Jury duty..

[melanie2]

We've lived in this town for twelve years now, and in that time my husband has been called twice for jury duty..now he is being summoned for the US district court to potentially serve on a jury....damn it i'm the one who's always been interested in the going ons in a legal courtroom..and i haven't been called up once...in our state, they choose potential jurists from the registered voters...this is so unfair..and he's mad as hell lol..

 

[Horus]

Did one U.S. Court summons. Service lasted half-a-day. Got a ck for $40 on New Year's Eve...got an extra bottle of wine and the Jameson's.

Philadelphia has a three-ring circus for a court system. Too many judges that are still wet-nursing the career criminals here. That's why we have had 9 cops dead within 18 months.

Always got called up, but never picked...until three years ago. Ended up as the Foreman. Got the exact verdict that the judge predicted. Was thanked for our service. Free Lunch on Fridays and, oh yea, a whole $27 for three days service.

 

[TickleTheater]

Well there are unethical ways to get out of it... I personally wouldn't want to serve as a juror.

 

[melanie2]

I would not like to serve on a child killer trial..the pictures would be heart breaking.. David is diabetic but that doesn't keep him from serving..and believe me he does not wish to serve..i used to watch courttv religiously until the coverage went down hill and began to suck..in fact the very first chat room i discovered when i got this computer almost five years ago this July, was the chatroom in the courttv website..if you think chat here can go fast, try being there on a verdict day..however it's been changed to tru tv..and i hardly ever go..as the fighting in there is ridiculous..

 

[Horus]

Funny thing is that experience convinced me to pursue getting my credentials in Paralegal. I'm already an Accountant with 29 years of private/public sector experience. I've already been in Federal, State and local court (Tax and Bankruptcy) in the past. That's where I'd rather be.

I found out that what I have been doing for the last 7 yrs as a service to my present clients (not saying, but it's totally legal) is what a paralegal does for a lawyer. I just figured why not get paid properly for it.

So, I had a positive experience in court. That said, I don't think I could do a child murder either. On the other hand, an adult murder trial is probably in my future.

 

[melanie2]

Horus that's cool..i used to want to be in the legal profession in some capacity as well..

anyway..considering this will deal with federal cases, and also considering that our next door neighbor's son was shot while on duty as a cop, hurt but still alive..i'm wondering if that is the case coming up..and if so, could hubby be excused since he knows the family..although we don't know the son all that well..

 

[QueenBeeBeeMari]

I would never want to serve on a Jury.I don't want that responsibility;how should I know if the person did or did not commit the crime,I wasn't there.I would never be able to live with myself if I sent an innocent person to jail or to be killed.I would do everything in my power to get out of it if I were called and then if I was still called I would just refuse to give an answer because I just simply don't know if they did or did not commit the crime.Evidence can sometimes be misleading.We have already sent innocent people to jail and sentenced some to death,it's not right and it's not fair.We also shouldn't make people who don't want to be on juries be on them.I think that is really unfair,most of the time the people that don't want to be there don't care and most ordinary citizens don't know anything about law or interpreting evidence,that's even worse.I just think the whole process is messed up.

 

[desdemona]

Our legal system deems that a jury of our peers (of varying backgrounds and educational levels) should be the ones to determine our fate. That's how justice remains blind. I recently got a summons for jury duty, but since I'm now a business owner and would not be able to pay my loans (let alone my employees) if I were not working for that two week period, I was exempted from serving. I'd still like to perform my civic duty someday. It just isn't feasible while my livelihood and that of others depends on my availability to see appointments.