“I sincerely hope to get on a jury.”

Good attitude and not a common one! Most people I know want to get out of it. I’ve done my fair share of jury duty and found it very interesting. It can also sometimes be frustrating and/or stressful. My last jury duty lasted almost 3 months. That can be very difficult for some…and definitely was. There were 3 defendants (gang members) on trial for murder who were all convicted. Finally, on the last day we were all escorted to our cars by security and told to take an alternate route home. Not exactly what we expected.🥴 Not long ago I received another summons. I did the nightly call-in we do here in CA but never had to go.

Can I ask why you car still hasn't been repaired? Even after a couple of accidents with some pretty major damage I've always had my car back in a week, or two at most if they have to order some special part. If the vehicle is so damaged it's taking months to repair why haven't they just totaled it?

Good luck getting on the jury. I've never managed to be chosen either, although I always thought it would be interesting. Seems like being open minded is as much of deterrant to be picked as being too closed minded. I guess you have to play dumb and clueless. I don't do that well. ;-)

Another here who wants to get on a jury! I got on one several years ago and enjoyed it but it was a civil suit and the judge threw the case out two or three days in so it was short lived. Would like to get on an interesting criminal case but haven't so much as gotten a summons since.

Anybody watch the Jury Duty miniseries on Netflix? If you've got a rainy day to kill with a mindless binge watch, I recommend it.

“I guess you have to play dumb and clueless. I don't do that well.”

Based on what I’ve seen, not many people do it well. They try a little too hard.🙄

Just wanted to say the most frustrating part for me was the waiting. They tell you to be there at 8:30 but don’t call the jury in until after lunch. It’s no wonder trials can drag on.

I've served on juries several times, fortunately not that often. It's an interesting experience to a point. The trials I served on were all criminal cases and between the insights you get of fellow prospective jurors through the voir dire process, and then what you learn about defendants through the process of a trial, it reaffirms my doubts and distrust of my average fellow man. There's no limit to how scr*wed up people can be and the needless problems they cause for themselves without realizing they repeatedly take roads that lead off a cliff. For me, such experiences start out being humorours and end with me getting tired of scratching my head (figuratively) trying to understand just how clueless some people can be.

It's been maybe 20 years since the last time and so I'm probably due. I will serve unless it's a trial likely to last more than one week.

I've only been called once, doctor in Southeastern Ky on trial, turned in by the nurses working for him. I was dismissed probably because I raised my hand when they asked if any of us were nurses.

I just got another one last month and came back from a short trip to find the reply for my asking to delay it. I'm taking a long trip and it would probably land during the time they are needing jurors so they let me out of it. I already have most of the hotels booked and let them know that.

I also told them I had pending legal action now, to one of their questions. I don't mind doing it, but I think it would be long boring hours too.

I was once on a jury for a civil case. It lasted 6 weeks and I now know more about the properties of concrete than I ever thought possible. Indoor parking garage with faulty ceilings.

And from your comment, I suspect you know the difference between concrete and cement. Most people use the words interchangeably without knowing they're not the same.

It’s interesting since the court has always sternly reminded jury pools of the consequences for tossing out a jury summons. I know several people who have never responded to a summons. A couple of them even received a “failure” notice for not appearing and ignored that, too. Nothing ever came of it. A court clerk once told me they expect about 1/3 of recipients to respond to the what they mail out. IDK…maybe they just aren’t able to go after so many non-responders.

Not showing up doesn't seem to work here. I was sitting in the pool of potential jurors one day, I think it was the second day of them trying to seat a jury, when an officer walked in with a local restaurant owner caterer. It was December, I'm sure she was wildly busy, prepared very popular upscale food. Her hair was all askew, she had flour on her face ....they had literally dragged her out of the kitchen. Oddly, her establishment was just a couple of blocks from the courthouse and a favorite place for legal staff to go. They would even order lunches from her and bring them to us when we were deliberating. She was angry and flustered, and - not chosen in the end.

I am retired from jury service, or should be if the letter from my doctor is still on file. She agreed with me that serving 6 times, 5 of those violent/criminal cases and one DUI was enough to ask of anyone.

I got a summons for a Grand Jury last week. A friend here in our very small town got one too! I have not served on a jury of any type. Yet.

Congratulations! I think it's an important part of public service.

Ive been on a jury twice, one for my county and one federal. It was fascinating . I dont know why people avoid it although often the timing is not great. The fedral case was a woman who embezzled money from the credit union where she worked. This wad the American Friends Service Committee ( Quakers) so the variety of people testifying was interstinginteresting. I presume it was insured. The embezzler spent the money in casinos and on her boy toy.

I'm not sure that jury trials are such a good idea. The number of dingdongs I've encountered in my jury experiences sometimes leaves the ultimate outcome of trials in the hands of people who don't seem to have the capability of following the judge's instructions and making good decisions. It makes me question the reliance on the general public to administer laws they often don't understand with fact patterns that can be unclear or in dispute.

Many countries don't have jury trials as a normal feature or have them only for limited types of crimes.

Well I'm glad to see I'm not alone! Finally made it home from brunch.

The date is set for July 10th, and they predict my car to be done July 21st. No they didn't total my car, it's supply chain issues. If you don't remember, there were a whole bunch of car issues during COVID. Couldn't buy new cars (computer chips?), so everyone tried to buy used cars, and used cars went up in price... Which is causing a problem for repair parts. And that doesn't even touch on labor shortages which is nationwide still. Be glad you didn't have an accident after COVID? But it's been so long since I've been in an accident I don't know what to compare it to?

I'm pretty sure I extended the date I could come in last time. That is, they have one gimme. I'm hope I can use it to extend it a month and I'll be able to attend 🤞🏻

“....they had literally dragged her out of the kitchen.”

Uh-oh! I’ve not heard of anything like that here. Our niece DID respond to a summons and was given the date to report. Then she just didn’t show up and that was the end of it.

I actually once got a “failure to appear“ notice that was meant for a neighbor. It was a little postcard that could be easily lost or discarded. You’d think they’d be larger and maybe sent as registered or certified mail.

I just checked…here in CA you only need a doctor’s signature if you’re under 70. After that you can write your own medical reason(s) to be excused.

Elmer, I've seen various estimates on how often the jury gets it "wrong", based on judges' opinions, estimates which range from troubling to disturbing. I can understand sentiment for and against the jury system, but personally tend to think too much legal power is given to potentially stupid people.

With regards to ignoring jury summonses, every time the conversation comes up on local boards, plenty of people chime in saying they've been ignoring them all their lives with no repercussions. Doesn't seem to be much in the way of enforcement here.

I always hated jury duty because it was always in the unfamiliar county seat miles away rather than in the location a mile from my house. Twice I made it to the case explanation presented by the lawyers and potential juror interviews. It was interesting and seemed like we were in a room with our own tv show unfurling. The talk around town in our distant suburb was the time that occurred at our local branch of the county courts, which is located across the street from a strip mall with grocery chain, drug store chain, cafes, health club. Not enough jurors showed up, so the judge sent the balif across the street to round up several shoppers and bring them in to be instant jurors.

“I'm hope I can use it to extend it a month and I'll be able to attend.”

You should be good.👍🏻 I think here you can postpone it a couple times within a year from the original start date. People have lives, and there’s got to be some flexibility from the court.

i'll have to look for the netflix series, sounds interesting!

i worked for attorneys my entire adult life, prosecutors and defense both. always liked the prosecution side the most.

i have always wanted to serve but only received one jury summons and that was when i worked as a deputy circuit court clerk and my then-husband was the prosecuting attorney who later served many years on the bench. for obvious reasons, i was excused.

this is a a tiny county, the second smallest county in the state with a population of only 5,000. we only have 2 jury calls a year, one in the spring and one in the fall. i can't even remember the last jury trial that actually occurred. most civil trials settle and most criminal trials plead out, usually at the last minute.

at one point, i worked for 5 years for the public defender in the next county which is a very big one. we had jury trials every month, at least 2 or 3, most of which i sat in on.

jury summonses here are taken very seriously and ignoring one can land you in contempt of court with a hefty fine. when my husband was on the bench, i can remember several times when prospective jurors ignored the summons. when they did not show up on the appointed trial date to go through voir dire, a sheriff's deputy was sent out to bring them to court to explain to the judge why they thought it was ok to ignore the summons. he used to say, a jury summons is a court order, it's not an invitation.

Money talks.

The DH of a friend from childhood was stabbed to death (multiple wounds) in an apartment near his worki in Chicago by an employee he'd recently had to reprimand. (Both white collar workers for an international company.) I attended most of the trial as support for my friend and her adult DD.

The defendant was a known malcontent and on mids for his mental problems. He'd been on 'the measured mile' with the company, and could ill-afford the reprimand. He'd camped out all night in his car in front of his manager's building before calling and asking to come in a discuss his situation.

(Not admitted to the jury was that the defendant's wife had died in a mysterious car accident a year prior.)

The defendant's wealthy girlfriend hired one of Chicago's top defense attorneys. The county prosecutor was a young woman with only a small budget. She didn't stand a chance against the defense, when, at the last minute, they produced some yahoo from KY who claimed to have sold the knife in question to the deceased. The jury bought it.

"Money talks ..." was the theme of a recent offering on "Smile of the day", chisue, and it continued, " ... they say - but around here it mostly just waves ' 'bye 'bye!' ".

I've never been called for jury duty, and I think that I regret it, some, trying to be a good citizen, and feeling that it would be my responsibility.

ole joyful

I love jury duty. I find it fascinating. And I learn things and encounter a variety of people in the other jurors. I was recently called again and the case was settled before jurors were called. I was disappointed. I think jury duty is an honor and a privilege. It bothers me that so many people want to get out of it.