wait in the lobby between the courtrooms. I was totally board, and didn't have a cell phone as they hadn't been invented yet, I was so board I was reading the dockets on the other courtrooms. I was really interested in noticing our defendant was listed on one of the other courtrooms.
I did the smart thing and kept my mouth shut. We convicted our guy of assault with a deadly weapon, causing serious bodily harm. It was his third offense so he went away for quite some time.
Much later I ran across the DA and told him what I'd seen. He got a kind of shocked look on his face, then thanked me for not saying anything as it could have caused a mistrial.
And no, seeing his name didn't affect my vote, the guy was a scumbag and was totally guilty.
We had over 80 people show up for our jury pool. The judge asked the room some questions and people raised their jury number up like an auction after each question. They tracked which numbers were raised. The prosecutor and defense attorney chatted for several minutes after the questioning was done and the pool was picked. It was an interesting morning.
If only judges had this much enthusiasm for the law when it applies to themselves.
Ill never show up for jury again. Woman was malicious an ill natured but shouldn't be jailed for 6 months. When she was sleeping in deliberation, she should have been ousted. She shouldn't have been picked in the firat place.
Probably the reason Steve that you've been through the process but never select to actually serve on a jury is because you are an attorney and 1 side or the other wasn't comfortable with that
Stating that you believe criminals should be held accountable and serve full term sentences will get you out quicker than stating that you have typhoid fever cough cough.
I'm sure that's the case. The one time I was called for jury service there was a guy in our jury pool who was a lawyer who argued cases before that same judge all the time. But before any jurors could be dismissed the defendant cut a plea deal and we went home.
@@shadowninja6689 you bring up a good point that the attorney could very well know the judge or an officer of the court. What I was getting at is that 1 of 2 scenarios are possible the 1st is that the prosecutor may not have a very good case and having some who knows things like the various rules of evidence, and just a better working knowledge of the law would not work to their advantage in that situation even though the judge is there to enforce those rules there is always the chance that the judge will either miss something or let it slide and so if a potential jurors happens to be an attorney they wouldn't have any chances of winning their case.
The 2nd scenario is that the defence
Doesn't want an attorney on the jury for a similar reason to the 1st that someone who has legal training may not see something about the defense strategy of the case itself the same as a general member of the public , and I have to point out that the 2nd scenario is likely as how that is a common reason to take a jury trial over a bench trial and given that a jury trial is a lot more expensive then a bench trial that was definitely considered
@@cybersal7 well so is saying that you don't believe in the war on drugs or that you don't believe that people should go to jail for possession of marijuana if it happens to be a drug case , or for that matter stating that you don't trust police will also get you the same thing. For that matter according to sociology black people are less likely to trust the police which for a long time has been viewed as a reason to try to keep them from serving on juries as they are less likely to convict so I guess what I'm saying is that the knife 🔪 cuts both ways. And I'm not completely sure that I really believe in jurors selection as I feel that a jury may should be a completely random segment of the public and not cherry 🍒 picked so that 1 side or the other has an easier time making their case on the other hand I'd hate too be the defendent in that in that case if I had a juror that will convict simply because they didn't like my race , or gender or something about me that has nothing to do with the case at hand
But I would have to say that if you're looking at it from the point of view that they may remove a potential juror from the jury because they want to be tough on crime bare in mind that a prosecutor will award work to what ever extent is necessary to make their case where as public defenders are often over worked under paid and limited on resources, often times they don't even have enough to familiarize themselves with a give case to provide for adequate defense let alone cherry picking jurors to a greater extent so I would have to say that if you don't have a paid attorney juror select does not work in your favor
so the final thing I will say is from the point of view that you put forward, that saying that someone should be punished to the full extent of the law will get you removed from a jury well if your point of view is that we are not tough enough on crime, then juror select actual results in your favor as it results in harsher penalties and higher conviction rates because many people can't afford to hire a private attorney
Depends on whether he was challenged peremptorily or for cause. Both the prosecution (plaintiff in a civil case) and the defense get a specified number of peremptory challenges, meaning that they can disqualify a potential juror without having to give a reason. But, when they have exhausted their preemptory challenges, every subsequent challenge must be for cause. But you're right, the fact that he was an attorney was almost certainly the reason for his disqualification.
Each time I go to jury duty, I tell the judge I'm biased against everyone. Last trial, I said I was biased against tax drivers cause they don't know how to drive, entire courtroom burst out laughing (not sure why). When we returned from a break, the taxi company had settled the case and we were free to go. I made $80.
Mad lad 🤣
Fact checked and verified ✅
I fought the law and the law won. 😂
The "law" will fall. When it's in the pit it will be no more.
I remember as a cop I got called for jury duty once. Now I did have knowledge of the case as it occurred on a the night shift and I came on the day shift the next day. My boss knew I was not going to sit on the jury. But when my boss asked the prosecutor if I do even need to show, I was told yes. So I did sit through voir dire. Got to the point of the judge and attorneys asking if anyone has knowledge of the case. Of course, I raised my hand. Judge asked if it's real or coffee shop knowledge, I said it's real knowledge your honor. Eventually, the defense attorney asked me what I do for work, and I said a police officer. Immediately followed, asking I be dismissed as a jurror.
Side note I was the 2nd person dismissed. The first was someone who was a close family friend of the defendant and was quite adimate they did not want to sit in judgment. They tried, but he still persisted and eventually agreed to dismissed that person.
Why would anyone want to serve on a jury that gives the judge the power to overturn the juries verdict?
Reminds me of the Curtis Flowers case, when Judge Loper jailed Mr. Bibbs and had him indicted on 2 counts of perjury because he was the lone holdout for a guilty verdict. The charges were dropped by the AG.
OMG! That sounds like judicial abuse.
How about the few cases Steve’s covered where the judge doesn’t like the jury’s verdict and over rules it…imagine sitting there for weeks listening to evidence, deliberating for hours/days, then deliver a verdict only to have the judge tell you it was all for naught.
*edit - naught 4 not
"naught"
@GhostDrummer
@wisdomrules8474 Yeah. Curtis Flowers was tried something like 6 times. Every time he was found guilty, the verdict was overturned for misconduct.
Just Wiki'ed it. Mississippi. Biased Judge. No evidence against Mr. Bibbs. Story checks out.
My brother was on a jury a few years ago. He was pretty unhappy to be there because it was during a scheduled vacation and they wouldn't even delay his service. He told the other jurors that he hoped it would go quickly so he could meet up with his friends for at least the last couple of days. One of the women said her vacation started in three days and she didn't care she was going anyway. It wasn't over and and she didn't show up. He said the judge asked them if they knew why and when he heard he issued a warrant for her right then. They did have an alternate so proceeded. He never found out what happened to her.
That's crazy. If you can prove you've got a scheduled vacation they should let you out of duty while telling you that you'll be called back after your vacation.
Pretty awful court system. City of Los Angeles allows for one postponement of summons for any reason, no questions asked.
The vast majority of judges are very reasonable when it comes to jury duty, but there are a few A-holes. One judge who I call "Judge Jerk (JJ)" told us, during jury selection, that if we had sick time or vacation time we would be required to use it and he would not allow us to be dismissed because, "My employer pays for 10 days and I've already been here (in and out of the jury assembly room) for 8 days." That was the exact situation I was in and I wasn't happy at the thought of having to use precious vacation time for jury duty (my company wouldn't allow me to use sick time for jury duty). JJ was also a control freak (go figure!) and told us sternly that we would have to abide by HIS interpretation of the law and nothing else when he gave us instructions at the beginning of deliberations. JJ also said if we had a problem with that then we were duty bound under penalty of perjury to tell him NOW!. So I raised my hand and when called upon (rather wearily, since I'd already made a pest of myself) I told that judge that if what he said flew in the face of common sense then I wouldn't abide by it. I also said that considering some of the verdicts that had been in the news recently I had to believe the jurors were going by the judge's instructions instead of using common sense. JJ asked me for examples and I quickly gave him three. He didn't look happy and I didn't care. I ended up being the second person dismissed and I didn't waste any time leaving JJ's courtroom.
People think that they can just decide not to show up one day for jury duty, like they were back in school and just decided not to show up on test day, or any classes.
Our court system is not like your school experience. You can’t just “cut court” without serious ramifications. It’s a whole different ballgame where your BS doesn’t work.
@@zombieshoot4318 The feeling I got was that neither the brother nor the woman said anything to the judge. In the woman's case, it sounds like she just took off and didn't show up which is not a good move. When I've been called for jury duty, most judges are good about dismissing anyone who already had plans that would be impacted by the trial, but you have to speak up and let them know. Many people are afraid they will get in trouble if they do this. When I tell people what I said to Judge Jerk, they are surprised and ask if I got in trouble. I tell them no, I didn't get in trouble. I wasn't disrespectful, just truthful. I have my First Amendment right to free speech and the judge basically ordered us to let him know if we had a problem with having to use only his interpretation of the law. The fact that he didn't like my answer was his problem, not mine.
can't you just ask about jury nullification to get out of it?
Asking about that doesnt disqualify you, it just ensures that the Prosecutor will block your selection
It kinda depends. I remember my mom complaining about a panel where several people pretended to be biased. She said that several of them were selected. It would be exactly the same, unless you're great at acting. It's probably better to cite your real reason. Be prepared to go into detail and provide evidence. If you feel like your reason isn't good enough, try it anyway. Those work more often.
I have been called for jury duty several times here in Washtenaw County. The only time i got picked for a trial was the first time. Back then, you had to serve for a month. I served on 3 trials over the month. Definitely an eye opening experience for someone who has never been in court before.
When I hear bar talk and office talk it makes me think I would rather have bench trial than ever be judged by my peers.
Give the people on jury's a hundred bucks a day
That's a pay cut for the average person. They should pay whatever your normal daily pay is.
They should get at least 15 bucks an hour
Some people make that in an hour.
That should have been done 20 years ago. Now it needs to be $200/day.
Long overdue....when they only pay 7 bucks a day, just exactly who is not
going to have a hardship serving on a jury?
Since this is about jury duty, I'll relate my experience, I got the notice for jury duty for the FIRST day of in person trials in Ocala, FL after COVID. I arrived at the courthouse about 15 minutes before the appointed time, 8:00 AM, signed in, filled out the paperwork the court gave us and found a seat in the jury pool room. There were around 150 of us in the room. After about 20 minutes someone from the courts came in and explained that there were two trials happening that day and a judge would be coming down at some point to talk with anyone who had any hardships. About an hour and a half later, they told us that one of the cases had come to a plea deal and the judge would be in shortly. She came in, sat behind an official looking courtroom bench and talked to about 25 people, most of whom were allowed to leave. They then called 20 people to go to the courtroom of the remaining trial. The rest of us sat there. Around 12:30, they came in, said they were going to call another 20 to stay in case they ran through the first 20 without seating a full jury and the rest of us were thanked for our time and dismissed. So that was my post COVID jury experience, show up, fill out some papers, watch people talk to a judge and sit in a chair for 4 and a half hours.
Which is why I always bring a good book with me....
This is most people's experience with jury duty. It's a very inefficient process.
my experience with jury duty... happened when covid hit. they closed the courts and cancelled all cases for jury and I did not even have to turn up. now that its over I am expecting another juror summons any day now
@@silverhammer7779 _It's a very inefficient process._ It's about as efficient as it can be... other than the BS questioning from the lawyers. They have to call jurors a month before hand, and rarely have their shit together enough to know what trials will be happening in a month. Then they know nothing at all about the people they're calling, so there's a fair number that check the boxes and are excused. And then there's some that don't show, for numerous reasons. So on a day they're seating for two trials, they may still call 300 people, just to get the ~100 they need.
The last selection I sat through, there were 60 people sent to the court. By the time we had 14 seated, there were only a dozen+ left in the gallery. And we started at 10am. As there's no limit on the number that can be dismissed "for cause", it's impossible to know how many potentials you'll need.
@@ghostwriter720 So many people had bad trials during covid. Doing things remote that should be done in person is a very, very bad idea. You lose all sense of body language and perception. They really did a disservice to America.
I got an application for jury duty about 20 years ago.
I wrote that I will not sit in judgment of my fellow man. No matter the evidence presented by the state my vote will be not guilty.
I have never been contacted since.
They ever call me for jury duty I'm going to say not guilty out of spite.
"do you have any financial reasons to not serve on a jury"
Aka, the poors who are overwhelming the ones subjected to policing will never get a jury of their peers.
I work for a newspaper. I was called once, and when I walked in the courtroom the judge said hi Jim and that was it I got sent back. The next time around they asked if anybody knew any police officers. I raised my hand. They asked me how many and how well. I told him I had most of the command staff in my cell phone. That got me sent back.
Basically they call for a week here and you have to go everyday and show up unless you're not needed. I've done that three times and never sat on a jury once. As soon as they find out I'm with the paper I'm done.
The last time was pretty neat though. We were all in the main assembly room at the start of the first day and the court clerk reminded everyone that you could get out of jury duty but that you would be recalled for a later panel. He also strongly suggested that we sit for this one because even if we were sent home our jury duty was filled for two years. One guy insisted that he had a business to run. The court clerk basically told him that you should just sit here and wait it out. He didn't he left. 30 minutes later they said both cases had settled and we all got to go home with our jury duty fulfilled for 2 years. He on the other hand got to go back to the next panel and you only get one get out unless it's one of the mandatory ones
I've never served on a jury, but I've always been worried about getting selected and causing a mistrial because I can see a possibility where the evidence and testimony might not be enough for me to make a decision.
You would be great on a jury. A lot of people would go with the crowd. Even if they had doubts.
That shouldn't worry you.
"evidence and testimony might not be enough for me to make a decision."
You can still make the decision to vote *not guilty.* Not guilty doesn't mean *innocent.* It just means they didn't prove the case *beyond a reasonable doubt.*
“Beyond reasonable doubt”
That's called "reasonable doubt" and you're supposed to deliver a not guilty verdict. Don't feel bad or recuse yourself!
Most jurors are probably biased to deliver a guilty verdict. Our culture has a heavy bias toward punishing the "bad guy." There's also such a pro-police bias in mass media.
Your consideration of the evidence and testimony is correct. A lot of false convictions are caused by flimsy evidence and bad testimony!
Did anyone even take a little time to ask the woman why she did what she did? The couple of times that I have been called, the judge and the lawyers were so condescending and acted as if what THEY do is the most important thing in the world. It was incredibly off putting. I was sitting there totally bored out of my mind for 5 days and they still weren't even half way thru seating a jury. Every time I could see the judge glance at the rest of the court room I would give a little gesture as in "lets move this along". When finally in the "hot seat" I expressed my desire that if this is how long it was taking to seat a jury then I wanted nothing to do with the trial. The people in the black robes (what's with that anyway) need to learn that people have lives too.
She gave her reasons. It's in the video.
What happened to jury nullification and the law where jurors can not be prosecuted.
I've _always_ wanted to serve on a jury, but have only been called once. For some reason, they seem to keep rejecting me when I tell them that I can tell if someone is guilty or not simply by looking them in the eyes.... if their eyes are too close together, they are guilty!