I am a retired nurse and retired civil attorney. I have been called for jury duty several times but never picked. I would have liked to be on a jury for the experience. I was once called for a criminal case on a case that I was handling a civil claim.
@@AlexonthetubeYou can volunteer for many things.....jury duty isn't one of them. Too many people could potentially become "professional jurors" and no longer be impartial if they allowed it. It would also be a good way to stack the deck if a specific case were coming up for trial.
The only time I served was for a civil case in federal court. It turned out to be a seven week trial so sometimes you’re better off not getting what you wish for.
I got picked for jury duty, but was late because there was no parking ANYWHERE except paid street parking, which was also crowded, and I had to walk several blocks to try to find a nondescript building amongst other nondescript buildings with absolutely no sign or lettering save the small sign on the front entrance. I told the woman at the desk that if they want people to show, why do they make it so hard to get there? She shook her head and said "I know, I hear that all the time".
honestly that's why here i started using transports they are mucu slower and ofc worse to go on but holy hell i hate looking for parking and paying a shit ton of money rjust to park far away
Blame America for car centric Infrastructure. I personally think we should be transitioning to walkable and bike-friendly cities and people SHOULD be paying for parking so that you can incentive walking and biking more. But in cities that you literally have to have a car to get anywhere, it just fu##s the working class for no reason.
@@Monke1312_ actually the opposite, it was the government stopping “useless” expenses like classical, identifiable buildings to focus on welfare that lead to a Brutalist nondescript building. The “working” class isn’t the victim.
@@Monke1312_ I do blame it, and I wish that city's development wasn't planned out by a toddler and a monkey using crayons. Making cities reliant on cars, and with no functional public transport, is a bane of the USA. But also, it would have helped this particular situation if the court just implemented their own parking garage or visitor lot, and at least put a large sign out by the street where people could actually see it. Of both types of problems, it's another scenario in life where stupidly obvious design flaws cause so many problems, and no one with the ability to is ever going to care to fix them.
I've only known one person that is practically barred from jury duty and that person is me. The one and only time I got called up for jury duty, I was dismissed because the attending EMT was my best friends mom, went to high school with the first officer on scene, the case detective was a coworkers husband, and the DAs paralegal was my ex. The judge thanked me for showing up and basically said they were just gonna strike my name from the county rolls to avoid a repeat.
I served on a DUI manslaughter case years ago. The lawyers on both sides asked my profession. I'm an RN. They asked about marital status. They asked if I knew any of the police officers involved since I lived in the same area that the accident occurred in. What they did not ask was what my specialty was or what area of the hospital I worked in. I was a Trauma-rated ER nurse. Very familiar with proper procedure for drawing blood alcohols. Also I frequently worked with intoxicated patients and was very familiar with how fast a person can metabolize Alcohol based on body size and liver function.
@@Applecompuser that may be, but someone with profession-related experience versus Joe schmoe is going to understand a lot more of the details in a case’s specifics.
I remember in 5th grade, the teacher told us ‘I have to go in to see if I’ll be selected for jury duty. I won’t be selected’, said it with absolute confidence. Turns out the man on trial was the perpetrator of a school shooting. When asked why she might be unfit, apparently all she said was ‘I’m a teacher’. Fair enough!
@@oo-xb6gv I’m sorry, what’s the question? I was saying she wasn’t selected for jury duty because she would be a biased juror for that case. I think anyone who works in a school, janitors included, would’ve been removed from the jury.
@@LuckyBones77 Im sorry I'm just really confused by how it was phrased 😭 I dont know if its just late rn or smth Edit: I reread it with your clarification and it makes perfect sense now
My one time doing hours not being picked for a civil trial, we had time to chat in the hallway. I came across a guy who said "I'll never get picked--I used to work for the defense lawyer doing research". We had whittle 100 people down to 24 and from that the lawyers and judge did "something" behind closed doors and picked the 12+1alt to use. When they called the excused numbers, I was in the list of excused, the former-employee-researcher was selected to serve. We looked at each other like "WTF just happened?"
The one time I genuinely wanted to be on jury duty we had a state prosecutor in our pool. He as asked something to the effect of can you be impartial. He said something like "If someone gets so far that I'm sitting here, they're probably guilty." Our entire pool was dismissed a few days later.
I’m surprised a judge would even be allowed to try a case where their spouse was in the jury. It’s possible the judge could be talking about the case at home which would potentially taint the spouse’s judgement. That seems like an easy in for the losing side to get an appeal.
As a juror I wasn't allowed to talk about the case at home or even with the other jurors. You have to leave your notes at the court house and you aren't even allowed to do independent research at home.
@@elenna_alexiaNo they absolutely wouldn't know better. People in very high levels of government military, secret services, intelligence agencies you name it very often and very frequently tell their spouses everything. For many married couples the law and confidentiality just doesn't exist.
During district court voi deer, I was last person in our group of 40. I barely said where I worked (well known law firm) & the judge gave me the eyes above the glasses look & motioned I should keep talking. I explained my role (trainer & tech support) & that I had witnessed a violent robbery before (defendants case), etc. Both sets of attys looked my way & after the judge asked if I knew how his bench was set up & that he could use a few tips (I did, we worked closely with the district & federal trainers), he asked me a few more questions, nodded & then looked at both sets of counsel. Moments later, I was the first to be cut, pulled aside & released early lol.
Just keep witnessing crimes, apparently! The only question on the questionnaire I answered yes to was "have you witnessed a crime in the last 10 years?" When I got up to the mic, I asked the judge how I should order them...chronologically, proximity... He said "let's go with chronologically." After 5, he stopped me and said "have you ever committed a crime yourself?" "Outside of minor traffic violations and one traumatic but accidental shoplifting incident when I was 6, no." "Well, you don't seem to cause trouble, but you sure do attract it. Would either of the sides like to strike this juror?" Both said strike at the same time. "Thank you, ma'am, you can leave."
Honestly, sounds like the kind of funny scene from a sitcom where a background character is cut, right before the main character tries to bs their way out of it only to be forced on.
@@finris1 It would be funny if it wasn't true. I've rarely been a victim (my house was burglarized about 15 years ago during a spree in my neighborhood, but otherwise nothing happened *to me*), but I just seem to keep ending up in proximity to crimes! And it's rarely near my home or work! Like the most similar one to the charges the defendant was facing was a fight with weapons (a wrench on one side and box cutter on the other, I just got out of the way, no need to duck and cover for flying bullets) that happened to happen while I was walking into a subway station MILES from my home, that I almost never use but did that time because the cheapest rental car I could get for something I needed to do was a couple blocks away from it! The judge even asked what I was doing at that subway station because the sheer dumb luck of ending up in YET ANOTHER circumstance like that is uncanny!
I was once in the jury pool and they asked "do you know anyone involved in this case?" One lady told them that she was a 911 dispatcher and had taken several call regarding the case. Instant dismissal. She knew that whatever probably whatever case it would be, she woukd not be there long. The last time I was called in to jury duty, as soon as I walked in the court room, I knew I would not be on the jury. The arresting officer was a friend from highschool and the defendant was a creepy guy who was a customer at a place I worked that always made me feel uncomfortable. I didn't get dismissed right away, and I'm still kinda annoyed by that.
@@oo-xb6gv And how do you know the guy was genuinely creepy? You're just trusting the subjective opinion of a random person on UA-cam. And being "creepy" isn't a crime anyways.
nice. I did the jury pool. I've been called twice. But I figured out it was being a pre school teacher, as the cases I was not picked for were about potential child abuse and sexual abuse. Only later reading the news did I go Oh well I would not pick me!
I got told as a corrections officer that it wasn't a conflict of interest to be on a jury. Didn't end up needing to serve. But they would've never been able to put a person I found guilty into the prison I worked at. My biggest concern tho was that the word might get passed to guys in my prison to get revenge. Didn't seem like a good idea.
It might not have been a conflict of interest in their eyes, but it would be easy to get out of jury duty on that one. When they ask you if you could be impartial and unbiased, you could honestly say, "No, I'm disinclined to convict someone because it could endanger me if word got out at the prison where I work."
I was an information security forensic audit analyst for 26 years before I retired. Usually I was allowed to just check in for jury duty and then be automatically released, along with those who worked for the police, even though I worked for corporations not the police. Although there were times when I had to stay, because too many people didn't show up for jury duty. In one rather humorous instance where everyone who reported for jury duty was brought in for a case, the defense attorney came to me, reading his notes and actually said, "Not a f***ing chance." He was reprimanded by the judge before properly dismissing me.
Why would they be so adamant not to want you? I am asking because I am curious and going to school right now for information security. I promise I am not doing any social engineering.
Lawyers often dont want people with expertise related to the case because the rest of the jurors will defer to them, and their expertise isn't part of the evidence. Its hard for the to avoid being treated like an expert witness instead of a juror @shy8054
I got called once. My wife worked for the arresting sheriff's office, and it was a case she likely worked on based on the division she was in, and had to disclose during questioning that I knew 90% of the potential witness list from "outside of their work." I have a feeling I know who struck me.
My college professor served on jury duty one summer and he was so mad. Normally he gets the college to write asking him to be excused, but typically he is strike for being a chemist with forensics experience. However that summer it was a financial fraud case so he was kept and had to serve two weeks. He enjoyed the experience as he learned more about financial.
Surprised they let anyone with forensic experience in, since they're more likely to have prejudices against other types of evidence that, say, led to someone who he thought was guilty walking away scot-free.
The only time I’ve ever been called for jury duty I was also a witness on the case. Not sure how they missed that during the selection process but thankfully a quick phone call to the prosecutors office took care of it. I testified without any issues.
I've been called up three times. #1: Theft case. Got the "You are dismissed" after answering yes to "Are you related to someone who has been arrested?" #2: DUI case. Got dismissed because they picked their 6 and alternates out of the 50+ people who had shown up that day. #3: Court closed due to the 'Rona. Which was a bummer, as I was finally NOT working a third-shift job, and the courthouse was less than a mile away.
Every time i get called for jury duty they all how i feel about cops and i tell them that i love them since two of them literally put themselves between me and someone shooting at us after responding to a 911 call as a paramedic, they literally threw me and my partner in a closet and laid on top of us because they had body armor and we didn’t. I tell lawyers that and usually I’m told I’m dismissed shortly after by defense attorneys.
My wife just had Jury duty a few weeks ago. Actually she was an alternate. Watched the whole trial though then she was sent home before they deliberated.... Then she gets a call an hour later. One juror was a high school boyfriend of one of the parties and didn't say anything the whole time! So my wife went back. Which is good because they were on the edge of ruling guilty on a total "she said she said" situation in which there was 0 evidence one way or the other. And my wife got it thrown out. Because there was no evidence either way. Just the words of these two ladies. The judge personally thanked her, for coming back, and I think for being the person who made the jury think about what their job was that day.
I once got picked for jury duty. There was a Cop who was very familiar with the case who would have been on the jury but thankfully recused himself. Good job good video. Thanks.
Had a criminal DV case, one of the prospective jurors was a DV detective with the police department for over 20 years. He got picked for the jury, defense did not object or use one of their preemptive strikes on him.
The reason why we say they love teachers on jury duty has nothing to do with the personality of teachers 😂😂 Since teachers still receive pay during jury duty they tend to be apart of the groups that get dismissed last. I worked at a school for years and I knew several teachers and other school staff that have been on more than one jury during their career as a teacher. I only know 4-5 people in my personal life that have ever been selected to sit on a jury.
Interestingly, in pretty much every province in Canada, lawyers and those who work for certain law-related organizations (eg prosecutors’ offices, public defenders, the Bar, etc) are actually barred from being called for jury duty by statute
In Canada in some provinces anybody who could be seen as having a position of authority over other jurors is not allowed to participate in jury duty, doctors lawyers etc
In High School I took Law as an extra class, and we got to do a teen jury. We went to review a few actual court cases and delivered verdicts. It counted as community service hours. Never been asked for jury duty again but I might like to.
I'm a pathologist, and used to be an RN, and later an NP. I've been selected for jury duty 9 times total. Never picked. Now i spend about 90% of my time testifying in court in criminal neglect cases against people who include colleagues (i take medical malpractice and neglect very seriously) Think the shittiest case i had to testify for, was a retired DA and his wife, charged with criminal child abuse. I did the autopsy on the toddler they were supposed to be fostering. their lawyer argued that the kid got into something while they were distracted. the child had about 2.5qts of chemical cleaner in her stomach and intestines. No way that kid drank that much, without 'help'.
@@cisium1184 imagine going a whole trial wondering where your judge is then some rando from the jury box gets up at the very end and goes and sits behind the podium lmao
A lot of the time it’s in the jury questionnaire that you fill out right when you get your summons. Some places have you do it online, others by mail. It will ask your age, occupation, educational attainment, etc.
Juries in different places are picked in different ways. I have had jury panels where I had a list of occupations. In others, I didn't have anything except for what I asked the jury.
@@JasonFightsCrime must not be a thing in Massachusetts, cuz I got picked for a jury a few years ago, and I got a summons last week, never had to tell them what I do for work
In California, certain professions are exempt or excluded. For example, since police officers are dismissed from selection 99% of the time, they are exempt. However, that doesn't apply to correctional officers.
I'm not sure if that counts as a conflict of interest or not; the judge and jury are supposed to be impartial. Other hand, the wife could conceivably influence the judge, and therefore have more power than a regular juror.
I'm a retired critical care / ER nurse. Ironically, I became an expert witness for nursing after I was involved in a deposition for a wrong site surgery (caused by the patient!) Because I stayed calm and gave precise answers and no extra info, the lawyer for our organization loved me. I guess he said very few people can easily do that. I think it was because I dealt with and ran thousands of resuscitations and you have to stay calm and efficient to get things done quickly. It was a very nice side job for a while.
I assure you that if the judge’s spouse had been on the jury, any verdict would have been tossed on appeal. If I were that judge, I would have recused myself, if it wasn’t too late in the process to do so - even the appearance of impropriety, even if somewhat accidental or inadvertent, is a violation of judicial ethics rules. Edit: I realize that Mike doesn’t do criminal juries; in civil juries, unanimity is not required because there’s no deprivation of civil rights if a civil jury finds for the other side. Now, a CRIMINAL case guilty verdict should be reversed on appeal (and probably the judge disciplined) if the judge’s spouse were seated on a criminal jury.
@@MikeRafiLawyer if I were a judge, it’s best not to take that chance. Maybe I’m a bit more risk-averse. While the ethics canons don’t absolutely prohibit a spouse-juror, I’m kind of wary of having your name pop up after an OJC opinion, even if in my favor. I’d just move the juror-spouse to another trial on another week and be done with it.
I call it then “when everyone who hears it raises an eyebrow” standard. Because that’s where a reasonable person would see there’s too much potential for conflict.
Best part about this is the genuine slight smile when he said he loved his wife. I can imagine them in the car and she’s going on about how “they” love teachers on jury duty and he is driving and is like “Who TF is “they” explain this to me about “they”… ❤
I was once not picked for jury duty for one trial because it was a murder trial and I once met the director of the medical examiner office in the county I live in.
I worked with a lawyer 30 years ago who ended up as a foreman on a jury about a sexual attack. Also, I worked in a law firm 35 years ago where during questioning the jury one of the firm’s legal secretaries told the court she could not be available for jury because the law firm she worked at was too busy for her to be gone. There was a recess so the judge could call the head partner and explain what happened. After lunch the entire staff was convened in the conference room to explain why none of us or the attorneys were never too busy to serve on a jury! I’ve got lots of stories.
I was on the grand jury for yavapai county arizona for a brief period of time. It was absolutely fascinating, I loved every moment of it. I want to go back to jury duty, I would absolutely do it in a heartbeat.
I’ve been watching your videos lately because I found them interesting. It was not until this one I realized your near me in Georgia. I moved here from Florida 3 years ago and honestly the laws in this state are quite different to Florida. I like learning from you. I have a paralegal degree and a batch in CJ and looked at going to Stetson law back in the day.
I enjoy these videos. They are very enlightening. I find the American jury system so odd sometimes. In my jurisdiction, if you are a lawyer, you cannot sit as a jury member. Even students-at-law are excluded. Police officers, firefighters and doctors are excluded as well. And a judge would excuse you, if you knew one of the lawyers or the judge or even an expert doctor that was going to testify. Lawyers also only have 3 challenges and know very little about the potential jurors.
Durring a jury selection I was on there was a retired judge. he said he was excited to see the other side of a trial. he did not get picked, my theory watching was they ( both defense and prosecution) wanted someone with a college degree but nothing really technical, the case had to do with tax evasion or something with money I can't quite remember.
Judges love government employees cause they get paid regardless so they don't have hardship claims. Atleast that's what the judge said in my last jury duty.
Question. Is a perfect juror even possible? In a very close case, or something that is controversial. At some point a jurors' individual beliefs, experiences and baises have to start creeping in even if its subconsciously.
there is imperfect, & then there is 'introduces a blatantly obvious propensity for bias in parties who are by design distinct in the legal system'. To make a metaphor - it is impossible to achieve perfect safety, something bad can always happen. Does that justify actively running onto the interstate as a smart hobby? No, no it does not.
Generally, jurors aren’t “picked” to be on the jury; they’re just the remaining folks who weren’t excluded and have the lowest juror number. It may sound like semantics, but it’s a little different. It doesn’t work exactly the same everywhere, but I clerked for a judge and we had a bunch of jury trials, so I can say how we did it. Potential jurors each had a number (1, 2, 3, etc.). After voir dire, the lawyers can “challenge” certain jurors to have them excluded. Usually, the judge start with any challenges “for cause” as there’s a reason they can’t be on the jury (they have a demonstrated bias or something). There’s no limit on how many jurors can be excluded “for cause,” but it was up to the judge. He or she could deny the strike if he/she didn’t agree. Then each side has a very limited number of strikes they can use on any potential juror for any reason that isn’t illegal (eg, race). In our case, we started in order with juror #1 (or whoever is lowest after the cause exclusions). And they’d go through one by one “anyone want to exclude this juror?” Once all exclusions were used or they’d gone through enough people to make a jury, it was done. The lowest numbered 12 people left were on the jury, maybe an extra 2-4 alternates if it’s a big criminal trial, and everyone else is sent home. The jurors didn’t know what order we had them in (so alternates also didn’t know they were alternates). But whoever was the highest number very likely wasn’t going to be on the jury no matter how much anyone wanted him/her to be, unless there were enough “for cause” exclusions. Edit for some clarifications: the striking of jurors was done up at the bench with everyone speaking very low so jurors couldn’t hear. We also had music playing. In civil cases, you didn’t need alternates because you could have a verdict with fewer than 12 jurors. But for criminal cases, if you lost a juror for some reason, you’d have a mistrial without an alternate. If you go through the whole trial without losing anyone, then the alternates are told they can go home and only the 12 main jurors deliberate. We had a huge capital case when I clerked and we had 4 alternates. We had to dismiss a juror during the trial, so it was a good thing we alternates. The dismissal was because she kept falling asleep. Normally, that would get her in trouble, so I don’t recommend that as a way to get out of jury duty. But she was spending all night in the hospital with a sick family member. Had she disclosed that during voir dire, she would’ve been excused. So the judge let her out of it without any punishment.
@brendancurtin679 I say "picked" because we had 200 people in the pool. I was *extremely* surprised to be chosen, because I worked in Banking, used to work in Insurance, worked for civil attorneys, had a father and brother who were in Law Enforcement, and my youngest brother is an attorney working for a DA. I felt like I was a bad choice all around. 🤣
@@brendancurtin679 oh my bad, they said picked as the jurors were picked! Glad I could help you out as you misunderstood / misread the original comment! 😊
I had jury duty for a day and half, and one of my follow jurors was a civil attorney and everything was perfectly fine. The case was actually pretty interesting and was also a quick one.
When, as a state judge for more than a generation, the computer ordered me to "jury duty." And I was chosen to sit on a jury. It was a great experience.
In the UK there used to be a statutory list of barred occupations but as far as I know it was repealed and not replaced, so it's open to everyone within reason now.
@@matthewtompkins4338 big agree! I was called for jury duty (Alabama) back in 2020. I didn’t have to show up to the court but I was on call. Quite literally got paid $11 for staying at home.
@@aSpectrumofDorky Yep, the nicest part is it’s one of the few states that require an employer to pay you your regular wages for the day. So even if the state doesn’t pay you much for it your boss has to.
I served as a juror on a PI case before I went to law school. A son sued his mom for providing him a defective ladder. He fell. Soft tissue claim. The dude was a firefighter. To end everyone’s suffering we decided to award less than medical expenses. I had a 30+ year career defending such cases and prosecuting some, too. Two insights from that jury experience guided me in my career: don’t sue a mother and it’s usually not good to let a jury have a case late in the day…..
Interesting. In my country, having any professional legal training, be it as a paralegal, lawyer, or judge, automatically disqualifies you from jury duty.
I got called for jury at 19 years old on the Friday before midterm exam week. I was picked in the initial random selection of jurors and had to sit there getting questioned for a couple hours. The trial was for some felony intent to distribute illicit narcotics or something. Eventually they asked me if there was anything urgent that would prevent me from showing up to future hearings and I said something like "Well I am a student at [the local college] and next week is exam week." The judge and both sets of lawyers just looked at me, then at each, then looked at me again, and then basically told me off for not bringing it up sooner. I was the youngest person in the room by at least 15 years I don't know how none of them realized. I was literally a baby faced kid and nobody thought to ask me about school until after I had been sitting there for most of the day. Honestly annoyed the hell out of me because I ended up missing a couple classes that day for jury duty.
@@MikeRafiLawyerI have a suspicion that lawyers don't want jurors who can make the deliberations complicated. Educated, intelligent, logical people are not a lawyer's first pick. Am I way off base? 🤷
@@rattlecat5968depends on the lawyer and the case there's no right or wrong answer. Some lawyers don't rely on logic for arguments they rely on emotion so having someone who thinks logically may not always be the best pick
I'm a retired engineer. I was called once in graduate school for a federal district court 60 miles away. When I called in they dismissed me immediately. I'm not sure if it was because I was a student or trained as an engineer. I was on a panel of potential jurors in Anderson County TN. It was apparently a slow period as no one on the panel was ever called.
Picked for jury duty and the jury and was madam foreman my first time called. Week long civil case. Interesting as hell. It was during the summer of my junior year of college. Fast forward to me being 10 years into my Nursing career in 2017 and I was an RN and an 1L. Lol. Working corporate compliance for a hospital now.
I had jury duty but was not selected because the case was about SA and I factually admitted that I had 2 friends and 1 family member who were SA'd. I think it's bogus that I was off the case, because literally everyone knows someone who was, but they just don't know it.
Not necessarily everybody; while I'm sure that it could be with everyone you know (friend-of-a-friend is literally guaranteed), probability doesn't give certainties like that.
The #1 unspoken rule that all attorneys everywhere always follow when selecting jurors is "no one with a college education." They want people who think with their hearts, not their brains.
Retired probation officer here. Called for jury duty many times, but dismissed on all but one occasion. I surmised the defense attorney of the republican politician defendant calculated he was getting a conservative juror, but he calculated wrong. I wrote sentencing recommendations for almost 3 decades and, after dispassionately weighing the evidence, voted with the rest of the jury panel for conviction.
I was only ever called for Jury Duty once, and I got excluded for being a college student. My university was 2 counties over from my home county, where I called for Jury Duty. I was studying Criminal Justice with one of my Minors being in Crime Scene Investigation. I told my professor (a former Police Investigator) and she thought that would be a cool experience.
Where I live, lawyers are disqualified from jury duty. For many years I worked in addiction treatment. Soon as you said that, you were excused, since many crimes involve drugs in some way or other.
It depends on the case and on the lawyers. In a case involving a car accident the lawyers will have different concerns about bias than in a rape case. Also, lawyers can have their own unjustified beliefs about biases. For example, assuming all poor people hate big corporations or thinking all Muslims hate Jews. Most lawyers are probably pretty rational but they are still people.
I’m a forensic psychologist. Always wondered if I’d ever get picked. One time I was called for a state circuit court I was released because I was to testify in Federal court on the day I was supposed to appear.
I’m a teacher and got called on my first day of in the summer. Couldn’t even sleep in. Terrible being forced to be at a place you don’t want to be. I didn’t get picked.
I've told this elsewhere. Shortest possible. Prosecutor's wife worked with the potential juror. Potential juror dined with them regularly. Got picked despite explaining all this.
I've only met one person who has been called repeatedly to jury duty only to be dismissed every time and that is a psychiatrist friend. She said the prosecutor won't put a psychiatrist or psychologist on a jury ever.
My father was selected for jury duty years and years ago - before I was born - and not just on any case, but a murder case. Woman claimed her husband shot himself in the night, obviously the claim was that she killed him for his estate and money and it became pretty clear that she was guilty. They reached a guilty verdict and my dad was actually the guy to deliver the verdict. However came out later apparently judge was on drugs, whole trial was nullified, and she goes free. He saw her couple years later at a coworker’s housewarming party incidentally.
I'm an Aussie, it's a bit different here. I was up for selection on a case that I think was on a drink driver causing a major injury. I happened to have a limp at the time and didn't make it even half way across the room before I was struck from the process. Don't think they wanted to risk me being too sympathetic.
My mom, who is a lawyer, got a jury duty notice one day. That day though, I happened to be really sick and needed to go to the doctor. Luckily that is a valid excuse since a doctor note can get you out of almost anything. It's like she would have been picked anyway as she was once a prosecutor
My SIL is a talented attorney and we were both called at the same time to the same courtroom to the same box. I have my law degree but have never practiced. I was dismissed, she served as foreperson.
my mom was a criminal prosecutor and my dad was a city newspaper editor who covered crime...every time they got called for jury over the course of their careers they were dismissed 😅
Back in the late 80s I was a young deputy county attorney who was actually picked to be a juror in a federal drug case! I knew both attorneys. The AUSA was actually a law school classmate! He chose me because I was a prosecutor; the defense attorney chose me because he thought I was fair. I and my fellow jurors acquitted the defendant. Of course, I never got a job with the U.S. Attorney after that!
"Who are they?" That was a lesson I learned a long time ago and find it no surprise a lawyer would question it and a teacher would use it. Who are they is a non-specific cop-out actual data is not available or does not support the argument. Always be specific and use specific data to support the premise.
What do you suggest I say to actually get ON jury duty? I want to be a juror so bad! I love hearing good arguments on both sides and weighing the evidence presented.
Um. Wait. The Judge in your case, his Wife gets selected for Juror Duty on that same case?? Ok. That's pretty clear Conflict of interest. Either the Judge Recluses himself - should his Wife serve as Juror, or Wife of Judge is disqualified from serving in a Case being presided over by her Judge Husband.
It is possible for a lawyer on the case to be called in for jury duty on that case? I would assume that he would never be picked to be on the jury but in theory if there is no checks but just a random lottery for those who are called in initially, there is a chance that a lawyer gets called in to serve jury duty when it's his own case..
I am a former prosecutor and current hearing officer. I've had a few attorneys on juries. A colleague of mine had a current judge on a jury. I also had a County Commissioner on a jury. All those verdicts were guilty. I've also had a former DUI defendant as the juror foreperson in a DUI trial, and the verdict was guilty. I also once had a biker on a DUI jury. Guilty verdict.
If you had the person who's the state judge's spouse on your jury, you wouldn't have to worry about them talking to their spouse about the trial at home- because their spouse is very aware of all the rules. So there's that...
I was once an alternate on a jury that also had a police officer in the jury. It was a criminal case, which according to the judge after the fact, was exceedingly rare. However, this case was very unusual because the defendant actually videoed himself committing the crime!
![Lp. Сердце Вселенной #60 РОЖДЕНИЕ ЛОЛОЛОШКИ [Финал] • Майнкрафт](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/YoR0pAV9FVQ/mqdefault.jpg)
I am a retired nurse and retired civil attorney. I have been called for jury duty several times but never picked. I would have liked to be on a jury for the experience. I was once called for a criminal case on a case that I was handling a civil claim.
That's like winning the lottery, go get some numbers! 😂😂😂😂
oh dang impressive
@@AlexonthetubeYou can volunteer for many things.....jury duty isn't one of them. Too many people could potentially become "professional jurors" and no longer be impartial if they allowed it. It would also be a good way to stack the deck if a specific case were coming up for trial.
You can’t volunteer
The only time I served was for a civil case in federal court. It turned out to be a seven week trial so sometimes you’re better off not getting what you wish for.
I got picked for jury duty, but was late because there was no parking ANYWHERE except paid street parking, which was also crowded, and I had to walk several blocks to try to find a nondescript building amongst other nondescript buildings with absolutely no sign or lettering save the small sign on the front entrance. I told the woman at the desk that if they want people to show, why do they make it so hard to get there? She shook her head and said "I know, I hear that all the time".
honestly that's why here i started using transports they are mucu slower and ofc worse to go on but holy hell i hate looking for parking and paying a shit ton of money rjust to park far away
Blame America for car centric Infrastructure. I personally think we should be transitioning to walkable and bike-friendly cities and people SHOULD be paying for parking so that you can incentive walking and biking more. But in cities that you literally have to have a car to get anywhere, it just fu##s the working class for no reason.
@@Monke1312_ actually the opposite, it was the government stopping “useless” expenses like classical, identifiable buildings to focus on welfare that lead to a Brutalist nondescript building. The “working” class isn’t the victim.
@@Monke1312_ I do blame it, and I wish that city's development wasn't planned out by a toddler and a monkey using crayons. Making cities reliant on cars, and with no functional public transport, is a bane of the USA. But also, it would have helped this particular situation if the court just implemented their own parking garage or visitor lot, and at least put a large sign out by the street where people could actually see it. Of both types of problems, it's another scenario in life where stupidly obvious design flaws cause so many problems, and no one with the ability to is ever going to care to fix them.
@@dysnomia34A wasn't written by children and monkeys. But the auto industry
I've only known one person that is practically barred from jury duty and that person is me. The one and only time I got called up for jury duty, I was dismissed because the attending EMT was my best friends mom, went to high school with the first officer on scene, the case detective was a coworkers husband, and the DAs paralegal was my ex. The judge thanked me for showing up and basically said they were just gonna strike my name from the county rolls to avoid a repeat.
LoL networking pays off
I can't do jury duty anywhere.
You're the only person who knows several people in civil service? And that gets you stricken from jury duty rolls? That doesn't sound real.
@@Qarl23 He said he's the only one he knows, not that there aren't others.
Small town problems.
But you could still be called for federal jury duty.
I’ve had both a judge and an attorney on one of my panels before. Should’ve bought a lotto ticket.
hard to get teacher on jury when school is in
I served on a DUI manslaughter case years ago. The lawyers on both sides asked my profession. I'm an RN. They asked about marital status. They asked if I knew any of the police officers involved since I lived in the same area that the accident occurred in. What they did not ask was what my specialty was or what area of the hospital I worked in. I was a Trauma-rated ER nurse. Very familiar with proper procedure for drawing blood alcohols. Also I frequently worked with intoxicated patients and was very familiar with how fast a person can metabolize Alcohol based on body size and liver function.
Did you get picked?
There is no bias solely on knowing how bac works.
id assume that if one side is relying on ignorance and obfuscation, then it would certainly help to have such persons removed.
@@Applecompuser that may be, but someone with profession-related experience versus Joe schmoe is going to understand a lot more of the details in a case’s specifics.
@@WeisheiTMisn't that better for the jury then? Less bias cus they know more of the facts
I remember in 5th grade, the teacher told us ‘I have to go in to see if I’ll be selected for jury duty. I won’t be selected’, said it with absolute confidence. Turns out the man on trial was the perpetrator of a school shooting. When asked why she might be unfit, apparently all she said was ‘I’m a teacher’. Fair enough!
What?
@@oo-xb6gv I’m sorry, what’s the question? I was saying she wasn’t selected for jury duty because she would be a biased juror for that case. I think anyone who works in a school, janitors included, would’ve been removed from the jury.
@@LuckyBones77 Im sorry I'm just really confused by how it was phrased 😭 I dont know if its just late rn or smth
Edit: I reread it with your clarification and it makes perfect sense now
@@oo-xb6gv No need to apologize! I’m glad I could clarify for you 😊
@@LuckyBones77 Have a lovely day! :)
My one time doing hours not being picked for a civil trial, we had time to chat in the hallway. I came across a guy who said "I'll never get picked--I used to work for the defense lawyer doing research". We had whittle 100 people down to 24 and from that the lawyers and judge did "something" behind closed doors and picked the 12+1alt to use. When they called the excused numbers, I was in the list of excused, the former-employee-researcher was selected to serve. We looked at each other like "WTF just happened?"
Think someone just stacked the jury
The one time I genuinely wanted to be on jury duty we had a state prosecutor in our pool. He as asked something to the effect of can you be impartial. He said something like "If someone gets so far that I'm sitting here, they're probably guilty." Our entire pool was dismissed a few days later.
Was this guy Edgeworth from Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney?
Lmao that isn't at all how that works I can't imagine how many innocent people he's prosecuted while knowing in his heart of hearts they're guilty
@@nickwolfe6684 UA-cam won't let me properly reply to you. All I can say is my life experience aligns with his perfectly.
@@nickwolfe6684man its his job. There's no "heart if hearts" in court, just facts, testimony and the jury's ruling
@@literallygrass1328 I've not been allowed to respond to him after six attempts but pretty much.
I’m surprised a judge would even be allowed to try a case where their spouse was in the jury. It’s possible the judge could be talking about the case at home which would potentially taint the spouse’s judgement. That seems like an easy in for the losing side to get an appeal.
The judge is involved in the case before the jury is picked. If someone is going to be conflicted out, it would be the juror.
I mean they likely wouldn't be picked, but a judge will know better than to talk to a juror about the case outside the court room.
As a juror I wasn't allowed to talk about the case at home or even with the other jurors. You have to leave your notes at the court house and you aren't even allowed to do independent research at home.
@@deb5392they can't properly regukate what goes on at their house though
@@elenna_alexiaNo they absolutely wouldn't know better. People in very high levels of government military, secret services, intelligence agencies you name it very often and very frequently tell their spouses everything. For many married couples the law and confidentiality just doesn't exist.
During district court voi deer, I was last person in our group of 40. I barely said where I worked (well known law firm) & the judge gave me the eyes above the glasses look & motioned I should keep talking. I explained my role (trainer & tech support) & that I had witnessed a violent robbery before (defendants case), etc. Both sets of attys looked my way & after the judge asked if I knew how his bench was set up & that he could use a few tips (I did, we worked closely with the district & federal trainers), he asked me a few more questions, nodded & then looked at both sets of counsel. Moments later, I was the first to be cut, pulled aside & released early lol.
*voir dire
@@timmah2723You just had to do it didn’t you! Of course we know You never have any misspellings or mistakes in Any of your posts! Yay for you!! 😂
I’m retired military and I’m always passed over for selection. Or maybe it’s because I always bring up jury nullification
Lol
Yep...I can't be impartial. 😂😂😂
You would be passed over every single time bringing up jury nullification.
No victim = No Crime
@@supertruckertombut how do you define victims
Just keep witnessing crimes, apparently! The only question on the questionnaire I answered yes to was "have you witnessed a crime in the last 10 years?" When I got up to the mic, I asked the judge how I should order them...chronologically, proximity... He said "let's go with chronologically." After 5, he stopped me and said "have you ever committed a crime yourself?" "Outside of minor traffic violations and one traumatic but accidental shoplifting incident when I was 6, no." "Well, you don't seem to cause trouble, but you sure do attract it. Would either of the sides like to strike this juror?" Both said strike at the same time. "Thank you, ma'am, you can leave."
Honestly, sounds like the kind of funny scene from a sitcom where a background character is cut, right before the main character tries to bs their way out of it only to be forced on.
@@finris1 It would be funny if it wasn't true. I've rarely been a victim (my house was burglarized about 15 years ago during a spree in my neighborhood, but otherwise nothing happened *to me*), but I just seem to keep ending up in proximity to crimes! And it's rarely near my home or work! Like the most similar one to the charges the defendant was facing was a fight with weapons (a wrench on one side and box cutter on the other, I just got out of the way, no need to duck and cover for flying bullets) that happened to happen while I was walking into a subway station MILES from my home, that I almost never use but did that time because the cheapest rental car I could get for something I needed to do was a couple blocks away from it! The judge even asked what I was doing at that subway station because the sheer dumb luck of ending up in YET ANOTHER circumstance like that is uncanny!
I was once in the jury pool and they asked "do you know anyone involved in this case?" One lady told them that she was a 911 dispatcher and had taken several call regarding the case. Instant dismissal. She knew that whatever probably whatever case it would be, she woukd not be there long.
The last time I was called in to jury duty, as soon as I walked in the court room, I knew I would not be on the jury. The arresting officer was a friend from highschool and the defendant was a creepy guy who was a customer at a place I worked that always made me feel uncomfortable. I didn't get dismissed right away, and I'm still kinda annoyed by that.
Should have been there to convict that guy
@@oo-xb6gv And how do you know the guy was genuinely creepy? You're just trusting the subjective opinion of a random person on UA-cam. And being "creepy" isn't a crime anyways.
nice. I did the jury pool. I've been called twice. But I figured out it was being a pre school teacher, as the cases I was not picked for were about potential child abuse and sexual abuse. Only later reading the news did I go Oh well I would not pick me!
I got told as a corrections officer that it wasn't a conflict of interest to be on a jury. Didn't end up needing to serve. But they would've never been able to put a person I found guilty into the prison I worked at. My biggest concern tho was that the word might get passed to guys in my prison to get revenge. Didn't seem like a good idea.
I was a juror on a murder trial and one of my fellow jurors was a prison guard. I’m surprised the defense didn’t strike him.
It might not have been a conflict of interest in their eyes, but it would be easy to get out of jury duty on that one. When they ask you if you could be impartial and unbiased, you could honestly say, "No, I'm disinclined to convict someone because it could endanger me if word got out at the prison where I work."
@@---cr8nw that's a great way of putting it.
I was an information security forensic audit analyst for 26 years before I retired. Usually I was allowed to just check in for jury duty and then be automatically released, along with those who worked for the police, even though I worked for corporations not the police.
Although there were times when I had to stay, because too many people didn't show up for jury duty. In one rather humorous instance where everyone who reported for jury duty was brought in for a case, the defense attorney came to me, reading his notes and actually said, "Not a f***ing chance." He was reprimanded by the judge before properly dismissing me.
Why would they be so adamant not to want you?
I am asking because I am curious and going to school right now for information security. I promise I am not doing any social engineering.
@@shy8054 I don't know, since I didn't stick around. All I know is that the trial was over a series of burglaries.
@@shy8054 I don't know, since I didn't stick around. All I know is that the trial was over a series of burglaries.
Don't want critical thinkers 😂😅
Lawyers often dont want people with expertise related to the case because the rest of the jurors will defer to them, and their expertise isn't part of the evidence. Its hard for the to avoid being treated like an expert witness instead of a juror @shy8054
I love how you look at the camera when you say you wouldn't want your wife's friends on your jury. Lmao
M n. V😅😮v. Gv
"Nobody come for me" 😂
“And I certainly don’t want some of your friends” 🤣 Ahhhhh scary true
Bro knows about her group chat
I got called once. My wife worked for the arresting sheriff's office, and it was a case she likely worked on based on the division she was in, and had to disclose during questioning that I knew 90% of the potential witness list from "outside of their work." I have a feeling I know who struck me.
My college professor served on jury duty one summer and he was so mad. Normally he gets the college to write asking him to be excused, but typically he is strike for being a chemist with forensics experience. However that summer it was a financial fraud case so he was kept and had to serve two weeks. He enjoyed the experience as he learned more about financial.
Surprised they let anyone with forensic experience in, since they're more likely to have prejudices against other types of evidence that, say, led to someone who he thought was guilty walking away scot-free.
The only time I’ve ever been called for jury duty I was also a witness on the case. Not sure how they missed that during the selection process but thankfully a quick phone call to the prosecutors office took care of it. I testified without any issues.
I've been called up three times.
#1: Theft case. Got the "You are dismissed" after answering yes to "Are you related to someone who has been arrested?"
#2: DUI case. Got dismissed because they picked their 6 and alternates out of the 50+ people who had shown up that day.
#3: Court closed due to the 'Rona. Which was a bummer, as I was finally NOT working a third-shift job, and the courthouse was less than a mile away.
Every time i get called for jury duty they all how i feel about cops and i tell them that i love them since two of them literally put themselves between me and someone shooting at us after responding to a 911 call as a paramedic, they literally threw me and my partner in a closet and laid on top of us because they had body armor and we didn’t. I tell lawyers that and usually I’m told I’m dismissed shortly after by defense attorneys.
Damn. That’s some hero stuff right there. Bet they didn’t even think twice, just doing their job. Glad they were there for you.
My wife just had Jury duty a few weeks ago. Actually she was an alternate. Watched the whole trial though then she was sent home before they deliberated....
Then she gets a call an hour later. One juror was a high school boyfriend of one of the parties and didn't say anything the whole time! So my wife went back.
Which is good because they were on the edge of ruling guilty on a total "she said she said" situation in which there was 0 evidence one way or the other. And my wife got it thrown out. Because there was no evidence either way. Just the words of these two ladies.
The judge personally thanked her, for coming back, and I think for being the person who made the jury think about what their job was that day.
I once got picked for jury duty. There was a Cop who was very familiar with the case who would have been on the jury but thankfully recused himself. Good job good video. Thanks.
Had a criminal DV case, one of the prospective jurors was a DV detective with the police department for over 20 years. He got picked for the jury, defense did not object or use one of their preemptive strikes on him.
Defense either asleep or very confident
They may try for an appeal, bc of a "biased" juror.
Won’t work, they agreed with the jury that was seated on the record and the juror was forthcoming about his job during jury selection.
The reason why we say they love teachers on jury duty has nothing to do with the personality of teachers 😂😂 Since teachers still receive pay during jury duty they tend to be apart of the groups that get dismissed last. I worked at a school for years and I knew several teachers and other school staff that have been on more than one jury during their career as a teacher. I only know 4-5 people in my personal life that have ever been selected to sit on a jury.
I was in jail once for 30 days. Possession of paraphernalia because of a weed pipe in my trunk. While there, i got a jury summons. Lol
Interestingly, in pretty much every province in Canada, lawyers and those who work for certain law-related organizations (eg prosecutors’ offices, public defenders, the Bar, etc) are actually barred from being called for jury duty by statute
In Canada in some provinces anybody who could be seen as having a position of authority over other jurors is not allowed to participate in jury duty, doctors lawyers etc
In High School I took Law as an extra class, and we got to do a teen jury. We went to review a few actual court cases and delivered verdicts. It counted as community service hours. Never been asked for jury duty again but I might like to.
I'm a pathologist, and used to be an RN, and later an NP.
I've been selected for jury duty 9 times total. Never picked.
Now i spend about 90% of my time testifying in court in criminal neglect cases against people who include colleagues (i take medical malpractice and neglect very seriously)
Think the shittiest case i had to testify for, was a retired DA and his wife, charged with criminal child abuse. I did the autopsy on the toddler they were supposed to be fostering.
their lawyer argued that the kid got into something while they were distracted.
the child had about 2.5qts of chemical cleaner in her stomach and intestines. No way that kid drank that much, without 'help'.
i was on a jury last year and our judge told us she was going to jury duty the next week. it had never occurred to me that that was even allowed lol.
It's allowed - as long as she is not also the judge in the case. That would be bad, LOL.
@@cisium1184I. AM. THE LAW!
@@cisium1184 imagine going a whole trial wondering where your judge is then some rando from the jury box gets up at the very end and goes and sits behind the podium lmao
Who would care about a teacher as a juror unless it's directly related to case
I don’t remember being asked what I did when I got picked for a jury
A lot of the time it’s in the jury questionnaire that you fill out right when you get your summons. Some places have you do it online, others by mail. It will ask your age, occupation, educational attainment, etc.
It's on the questionnaire you get in the mail.
Juries in different places are picked in different ways. I have had jury panels where I had a list of occupations. In others, I didn't have anything except for what I asked the jury.
@@JasonFightsCrime must not be a thing in Massachusetts, cuz I got picked for a jury a few years ago, and I got a summons last week, never had to tell them what I do for work
In California, certain professions are exempt or excluded. For example, since police officers are dismissed from selection 99% of the time, they are exempt. However, that doesn't apply to correctional officers.
I'm not sure if that counts as a conflict of interest or not; the judge and jury are supposed to be impartial. Other hand, the wife could conceivably influence the judge, and therefore have more power than a regular juror.
I'm a retired critical care / ER nurse. Ironically, I became an expert witness for nursing after I was involved in a deposition for a wrong site surgery (caused by the patient!) Because I stayed calm and gave precise answers and no extra info, the lawyer for our organization loved me. I guess he said very few people can easily do that. I think it was because I dealt with and ran thousands of resuscitations and you have to stay calm and efficient to get things done quickly. It was a very nice side job for a while.
I find just answering questions with too much information gets me out of jury duty pretty quickly 😂
They don't like scientists on jury duty.
Credit to the judge for saying to treat his wife just like any other juror.
Ever heard Neil D Tyson's jury duty story? It's freaking hilarious.😂
I assure you that if the judge’s spouse had been on the jury, any verdict would have been tossed on appeal. If I were that judge, I would have recused myself, if it wasn’t too late in the process to do so - even the appearance of impropriety, even if somewhat accidental or inadvertent, is a violation of judicial ethics rules.
Edit: I realize that Mike doesn’t do criminal juries; in civil juries, unanimity is not required because there’s no deprivation of civil rights if a civil jury finds for the other side. Now, a CRIMINAL case guilty verdict should be reversed on appeal (and probably the judge disciplined) if the judge’s spouse were seated on a criminal jury.
Only an appeal if the defense didn’t win though
It would not have.
@@MikeRafiLawyer if I were a judge, it’s best not to take that chance. Maybe I’m a bit more risk-averse. While the ethics canons don’t absolutely prohibit a spouse-juror, I’m kind of wary of having your name pop up after an OJC opinion, even if in my favor. I’d just move the juror-spouse to another trial on another week and be done with it.
I call it then “when everyone who hears it raises an eyebrow” standard. Because that’s where a reasonable person would see there’s too much potential for conflict.
Love this dude! Wish I lived closer to GA, would like to set in one of cases.
Best part about this is the genuine slight smile when he said he loved his wife. I can imagine them in the car and she’s going on about how “they” love teachers on jury duty and he is driving and is like “Who TF is “they” explain this to me about “they”… ❤
That's what I was imagining. No ego like teacher ego.
I was once not picked for jury duty for one trial because it was a murder trial and I once met the director of the medical examiner office in the county I live in.
You are so funny man. My fav lawyer on UA-cam
I worked with a lawyer 30 years ago who ended up as a foreman on a jury about a sexual attack.
Also, I worked in a law firm 35 years ago where during questioning the jury one of the firm’s legal secretaries told the court she could not be available for jury because the law firm she worked at was too busy for her to be gone. There was a recess so the judge could call the head partner and explain what happened. After lunch the entire staff was convened in the conference room to explain why none of us or the attorneys were never too busy to serve on a jury!
I’ve got lots of stories.
I happen to know that they do not like to have a victim's advocate on the jury when it's a case for the victim.
I was on the grand jury for yavapai county arizona for a brief period of time. It was absolutely fascinating, I loved every moment of it. I want to go back to jury duty, I would absolutely do it in a heartbeat.
i imagine teachers are the last people half the courtroom want when any case involves a child.
I’ve been watching your videos lately because I found them interesting. It was not until this one I realized your near me in Georgia. I moved here from Florida 3 years ago and honestly the laws in this state are quite different to Florida. I like learning from you. I have a paralegal degree and a batch in CJ and looked at going to Stetson law back in the day.
I enjoy these videos. They are very enlightening. I find the American jury system so odd sometimes.
In my jurisdiction, if you are a lawyer, you cannot sit as a jury member. Even students-at-law are excluded. Police officers, firefighters and doctors are excluded as well. And a judge would excuse you, if you knew one of the lawyers or the judge or even an expert doctor that was going to testify. Lawyers also only have 3 challenges and know very little about the potential jurors.
Durring a jury selection I was on there was a retired judge. he said he was excited to see the other side of a trial. he did not get picked, my theory watching was they ( both defense and prosecution) wanted someone with a college degree but nothing really technical, the case had to do with tax evasion or something with money I can't quite remember.
Judges love government employees cause they get paid regardless so they don't have hardship claims. Atleast that's what the judge said in my last jury duty.
Question. Is a perfect juror even possible?
In a very close case, or something that is controversial. At some point a jurors' individual beliefs, experiences and baises have to start creeping in even if its subconsciously.
Forget possible - is it _desirable?_
there is imperfect, & then there is 'introduces a blatantly obvious propensity for bias in parties who are by design distinct in the legal system'.
To make a metaphor - it is impossible to achieve perfect safety, something bad can always happen. Does that justify actively running onto the interstate as a smart hobby? No, no it does not.
I've been called 3-4 times and never chosen. I'm an engineering manager.
When I got picked for a jury, it was at a Federal trial. One of the pool was the presiding judge's former clerk. 🤣
He was not picked!
Generally, jurors aren’t “picked” to be on the jury; they’re just the remaining folks who weren’t excluded and have the lowest juror number. It may sound like semantics, but it’s a little different.
It doesn’t work exactly the same everywhere, but I clerked for a judge and we had a bunch of jury trials, so I can say how we did it.
Potential jurors each had a number (1, 2, 3, etc.). After voir dire, the lawyers can “challenge” certain jurors to have them excluded. Usually, the judge start with any challenges “for cause” as there’s a reason they can’t be on the jury (they have a demonstrated bias or something). There’s no limit on how many jurors can be excluded “for cause,” but it was up to the judge. He or she could deny the strike if he/she didn’t agree. Then each side has a very limited number of strikes they can use on any potential juror for any reason that isn’t illegal (eg, race). In our case, we started in order with juror #1 (or whoever is lowest after the cause exclusions). And they’d go through one by one “anyone want to exclude this juror?” Once all exclusions were used or they’d gone through enough people to make a jury, it was done. The lowest numbered 12 people left were on the jury, maybe an extra 2-4 alternates if it’s a big criminal trial, and everyone else is sent home.
The jurors didn’t know what order we had them in (so alternates also didn’t know they were alternates). But whoever was the highest number very likely wasn’t going to be on the jury no matter how much anyone wanted him/her to be, unless there were enough “for cause” exclusions.
Edit for some clarifications: the striking of jurors was done up at the bench with everyone speaking very low so jurors couldn’t hear. We also had music playing. In civil cases, you didn’t need alternates because you could have a verdict with fewer than 12 jurors. But for criminal cases, if you lost a juror for some reason, you’d have a mistrial without an alternate. If you go through the whole trial without losing anyone, then the alternates are told they can go home and only the 12 main jurors deliberate. We had a huge capital case when I clerked and we had 4 alternates. We had to dismiss a juror during the trial, so it was a good thing we alternates. The dismissal was because she kept falling asleep. Normally, that would get her in trouble, so I don’t recommend that as a way to get out of jury duty. But she was spending all night in the hospital with a sick family member. Had she disclosed that during voir dire, she would’ve been excused. So the judge let her out of it without any punishment.
@brendancurtin679 I say "picked" because we had 200 people in the pool. I was *extremely* surprised to be chosen, because I worked in Banking, used to work in Insurance, worked for civil attorneys, had a father and brother who were in Law Enforcement, and my youngest brother is an attorney working for a DA. I felt like I was a bad choice all around. 🤣
@@brendancurtin679 oh my bad, they said picked as the jurors were picked! Glad I could help you out as you misunderstood / misread the original comment! 😊
I had jury duty for a day and half, and one of my follow jurors was a civil attorney and everything was perfectly fine. The case was actually pretty interesting and was also a quick one.
When, as a state judge for more than a generation, the computer ordered me to "jury duty." And I was chosen to sit on a jury. It was a great experience.
In the UK there used to be a statutory list of barred occupations but as far as I know it was repealed and not replaced, so it's open to everyone within reason now.
If you ever wanna get out of jury duty, just bring up jury nullification. 😂
If it's a bullshit "crime" like drug possession or defrauding rich people, don't say anything until deliberation.
You tell great stories
If you want out of jury duty, what happens if you ask the prosecutor about jury Nullification?
They will probably not like you very much because that might taint the entire pool with you not sure if they can assess actual penalties on you
If you’re getting paid properly for jury duty (some states like Alabama for example) then you shouldn’t try to get out of it
@@matthewtompkins4338 big agree! I was called for jury duty (Alabama) back in 2020. I didn’t have to show up to the court but I was on call. Quite literally got paid $11 for staying at home.
@@matthewtompkins4338 I got one call and I had no way to get there so I had to say I can't. I would have liked to just go do it and get the experience
@@aSpectrumofDorky Yep, the nicest part is it’s one of the few states that require an employer to pay you your regular wages for the day. So even if the state doesn’t pay you much for it your boss has to.
I served as a juror on a PI case before I went to law school. A son sued his mom for providing him a defective ladder. He fell. Soft tissue claim. The dude was a firefighter. To end everyone’s suffering we decided to award less than medical expenses. I had a 30+ year career defending such cases and prosecuting some, too. Two insights from that jury experience guided me in my career: don’t sue a mother and it’s usually not good to let a jury have a case late in the day…..
Interesting. In my country, having any professional legal training, be it as a paralegal, lawyer, or judge, automatically disqualifies you from jury duty.
I got called for jury at 19 years old on the Friday before midterm exam week. I was picked in the initial random selection of jurors and had to sit there getting questioned for a couple hours. The trial was for some felony intent to distribute illicit narcotics or something. Eventually they asked me if there was anything urgent that would prevent me from showing up to future hearings and I said something like "Well I am a student at [the local college] and next week is exam week." The judge and both sets of lawyers just looked at me, then at each, then looked at me again, and then basically told me off for not bringing it up sooner. I was the youngest person in the room by at least 15 years I don't know how none of them realized. I was literally a baby faced kid and nobody thought to ask me about school until after I had been sitting there for most of the day. Honestly annoyed the hell out of me because I ended up missing a couple classes that day for jury duty.
In the UK there's no jury "selection", the jury is chosen completely randomly from those who have been told to do jury duty that day.
The court all but throws my friend out the window when they learn she's a college professor.
The court doesn’t pick who should or shouldn’t be jurors. Lawyers do.
@@MikeRafiLawyerI have a suspicion that lawyers don't want jurors who can make the deliberations complicated. Educated, intelligent, logical people are not a lawyer's first pick.
Am I way off base? 🤷
@@rattlecat5968depends on the lawyer and the case there's no right or wrong answer. Some lawyers don't rely on logic for arguments they rely on emotion so having someone who thinks logically may not always be the best pick
I’m currently a nurse and previously a correctional officer and I got selected to serve in a jury, anybody can truly be selected 🤷♂️
I'm a retired engineer. I was called once in graduate school for a federal district court 60 miles away. When I called in they dismissed me immediately. I'm not sure if it was because I was a student or trained as an engineer. I was on a panel of potential jurors in Anderson County TN. It was apparently a slow period as no one on the panel was ever called.
The sorry-not-sorry gester comment about the friends comment was hilarious. 😂
"I'm gonna get in trouble for this video" you damn right
I only served on one jury it was kind of fun because the other jury members were all cool people and were easy to get along with.
Picked for jury duty and the jury and was madam foreman my first time called. Week long civil case. Interesting as hell. It was during the summer of my junior year of college. Fast forward to me being 10 years into my Nursing career in 2017 and I was an RN and an 1L. Lol. Working corporate compliance for a hospital now.
I had jury duty but was not selected because the case was about SA and I factually admitted that I had 2 friends and 1 family member who were SA'd. I think it's bogus that I was off the case, because literally everyone knows someone who was, but they just don't know it.
Not necessarily everybody; while I'm sure that it could be with everyone you know (friend-of-a-friend is literally guaranteed), probability doesn't give certainties like that.
I was raised in Clayton County, GA.
I'm sorry you had to go there.
The #1 unspoken rule that all attorneys everywhere always follow when selecting jurors is "no one with a college education."
They want people who think with their hearts, not their brains.
That's bullshit. My grandfather is a pastor and my grandmother is a nurse. Both have served on juries.
@@Frommerman Pastors go to religion school and nurses go to trade school. Those don't count.
Retired probation officer here. Called for jury duty many times, but dismissed on all but one occasion. I surmised the defense attorney of the republican politician defendant calculated he was getting a conservative juror, but he calculated wrong. I wrote sentencing recommendations for almost 3 decades and, after dispassionately weighing the evidence, voted with the rest of the jury panel for conviction.
I was only ever called for Jury Duty once, and I got excluded for being a college student. My university was 2 counties over from my home county, where I called for Jury Duty. I was studying Criminal Justice with one of my Minors being in Crime Scene Investigation. I told my professor (a former Police Investigator) and she thought that would be a cool experience.
Where I live, lawyers are disqualified from jury duty. For many years I worked in addiction treatment. Soon as you said that, you were excused, since many crimes involve drugs in some way or other.
It depends on the case and on the lawyers. In a case involving a car accident the lawyers will have different concerns about bias than in a rape case. Also, lawyers can have their own unjustified beliefs about biases. For example, assuming all poor people hate big corporations or thinking all Muslims hate Jews. Most lawyers are probably pretty rational but they are still people.
I’m a forensic psychologist. Always wondered if I’d ever get picked. One time I was called for a state circuit court I was released because I was to testify in Federal court on the day I was supposed to appear.
I conduct consumer research. What influences people to buy, vote, enroll, etc. Been dismissed 4 times from jury duty.
I’m a teacher and got called on my first day of in the summer. Couldn’t even sleep in. Terrible being forced to be at a place you don’t want to be. I didn’t get picked.
I've told this elsewhere. Shortest possible. Prosecutor's wife worked with the potential juror. Potential juror dined with them regularly. Got picked despite explaining all this.
I know it's been a while but I'm definitely gonna need a follow up on if you got in trouble for this or not…
My vote is you did. 😊
I've only met one person who has been called repeatedly to jury duty only to be dismissed every time and that is a psychiatrist friend. She said the prosecutor won't put a psychiatrist or psychologist on a jury ever.
My father was selected for jury duty years and years ago - before I was born - and not just on any case, but a murder case. Woman claimed her husband shot himself in the night, obviously the claim was that she killed him for his estate and money and it became pretty clear that she was guilty. They reached a guilty verdict and my dad was actually the guy to deliver the verdict. However came out later apparently judge was on drugs, whole trial was nullified, and she goes free. He saw her couple years later at a coworker’s housewarming party incidentally.
I'm an Aussie, it's a bit different here.
I was up for selection on a case that I think was on a drink driver causing a major injury. I happened to have a limp at the time and didn't make it even half way across the room before I was struck from the process. Don't think they wanted to risk me being too sympathetic.
My mom, who is a lawyer, got a jury duty notice one day. That day though, I happened to be really sick and needed to go to the doctor. Luckily that is a valid excuse since a doctor note can get you out of almost anything. It's like she would have been picked anyway as she was once a prosecutor
My SIL is a talented attorney and we were both called at the same time to the same courtroom to the same box. I have my law degree but have never practiced. I was dismissed, she served as foreperson.
my mom was a criminal prosecutor and my dad was a city newspaper editor who covered crime...every time they got called for jury over the course of their careers they were dismissed 😅
I'm sorry but the shirt clipping in and out of the green screen is mesmerizing lmao
Back in the late 80s I was a young deputy county attorney who was actually picked to be a juror in a federal drug case! I knew both attorneys. The AUSA was actually a law school classmate! He chose me because I was a prosecutor; the defense attorney chose me because he thought I was fair. I and my fellow jurors acquitted the defendant. Of course, I never got a job with the U.S. Attorney after that!
"Who are they?"
That was a lesson I learned a long time ago and find it no surprise a lawyer would question it and a teacher would use it.
Who are they is a non-specific cop-out actual data is not available or does not support the argument.
Always be specific and use specific data to support the premise.
What do you suggest I say to actually get ON jury duty? I want to be a juror so bad! I love hearing good arguments on both sides and weighing the evidence presented.
Um. Wait. The Judge in your case, his Wife gets selected for Juror Duty on that same case?? Ok. That's pretty clear Conflict of interest. Either the Judge Recluses himself - should his Wife serve as Juror, or Wife of Judge is disqualified from serving in a Case being presided over by her Judge Husband.
It is possible for a lawyer on the case to be called in for jury duty on that case? I would assume that he would never be picked to be on the jury but in theory if there is no checks but just a random lottery for those who are called in initially, there is a chance that a lawyer gets called in to serve jury duty when it's his own case..
I am a former prosecutor and current hearing officer. I've had a few attorneys on juries. A colleague of mine had a current judge on a jury. I also had a County Commissioner on a jury. All those verdicts were guilty. I've also had a former DUI defendant as the juror foreperson in a DUI trial, and the verdict was guilty. I also once had a biker on a DUI jury. Guilty verdict.
If you had the person who's the state judge's spouse on your jury, you wouldn't have to worry about them talking to their spouse about the trial at home- because their spouse is very aware of all the rules. So there's that...
I was once an alternate on a jury that also had a police officer in the jury. It was a criminal case, which according to the judge after the fact, was exceedingly rare. However, this case was very unusual because the defendant actually videoed himself committing the crime!