I've been on a jury twice and thought it was fascinating. The second trial was for a woman who had stolen money from a credit union where she worked. Since it was federally insured, it was in Federal Court. It lasted two weeks. It felt like a two week vacation from work! We found her guilty and there was no doubt that she was.

Only been called for jury duty once and never made it to the courtroom.

Would love to be called to do my duty!

You could take my turn Glenda ;) I went through as stretch of many years, and so did DH, where we were called every other year. My 'month' where they would call was December, and every trial seemed to be a violent crime.

Our prosecutor loves me I think, I'm always chosen, and twice for murder trials. Bet you couldn't find many who have had to serve on two murder trials about 4 years apart....I asked a lawyer I was seated next to at a party later and he was stunned I would have had to do that.

I decided I'd done my share and asked my doctor to please write a note for me saying it was just too hard for me to serve. She agreed it was time for someone else to take a turn and wrote the letter.

I've been called only once and was excused because I was moving out of the county within the week.

I've been living in this county for over 30 years and have not been called, but I know they have my name; Its on the tax list. Its just a matter of time ... .

I'm with Morz8, been called over a dozen times and served three. Two of the trials were very boring but one was fascinating. I just wish they had better seats. All the judges were very nice to us.

yaya.it took me 6 months to recover I swear from the seating they had, the first time I was called...and not simple court. either mine was superior court...thanks be both times I was sent home by noon...

I was on Grand Jury one time and it was about a dirty cop, I loved it, so very interesting. They havent called me in years, watch now I'll get that paper in my mail LOL...

My daughter got called for jury duty. First she drove to the wrong building,and got to the right place late. There was a long line. She went in a jury lobby-waiting room. They told people who want to be excused, go in a line. Then they said "We just need 20 people for a Grand Jury that will last several months". About 50 people went to that line. (I guess they knew their jobs would pay their regular salary during jury duty). The rest of the crowd was told "You're all excused. You all get credit for serving and won't be called for at least 7 years." She drove home happily. (Her job only pays her for actual work days, no vacation or sick or jury pay). A few days ago she got a check from the Court for $52. I myself have been on two juries. They were fascinating. One civil and one criminal case. I felt like a good citizen.

I have been called 2 times....once for a burglary trial,
and the second for a murder trial, where the wife ran over her husband several times with her car, until he died. Big press coverage.
That was a month long trial that made me positive that real life is stranger than fiction.

That was years ago, and I have only been called back once.

I'm Glenda's age (I think) and have lived in the same state she does for the past 40+ years, and have never been called. Before that I lived in Michigan and Ohio and was never called there either, even though I've been a registered voter since I was 21.

I'd love to serve.

Been summoned several times but never served. Excused from a murder trial because I had worked with the Dr. that saw the victim in the ER. A couple of cases was settled out of court before they started questioning jurors. We just had to sit for several hours waiting.

Monica, being on a jury certainly gives you a front row seat for life as you never knew it (I hope). The woman who stole money from the credit union spent most of it on her "boy toy" who was a good twenty years younger. They had a high old time gambling in Atlantic City!

I had a friend who was on a jury for a rape case. She told me about it later and it was horrifying. Glad I did not have to sit through that. Oh, the chairs for my two week jury were nice comfy well padded leather chairs. A lot better than my office chair!

I have only served once and that was enough for me. It was a civil case and I tried to be excused because I was supposed to be out of state to care for my father while my brother, who cared for Dad, took his family for a vacation. I was denied the time and served on the jury. It was a very long trial-six weeks- and my employer only paid for 10 days of jury duty. I know more about cement, concrete, rebar and parking garages than anyone needs to know. I did get a letter from the judge saying that because of the length of the trial I would be exempt from jury duty for 10 years. Satine

I've been asked twice. The first time was 18 years ago when my son was a baby and I was nursing him, They asked if I worked outside of the home and since I didn't, they excused me. The second time I had to call in and it ended right there. A few months ago my husband got a survey in the mail from the state of Kansas that he had to fill out for potential state jury duty. We had never seen or heard of one of those surveys.

Jewels, the same thing happened to me when we moved here. I was nursing a baby, and the jury summons came. I returned the card with the explanation of why I could not serve. They did not call me back for 18 years.

I've been called three times but have never served. The first two times all the cases were handled with plea bargains and never went to trial. I probably wouldn't have been chosen anyway. My family has been in that county a long time. I either knew, was related to, or went to church with many of the attorneys and judges.

A couple of years after we moved here I got called. Nothing happened the first day. The second day, I went into the courtroom where the attorneys were questioning potential jurors to make their selection. They seated the jury before they got to me though. That afternoon as 5pm approached the judge came to tell us that the other cases had pleaded out & we were done with our jury service. Since that time, DH & I have become friends with the DA and worked on his election campaign. We are also friends with two of the ADA's. So I imagine if I get called again I won't get chosen when I let them know that.

DH was once called to federal jury duty. It was a tax evasion case. He was selected by the prosecution as a juror. They had asked them some questions about them and their spouse. When the prosecution selected him, he said the defense attorney asked him again what his wife's career was. He replied that I was an accountant. The defense excused him.

He did tell an interesting story about that day. He said that one lady was selected and just burst into tears. The judge asked her to come to the bench to explain the problem. She worked worked as an aide at a nursing home and told him that her supervisor had told her that she would be fired if she was selected for jury duty. The judge asked where she worked and summoned the bailiff. He asked him to pay a visit to the supervisor and explain to her that she could not fire someone because they were selected for jury duty and that he was giving this employee his contact info in case anything happened to her job.

Never been called.

Probably won't be, from now on: they'd probably consider me too old (and decrepit).

o j

I also had been called several times,and dh has never ever been called.Now we no longer have to worry about it as we're over 70.

I spent a few days sitting around,luckily it was during the time you could take needles and stuff with you so I embroidered,had book with me as well,so could read.

Never was selected,as they didn't like some of my answers,when they questioned me.Fine with me!!

Glad I no longer have to worry about it.
Kathi

I've been called several times. Once was for federal grand jury. I didn't get picked for that (we were told that you could serve up to a years and a half if you were chosen!). But they sent those who weren't picked right on down the hall to the next courtroom. And I was chosen for an international drug smuggling case. It lasted two weeks and was extremely interesting. However, I thought I might end up in jail myself before it was over. The defendant spoke only Farsi and two translators were employed to share the burden. One day as I was leaving one of the translators ended up in the elevator with me and several other jurors. He turned to me and asked, "So, what do you think of the case?"

Of course, I told him that we were not supposed to talk about it, and that was the end of the conversation. However, as we left the building, he again spoke to me, asking if I had driven to the courthouse or taken BART (public transportation). Since I refuse to drive in San Francisco, I replied that I had taken the train, and proceeded to walk to the station. He actually put his hand on my elbow, said, "No, this way", and guided me in another direction to the station. We did not speak of the case or anything else, but I was so worried that other jurors may have seen this and thought we might actually be talking about the case, so when I got home I wrote a letter to the judge explaining exactly what had happened and the next morning, I asked the bailiff to deliver it to the judge.

I entered the juror's room and we waited. And waited. One by one, every few minutes we saw the bailiff escort someone related to the case (attorneys and others) to the judge's chambers. Finally, the bailiff stopped at our door and called my name. My turn to enter the judge's chambers had arrived.

I'm sure time (and fear) have skewed the actual setting, but I remember entering this high ceilinged room with absolutely the largest dark wood desk that I had ever seen taking up a large portion of the room. Seated on the left side of the room in several rows, were all the people that we had seen being escorted to the chamber. I swear, in the middle of the room sat a lone empty chair and I was asked to sit in it. I remember thinking that the only thing missing was a naked light bulb hanging from the ceiling, LOL.

The judge asked me several questions about the experience, then asked if I thought I would have any trouble continuing to be an impartial juror. I replied in the negative. He asked those seated along the left side of the room if any of them thought it would be a problem. Only the defense attorney said yes. The judge thought only a moment before saying that he had decided to keep me as a juror. I was elated, to say the least.