Jury Duty

[Chocki]

Like others said you fucked up the minute you let them know you got the summons.
I learned a long time ago to ignore anything I got in the mail that hassled my buzz bro that they didn’t make me sign for.


But I’ve heard they way to get out is reverse psychiatry. You tell them you can’t wait to serve bc:
all you have to do is look at someone to know if theyre guilty or not

you hope the defendant is a surfer, bc surfers are notorious derelicts, sexual deviants, drug addicts etc and as such are a menace to society and should all be incarcerated

 

[Senor Sopa]

I don't think there's anything in the summons that says you can't go in early. I thought the new way was you call in the night before to find out if they want you to show up?

 

[Mr Doof]

For jury duty in SF, you get an letter in the mail, are assigned a group number and given a phone to call every morning (or is it the night before?). If your group is called, you show up and wait to be given an actual case. If not given a a case by certain amount of time, sent home, to call the next day. If you get through the week without being given a case, they can try again in 2 yrs. If you get seated, then I think you are in the clear for 4-6 yrs.

Last trial I actually got seated for was class action lawsuit against asbestos manufacturers.

Just as opening remarks started, defendants (the manufactures) stood up, interrupting the remarks, asking to approach the bench, and 10 minutes later the judge said they involved parties were going to settle and then he thanked us for our time and sent us home.

One friend had an international heroin smuggling case. They crims met in the McDonalds on Van Ness Blvd and Golden Gate and did most of the "brains" organization there, like how much to bring in, who gets it when, cuts and percentages for those involved, etc. Said it was a really interesting thing to learn how smuggling is done, the various parties involved, how the FBI and Malaysian govt cooperated, the local beat cops/EMT folk Narcan-ing people, etc, etc. Said it was eye opening how complex (people side) and simple (mechanics of operation) it all is.

Another friend had a triple homicide case and it changed her opinion on death penalty (was for it, then against it after the case....but still thought they guy should be locked up forever based on preponderance of the evidence).

Anyway, am sure if I ever get seated for a trial, it will be some buffoon fighting a red light ticket.

 

[Ifallalot]

I kinda want to go just to start spouting off about jury nullification

 

[sizzld1]

I got called in for jury duty about a year ago and I've participated in picking a bunch of them. You have to be very comfortable being an unreasonable idiot in front of your peers if you want to get tossed "for cause." A good judge, and whichever side thinks your views might help their case, will do everything in their power to rehabilitate you and get you to agree to a more reasonable position. Ifall would have no problem I'm sure, but most people wilt under the pressure and fall in line.

 

[000]

dodged it for years, had a legit excuse

finally i did it in october
they kept me til 3pm til they interviewed me
i said i cant say with 100% certainty that i might not be biased
they cut me

friend did same a month later. sure was a waste of a day. boring as hell.

 

[Subway]

Voir dire for a medical malpractice case…I was maybe 24. They asked me first, out of the 12 of us in that session, if I could be impartial in a medical malpractice trial, and I calmly answered “it’s cases like this that make health insurance unaffordable for young employed adults like myself” and both lawyers grinned and, nearly in unison, excused me

that was 20 years ago.

12 years ago I actually got called to a Brooklyn courthouse , sat there all day (nursing a water bottle full of vodka, because thats where my drinking was by then) and was never called for a voir dire. At the end of day, got a stamp and that was the last time I set foot in a courthouse.

 

[Eunice]

I was summoned and postponed my report date through the online portal. They mailed me a new notice as the date approached some six months later. I never showed up.

 

[ElOgro]

I was summoned and postponed my report date through the online portal. They mailed me a new notice as the date approached some six months later. I never showed up.

Would you have shown up if you’d known in advance that the case involved dismemberment of a sexual nature?

 

[Joshua2415]

I was summoned and postponed my report date through the online portal. They mailed me a new notice as the date approached some six months later. I never showed up.

No snacks?

 

[Duffy LaCoronilla]

Last time I got called up, went in, claimed hardship (trial was supposed to take 6 weeks and being self employed I’d lose 6 weeks of income). Didn’t work.

They called me to the box to ask questions, see if I could be “impartial”…

The case (this is what all parties involved stipulated to) went like this…

A lady got drunk, got in her car and killed a 21 year old UCSB student who was riding a bike. The bike rider was also drunk.

The lady was serving time in prison for vehicular manslaughter. She was suing the parents of the dude she killed because he supposedly bought the bike he was riding and booze he drank with a credit card that was paid for by said parents. Also, three separate insurance companies had their lawyers there (I assume because they were all trying not to pay anything).

The drunk driving lady was suing for damage to her car, lost income (because she was in prison) and emotional distress because (in part) she had a hard time dealing with the fact that she killed someone.

So I’m in the jury box and the first lawyer asks me a question. I don’t even remember the question, I wasn’t even listening, and went on a rant about how the entire thing was a complete sh!t show and every single person involved should be taken outside and flogged.

They ended up dismissing the entire jury pool after my rant and had to call up a whole new group.

Haven’t received a summons since. Been at least 10 years.

 

[casa_mugrienta]

Last time I got called up, went in, claimed hardship (trial was supposed to take 6 weeks and being self employed I’d lose 6 weeks of income). Didn’t work.

They called me to the box to ask questions, see if I could be “impartial”…

The case (this is what all parties involved stipulated to) went like this…

A lady got drunk, got in her car and killed a 21 year old UCSB student who was riding a bike. The bike rider was also drunk.

The lady was serving time in prison for vehicular manslaughter. She was suing the parents of the dude she killed because he supposedly bought the bike he was riding and booze he drank with a credit card that was paid for by said parents. Also, three separate insurance companies had their lawyers there (I assume because they were all trying not to pay anything).

The drunk driving lady was suing for damage to her car, lost income (because she was in prison) and emotional distress because (in part) she had a hard time dealing with the fact that she killed someone.

So I’m in the jury box and the first lawyer asks me a question. I don’t even remember the question, I wasn’t even listening, and went on a rant about how the entire thing was a complete sh!t show and every single person involved should be taken outside and flogged.

They ended up dismissing the entire jury pool after my rant and had to call up a whole new group.

Haven’t received a summons since. Been at least 10 years.

I'm surprised you weren't held in contempt of court.

 

[Duffy LaCoronilla]

I'm surprised you weren't held in contempt of court.

The judge didn’t seem happy that this case was going to trial.

 

[ghostshaper]

The last time I moved, like an idiot, I re-registered to vote. I figured out I had two separate juror badge numbers when I got two summons within 2 weeks and checked the numbers.

I've only been called into a courtroom once: it was for a domestic violence charge and the defendant looked like he was on roids. The judge was asking jurors if they could be impartial, and I thought no way, that guy definitely has roid rage.

I'm on call next week.

 

[Chocki]

 

[One-Off]

I can think of a couple trials I’d like to be on the jury for…

 

[pastel]

just throw the summons in the garbage. no one made you sign to accept it

 

[Senor Sopa]

Last time, extreme murder case. there were 80 jurors in the pool, they gave us a questionnaire to answer. Dumbasses. Questions like, "have you ever been arrested", "do you have any negative feelings about gangs", etc. SOOO easy to come up with pretty truthful answers that sound so bad.

The clincher was "do you think you can be unbiased". I said No, the judge asked me why. I asked to approach the bench, but he wanted me to say it in front of everyone. "Yesterday, you had 10 LEO's up here, and the prosecution stated they had 50 more. The fact that this case is being brought to trial over a year after the arrest tells me the DA has a solid case. The court has already presented lots of evidence indicating guilt". Needless to say, uproar, gavel bangs, closed discussion, and my dismissal.

One lady got off by basically stating that she hates all things gang related.
Almost always works to say you know someone has been tried for the same crime, and with surfers, is probably true.

 

[wedge2]

Anyone seen the show? It's good

 

[Bullnutts]

Last time, extreme murder case. there were 80 jurors in the pool, they gave us a questionnaire to answer. Dumbasses. Questions like, "have you ever been arrested", "do you have any negative feelings about gangs", etc. SOOO easy to come up with pretty truthful answers that sound so bad.

The clincher was "do you think you can be unbiased". I said No, the judge asked me why. I asked to approach the bench, but he wanted me to say it in front of everyone. "Yesterday, you had 10 LEO's up here, and the prosecution stated they had 50 more. The fact that this case is being brought to trial over a year after the arrest tells me the DA has a solid case. The court has already presented lots of evidence indicating guilt". Needless to say, uproar, gavel bangs, closed discussion, and my dismissal.

This is spot on. From experience and talking to defense lawyers, trials are held when a plea deal can't be struck. Prosecution is 100 plus percent sure they will win. If the prosecution has anything less, Let's Make a Deal. For the defense, Defendant is too dumb to take the deal. Wants to roll the dice, which doesn't work.

Say this and aloha means goodbye!