I've been called for jury duty several times in Sacramento County. The jury waiting room is always packed full of people, to the point that folks are sitting on the floor, they're out in the hallway, etc. Once I was chosen for a jury but there was a lunch break before the trial actually got started, and the case was settled during the lunch break. I had received a jury duty notice for the week starting March 16 of this year. My group didn't have to report on Monday morning, but we had to check back at the end of the day on Monday to see if we had to report on Tuesday. Monday we were told to check between 11:15 a.m. and noon on Tuesday to see if we had to report at 1:00 p.m. Tuesday. When I checked on Tuesday after 11:15, it said that my group, as well as another, was not needed - that we were dismissed and our duty was complete. I was so relieved, because I did not relish the thought of being packed into a room with hundreds of other people. And the stay-at-home order went into effect on Thursday of that week.

Oh, in case my comment was misunderstood.

I've been called for jury duty countless times. During my career years, I almost always asked to be excused (successfully when so) when work obligations would have made serving a hardship. Since retiring, I've been called several times.

I'm one of those odd ducks who doesn't mind a few days of jury duty when my schedule allows. There's boredom but often amusing moments too. The predicaments that the dumber members of our communities can get themselves into are a wonder. Interesting people watching moments and the lame/inept excuses people come up with to try to get out, akin to "a bear took my homework paper this morning", can be a good laugh.

I don't think of it as a civic duty. Just something different to do. My prior comment had to do with my willingness to expose myself during the pandemic unnecessarily to close contact with the public, if that were required. Nope, not interested.

Elmer, I’m curious if you‘ve ever been called for grand jury, and how you might feel about serving?

Our jury duty has been closed since spring. Now the courts are moving to a phase one scenario-only urgent cases before the judge,

"The jury waiting room is always packed full of people..."

That's been my experience, Lindsey. People all over the place. Elmer's right about some of the lame excuses. I've heard some doozies. Jury duty can be interesting, but it can also be consuming when a trial goes on for weeks and weeks.

bpath, only local and federal petit juries.

A friend who lives in an adjacent county served on a grand jury for 12 months, just after he retired. He thought it might be interesting. It turned out to be drudgery and much more of a time commitment than he was happy with. I wouldn't do it in normal times and certainly not now.

Our slate of potential jurors was divided into three groups. We came at staggered times during the day. At no time was I ever physically closer than 10ft from anyone person. All chairs were distanced in all the rooms where we conducted business. At no time did I feel my health was threatened or being compromised. They would have excused anyone who felt other wise was my impression.

I'm curious about the comments about grand jury, bpath's relative once a week and elmer's friend serving for 12 months! Grand jury here is one month, hearing witnesses and taking our own notes from many different cases in a day. If, for any reason, you miss testimony you are off that case and dismissed from future testimony.

Is grand jury other than a one month commitment in your locations?

It's been awhile since I spoke to my friend (living in one of the SF Bay East Bay areas) but I think his meetings were often weekly and sometimes more.

I've only served on trial juries...never a grand jury. Longest was 2 months plus a week of deliberating. I was one of 3 alternates, and the 3 of us had to spend that entire week in the jury assembly room. It was a murder trial, and the 3 defendants were gang members...all three found guilty. On the final day we were escorted to the parking lot by deputies and told to take an alternate route home. A bit unnerving but I was glad it was over.

Elmer, if you were called for federal grand jury, I'm not sure you would have the choice not to serve. When I was summoned to San Francisco, albeit more than 30 years ago, the judge wasn't taking any excuses. A young gal who was getting married shortly was told, if you're chosen, you will have to postpone the wedding. A sole proprietor of a small business received no sympathy from the judge. And on and on. I wasn't chosen, but that wasn't the end of it, the judge passed us on to the next courtroom (not grand jury) and I was selected for an international drug smuggling case. Lasted two weeks and boss didn't reimburse any wages, but it was a wild and informative two weeks.

I was summoned to federal court (petit jury, as I said before) in San Jose perhaps 25 years ago. As I recall, the brief case description given before voir dire was that it was either tax evasion or a RICO case, maybe both, and expected to last for about one month. I'm not entirely sure, it was awhile ago.

When I was called and asked if there were any reasons why I couldn't serve, I explained the nature of my professional occupation, the responsibilities I had to discharge in the upcoming weeks and the problems serving would cause me. The judge thanked me for coming and dismissed me.

In my personal (and therefore very limited) experience, being called for jury duty is pretty rare, and actually being selected to serve on a jury is even more rare. So it's interesting to hear of other people's experiences. All sorts of judges, at all sorts of levels in the justice system, so it makes sense that there are variations.

I've only been called once in my whole life (6 decades and counting). And I was selected! the 'voir dire' process (I had to look that up Elmer) seemed very much a posturing of the two lawyers involved, each trying to psych out the opposition more than trying to figure out if an individual would render a fair decision. Luckily the case was short and not difficult although we took it seriously. And having served, my name is out of the selection pool for at least five years :-)

Here in NY, they call juries for civil as well as criminal cases. I wouldn't mind criminal, but civil is another story. I don't want to miss work just because some klutz slips, falls, and thinks that means they hit the lotto. Those are my tax paying pockets they are trying to pick. I mention this during voir dir, and it always keeps me from getting chosen. Once, when they kept questioning me, I asked asked what kind of exercises the injured party was doing to help heal their sore back. Surprise! They didn't pick me.

Yes nickel, sorry. For others, voir dire is the term used for the beginning of a case when prospective jurors are questioned individually for suitability by the judge.

Prosecution and defense attorneys are present and consider the answers from each in turn to assess their individual suitability to their position. How the individual's background and apparent attitudes may suggest their views. Prospective jurors can be dismissed either by challenge for cause (a reason acknowledge by the parties and the judge that makes a person unsuitable) or by peremptory challenge. The latter is a challenge that requires no reason be given and are used when a lawyer thinks someone may be unfavorably disposed to their position for whatever reason. Each lawyer has a limited number of these to use in jury selection, A search suggests the number each gets is between 6 and 20 and depends on the case and location.

In a case for a particular offense, say drug possession, the judge might begin by asking the person's occupation and whether they or any members of their family had used drugs or had drug arrest incidents. Someone saying "Yes" would be dismissed for cause - a potential bias in this situation. Similarly, in a trial for a physical assault or attack of a policeman, an expected question would be "Do you have any family members or close friends who are law enforcement officers". Someone answering "Yes" would be dismissed for cause.

I know there are a few lawyers among participants here, maybe one can chime in and correct anything wrong I've said here.

Until this year, not only had I never known someone who served on a grand jury, I didn't realize it was a group of ordinary citizens. After watching a bit of Law & Order over the years, I thought it was a group within law enforcement or the justice department or something. Been a looooong time since I had Civics!

My FM has found it sometimes interesting, certainly fodder for the imagination, but FM has to make up the work missed that one day a week by working an extra hour or two the other days. Not an hourly employee, but there are requirements to the job.

FM is what?

"For others, voir dire is the term used for the beginning of a case when prospective jurors are questioned individually for suitability by the judge."

Attorneys for the prosecution and for the defense are also allowed to question the prospective jurors.

Yes, true. Thanks.

@jupidupi - Wow. You're so proud of gaming the system. The comedian Norm Crosby once said, "When you go into court you are putting your fate into the hands of twelve people who weren't smart enough to get out of jury duty." I'm sure you think you're very clever and smart. You should hope and pray that you, nor anyone who is near and dear to you, is ever involved in a jury trial.

Eh, I don't look at it that way. If I were a defendant, whether civil or criminal, I'd want the jury to be composed of folks who are resigned to being there and who want to try to pay attention and do their job. Someone with an "attitude" or other distractions on their mind does no one any favors by being there. In such cases, it's better for the case and the jury itself for such people to figure out how it works and manage their (truthful) responses so that they're excused.

Elmer, FM is Family Member. I’m trying to introduce it gradually as I to along but it’ll take some time.

DH was called to the Grand Jury--he was "on call" for it for one year. It must depend on the municipality. He listened to two cases in his year. The jury manager that watched over us said in her time working at that court house she had only heard of one Grand Jury being convened. We are a rural county where life is pretty quiet. PTL!! I just finished a trial. It was a pilot trial testing COVID-19 safe procedures for in person criminal trials. No civil trials have been heard or are schedule to be heard in person. Some of the things that were noted as "needing work" were: Doors closed--doors should be open so no one has to touch them. Walking about: It's near impossible to remember to keep your distance and the longer the trial goes on and the more familiar a group feels makes it harder and harder. Passing of evidence: We each got our own copy--but they were touched/handled by how many people and how does one keep that sanitized? The speed of the process..interviewing potential jurors took 8 hours and it usually takes maybe two to sit a jury... Masks: The court officers and witnesses did not wear them. Mostly due to the recorder trying to hear to take things down word for word. The lawyers had to take theirs on and off if they had to approach anyone for what ever reason...the one lawyer had a mask that needed to be tied twice each time. I was ready to slap him after day one!! GET A MASK WITH ELASTIC DUMMY!! I'll end with another reminder I live in a county that has had 56 known cases. Last week we had our first death. COVID is not a HUGE threat here. I am 61, I delivered food daily to families as part of my job at the school, DH works in a factory that never shut down...This was not a risky endeavor during COVID in comparison to my REAL LIFE.

Yes, elmer, I agree. But I think jupidupi should adjust her/his attitude and conclude that her/his self-perceived intelligence could be beneficial on a jury.

Also, not all slip-and-fall cases are won, and not all of those that are won are paid for out of taxpayer dollars.

Agree. But that's the tip of another iceberg. The personal injury bar in the US is still out of control. Frivolous cases being pursued because the lawyers take on the case on a contingent fee basis. File a suit and hope to get an out of court settlement with an insurance company. Little time spent, much money earned by the ambulance chaser. Or go to court and try to tug at the heartstrings of the jury. Bigger bucks there.

Other countries don't have this problem. Sometimes injury awards are capped anyway, or more commonly, the losing party in a lawsuit has to pay the costs of the winning party as compensation for troubling them with a "false" or unproven accusation of injury. That cuts down the activity considerably.

In the US, the out of control medical malpractice lawsuit scenario of decades ago was curtailed when states legislated low caps on injury awards. Funny, i don't think the situations alleged to be "malpractice" decreased, but rather the lottery winning nature of big settlements was taken away and so few suits are now filed.

Just curious about experience with others. Prior to Covid, it could be hard to get out of jury duty here in CA. The acceptable excuses listed on the summons were fairly limited. Much depended on the judge. I remember a judge telling a room full of potential jurors that all their requests of financial hardship had been denied. He told the room, "People, let me put it to you this way. You better be losing your house in order to be excused." I thought that was a bit harsh, but he ended up being a pretty cool guy.

Regarding responding to a summons, I know lots of people who've never responded. A couple of them even received a "Notice of Failure to Appear" and ignored that, too, without consequence. Aside from the cost issue, I've often wondered why jury summons aren't sent registered or certified. A couple years ago I received a Notice of Failure to Appear. Surprisingly, it was just a little postcard vs a large envelope. I'd truly never received the original summons and called right away. The guy I talked to was so nice. He scheduled me and all was fine, but I was one that could honestly say I never received the summons.

Judges need to manage the process in order to fill juries and must sometimes daily confront people who offer lies and BS answers to simple questions about their suitability. If that makes judges stilted and appear to be stern, I think that's to be expected.

For people who get a notice to appear and disregard it, I think they should be prosecuted. The military term I learned that's applicable is TS - you could say Tough Situation, or substitute a different word for the S. Too bad. It's something that needs to be done, like picking up the trash but this task is done by residents of an area. If you want police to arrest law breakers but to observe the rules while doing so, you need juries to serve at the trials. A needed component of civil society and the rule of law.

My county is going to test juries by zoom because of covid

Oh, lisa, that will be interesting. And time consuming.

"Prior to Covid, it could be hard to get out of jury duty here in CA."

Prior to COVID, anyone age 70 or older could be permanently excused from jury duty if he/she has an illness or condition that would make serving on a jury difficult, just by filling out and submitting an online form attesting to such under penalty of perjury. Anyone under the age of 70 with an illness or condition that would make serving on a jury difficult could be permanently excused from jury duty by having a doctor fill out the form and submitting it to the court.

"...just by filling out and submitting an online form attesting to such under penalty of perjury."

I did know about people 70 and older not needing a doctor's confirmation. I wonder if they even send out many summons to the over 70 group.

It just surprises me the courts don't seem to follow up when people ignore a summons. I know someone who did respond to his summons and was given a date. Then he just didn't call in the night before to find out if he had to report the next day. That was years ago and nothing ever happened.

I've actually always wanted to serve on a jury, just for the experience of it. But the only time I was ever called up for jury duty, I was asked if any members of my family were in law enforcement. I knew that once I answered, I'd be recused, so I tried to first explain that I would be totally impartial, whether the case was about someone in law enforcement committing a crime, or having a crime committed against them. But they said "Just answer the question." As soon as I said 'my father, husband, sister (and 3 other family members) were police officers,' they immediately dismissed me.

In my heart, I honestly know I would have heard the case with no preconceived assumptions, and just relied on the evidence to reach my decision. But I knew there was little chance they'd select me, and I was right. However, upon being dismissed, I couldn't resist saying, "So I'm being refused as a potential juror, because you have a biased presumption that I can't be unbiased. Ironic, isn't it?" Several of them chuckled, but my questioner just glared. I always wondered if it would have made any difference if I'd mentioned that my family members that weren't police officers, were mostly lawyers and two judges, lol.

I got a summons just this week! I checked the box that I'm over 65 and concerned about the virus. Even if I weren't over 65, I would not go. I've served several times. I've done my duty, and remember those close jury chairs, crowded halls and elevators, hours sitting in packed jury rooms. Masks and distancing aren't enough. No thank you.

You will have to let us know if checking the box got you excused. All the crowds you described from your past experiences are not what court is like NOW under COVID so if you do get called to appear you needn't be overly stressed.

In some places, they don't even call a jury for civil cases. And where I live, up until about 15 years ago, if you were a sole proprietor and could show that jury duty would be a financial hardship (and believe me, the pittance they pay wouldn't even cover a day's office costs, much less other ongoing business expenses,) you were exempt from serving on a jury. Lindsey_CA, the next time you see someone looking at their cell phone while they walk down the sidewalk, ask yourself how much of your savings and tax dollars you'd be willing to pay out for them tripping on a pot hole.

"I was asked if any members of my family were in law enforcement."

amicus, I've seen that same question asked several times. A response like yours doesn't always result in dismissal. I'm sure it depends on various factors, but I've been surprised a few times when responses don't result in dismissals.

Well seems to me Jupidupi is just being honest about his/her feelings. Better than lying and pretending to be impartial when one really isn't.

the courts have opened back up here but any proceedings are done with strictly the judge, attorneys, plaintiff, defendant, a bailiff or two. hearings, trials, etc. are recorded in many places so even court reporters aren't seen much. only necessary staff are allowed in the courtrooms.

i worked in the legal system my entire adult life for everything from public defender's office to prosecutor's office to deputy circuit court clerk. very small county so oftentimes, picking a jury was tedious work as everybody knows everybody else. like, when you dial a wrong number, you talk for 30 minutes because you know the person you reached. or, nobody uses turn signals because everybody knows where everybody else is going. **giggle**

when i was a deputy clerk, the clerk, judge and i were going through jury responses to weed out the obvious ones he would excuse from coming in. one lady used the reason for serving being a hardship was that she was incontinent. the judge looked at me and said "wth does that mean"?. i told him if she had to sit on the jury, there would be frequent bathroom breaks OR she might pee down her leg. he excused her immediately.

i've been wondering about the speedy trial rule since covid has brought the country to a screeching halt. most all criminal defendants file a motion for a speedy trial as one of the first things done. so, say you were arrested/charged with a serious crime (or any crime, for that matter) back in january and before your case goes to trial and enough time goes by (in illinois, it's 120 days by statute) that the period of time for the state to bring you to trial has passed, where does that leave you? i'll have to call my old boss and ask but i suspect cases would have to be dismissed without prejudice and then re-filed immediately so as to preserve it.

things that make you go hmmm...

I received a jury summons a couple of days ago, and I was surprised because I know that it is not required here for anyone over 70, and this is one of the perks I felt I had earned by reaching the age of 70.

Anyway, the summons said that I had to fill it out and return it, but I did not fill it out except to write in the area reserved for those over 70. I then returned the entire form and put my Cathedral City (Riverside County) address on it. I also then changed the address on my drivers' license to my CC address as well as my voter registration. I spend 50% of my time at our house in CC, and so I feel justified in doing this. Plus I want to vote on proposals that affect my property in CC, as I plan to move there completely in the next nine years. Kevin is keeping his registrations at our L.A. address.

I don't know how they get people's addresses for jury duty, but I have no intention of showing up for jury duty at the Los Angeles downtown courthouse. I did show up for jury duty at the Inglewood courthouse, which is much closer to our house in Westchester, quite a few years ago, but everyone was dismissed. I noticed, however, that almost half of the people on the roll call had not shown up.

Earlier this year, Kevin was sent a jury summons for L.A. County, and he only knows this because he has "informed delivery" for our L.A. address - I have it for our Cathedral City address. Anyway, we were having the mail forwarded to us at that time because we were in CC for more than four weeks, and the post office would not hold mail that long. They also would not forward Kevin's jury summons, and so he never received it. About two months later, when we were in CC again, Kevin noticed that he was supposed to get another summons, but that was also never delivered. Kevin said that is it common for people in the entertainment industry to be out of town for weeks at a time, and so L.A. County must be used to people not showing up. If he gets any additional summons, he will have a doctor's excuse, as he just got out of surgery and is not supposed to drive for the next month. He also has issues with his ostomy and has to be close to a bathroom at all times, which would probably make him ineligible - or at least extremely uncomfortable for him.

I showed up for jury duty in San Francisco when I lived there, and they excused me as soon as I told them that I was an astrologer. I didn't think I was stranger than anyone else in the jury pool, but it seems that the D.A. did not want an astrologer on the jury.

I have no intention of serving on a jury during the pandemic, and I do not think Kevin should either. They can get someone younger and/or healthier.

it's interesting to me that you have so many no-shows for jury duty. i suppose there aren't any real consequences since your counties are so huge with plenty of people to choose from and undoubtedly, your clerks send out hundreds of summonses for this purpose.

i live in a county of less than 5,000 people, the town is only 1,700. chances are, if you're summoned for jury duty, you will probably know the defendant personally or at least know family members of him/her. it's pretty uncommon for people here to ignore a jury summons and when it happens, many times an arrest warrant will be issued by the judge. when i was a deputy circuit court clerk, there were several times when a person would be brought to court to explain to the judge why the summons was ignored. the judge usually always explained that a jury summons is not an invitation and unless that person was in the hospital, their excuse for ignoring the summons was unacceptable. he never actually jailed anybody for contempt but he was quite firm and it was always embarrassing for the person.

i remember one time when the defendant was so well known, a jury of 12 couldn't be seated because so many of his friends/co-workers has been summoned. we got 9 or 10 people seated on the jury and the judge instructed the sheriff to hit the town square and drag people in until he found enough to fill the rest of the jury seats.

"I received a jury summons a couple of days ago, and I was surprised because I know that it is not required here for anyone over 70..."

@Lars, I'm in LA County and got a jury summons last year that said anyone over age 65 could be excused for medical reasons without a doctor's signature. I was beyond shocked to get one in the midst of Covid. There's no way I was going to a crowded courthouse. I just assumed they'd changed the age limit from 70 to 65 due to Covid, but it sounds like it's back to 70 now.

DH was summoned for jury duty for this week. Since we have only one vehicle, we have contingency plans for each day in case he has to go in. And he is hoping he doesn’t have a case that extends into next week because, with the Canadian entry restrictions lessened, he wants to visit his mother for the first time in almost 2 years, and he wants to do it before the borders tighten up again.

Edit to add, he did his nightly call-in and he is released for the rest of the week. So he is looking at flights to see my DMIL!

I'm going back to Cathedral City tomorrow and will probably be there for four weeks this time, although I'm not sure. I'm not having the mail forwarded or held because Kevin is staying here, as he has a follow-up visit with his surgeon at Cedars-Sinai on Friday. My orthodontist appointment is on Thursday in Desert Hot Springs - an easy commute from my house in CC.

I have no idea whether Riverside County is going to start sending my jury summons, but if they do, it had better be for the Palm Springs courthouse, which is just 10-15 minutes from my house in CC. The courthouse in the city of Riverside is over an hour away, and I will not be going there. That courthouse is slightly closer to my house in Westchester, L.A. County, and I imagine that it would be crowded also, since Riverside is the major city in Riverside County with a city population of 334,000. The population of Coachella Valley (Palm Springs/ Cathedral City/ Rancho Mirage/ Palm Desert/ Indian Wells/ La Quinta/ Indio/ Coachella) varies from 200,000 in July to 800,000 in January. This should affect the jury pool, I think.

I'm in Massachusetts. I've received summons for jury duty 3 times since moving to our place on Cape Cod in 1999. Two times, I was dismissed after spending a day in a jury pool. Once I was seated on a jury but the judge called a mistrial because the defense attorney tripped up a policeman in his testimony and got him to mention a breathalyzer test that wasn't allowed to be discussed for some reason. The judge sent us all to the jury room after that exchange, and then came in about 1/2 hour later, she was furious but told us we were free to leave.

Massachusetts has a "One day, one trial" policy. So if you don't get called the first day, you've still fulfilled your obligation. Your name is put back into the mix 3 years afterwards. You can postpone your date up to 6 months after the first one assigned, but you can only change it one time. Once you turn 65, you can request to have your jury duty at the courthouse closest to your home. Once you turn 70, you can decline to serve.

I've retired from jury duty. I was becoming almost a pro. DH and I were both called every other year like clockwork. Some how our prosecutor must have really liked me - I promise I was doing nothing to gain his attention and had places I'd rather be. I'd served on about 4 violent crimes (as well as city drunk driving), photos, bloody evidence, all of it. Two murders. And a few years later a different judge threw out our verdict for one, saying we hadn't the right to have arrived at the decision we made. I personally knew one of the judges. Really two of them but one only slightly. Didn't help. When that last summons came, I saw my doctor and said I just don't have what it takes for another of these. She wrote a letter for me saying she'd rather I didn't serve. She didn't say 'ever again', but that's how they took it and I seem to be permanently excused and no longer called. Last time DH was summoned, he was never called to appear or serve. He rarely did serve, he knows too many people and would be excused. And as opinionated as he is these days, also somewhat harder of hearing than he used to be, they wouldn't want him anyway. I think we've both fulfilled our civic obligation when I consider how many people I know who have never been called. My mother for one. Never.

I received a summons back in March or April 2020. There was a space to request to postpone service, and the reason why - I think that I wrote Coronavirus. I then received another summons early this year, before I was vaccinated, and again, I requested to do my service in the future, stating that I wanted to be vaccinated first.

I have served on a couple of jury trials, the most stressful being a "date rape" case involving a young man who was about the same age that my oldest son was at the time. We found him guilty.

I also served on the grand jury, which in my county was once a week for either a month or six weeks (I don't remember exactly). I actually enjoyed it and learned quite a bit. I was the foreperson, and had to sign all of the bills that went forward.

My son was the foreperson on his federal grand jury. When they returned to their duties several months ago, part of his job was to call everyone on his panel to get them all back. At least one member had passed away, so it was a challenge for DS. He finished his term a month or two ago and is back to a normal 5 day a week schedule at work.

I was sent a notice a couple times in the military but was out of state or country. I think once as a nurse got called but we were so short staffed I got out of it. The last time I had to show up, got sent home, I'm sure because I was a nurse. Guy on trial was a doctor and his nurses ratted him out some drug offence.

<Massachusetts has a "One day, one trial" policy. So if you don't get called the first day, you've still fulfilled your obligation. Your name is put back into the mix 3 years afterwards. You can postpone your date up to 6 months after the first one assigned, but you can only change it one time. Once you turn 65, you can request to have your jury duty at the courthouse closest to your home. Once you turn 70, you can decline to serve.>

This sounds very similar to California, except that I believe that your name gets put back into the mix in two years instead of three, but I am not sure about that.

I was not aware of being able to request to have the jury duty at the courthouse closest to my house after 65, but that sounds like a reasonable idea. You can certainly decline to serve after 70 in California by simply writing a reason on the form.

What is odd is that I posted on this thread two days ago (on Saturday), but the it did not show up on the front page until today for me. So I tried to start my own thread on Sunday, and it disappeared within two or three minutes after I posted it, and I attempted three times. I had saved my message as a text file before attempting to post, and so I did not have to keep writing it. It was basically the same message that I wrote here two days ago.

I have no idea why those thread disappeared, but I blame it on the Sunday gremlins.

Our sister, who is a lawyer in Austin, Texas, told Kevin and me that we could get dragged into court for not showing up for jury duty, but if they did that for everyone in L.A. County who did not show up, the courts would be doing nothing else. I think it is slightly more difficult to get a jury when the population is very diverse - at least it seemed that way when I went for jury duty in San Francisco. A lot of people had English as their second language, and they got dismissed fairly quickly. One woman from Guatemala got dismissed because she told the judge that she could not be fair. She said, "No, I cannot be fair - I am brown," meaning that she could not have fair skin. There were a lot of characters that got called up for jury duty in San Francisco when I got called, which was around 1979, I think. We were not allowed to read books in the courtroom, but one woman had brought her knitting and got stern looks from the judge and the D.A., but it was not against the rules, and so they could not make her stop. It made me wish that I had known how to knit.