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Jury Duty

J

JayDogSmooth

All Conference
Aug 18, 2006
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Hi Everyone,

Thank you for the advice on Stocks and other things, I work out of the country and only have spadoric Internet time so I do read the responses but often times cant respond back until 3-4 days later.

My latest dilemma is Jury Duty, I just got summonsed and I don't want to do it. Without getting arrested or thrown in jail, how do I get out of it? Should I claim to be insane, tell them that I'm openly racist, fake an injury? Any help would be greatly appreciated, thanks!
 
I don't get this persistent need to get out of jury duty. It really seems like people want to get out of jury duty just for the sake of getting out of jury duty, with no real compelling reason for doing so.

If your job is such that you would suffer a legitimate wage hardship (as in, "I won't get paid"), then you have a reasonable excuse. If the hours to be served interfere directly with the care of a dependent, then you have a reasonable excuse.

Otherwise, you should do your part and serve. It's a civic duty, it's interesting and it's a day off work.
 
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The rule in New Jersey is "one day or one trial." Odds are that you won't be picked for a jury. Show up and see what happens. If your work situation truly precludes you from serving, you will undoubtedly be excused. "I don't want to do it" is not a good excuse. If you're really determined, say "I don't believe in the American system of justice."
 
RU4Real said:
I don't get this persistent need to get out of jury duty. It really seems like people want to get out of jury duty just for the sake of getting out of jury duty, with no real compelling reason for doing so.

If your job is such that you would suffer a legitimate wage hardship (as in, "I won't get paid"), then you have a reasonable excuse. If the hours to be served interfere directly with the care of a dependent, then you have a reasonable excuse.

Otherwise, you should do your part and serve. It's a civic duty, it's interesting and it's a day off work.
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I agree. Unless missing a couple of days of work is going to kill you, I find Jury Duty to be mildly interesting and a free two days off. Sure it can be a little boring, but I've only been requested once and the case and process were interesting. Why is it so important to get out of? I guess it's just cool to bitch about it and try to get out if it like it's this terrible burden. Although if you get stuck for a significant period of time I can definitely see why that would be an issue if it interferes with you're work life and financial situation.
 
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Depending what county you have to serve in you might not even have to go. Call the night before (or check on line). I have gotten called to Jury Duty 8 or 9 times already. Served on a 2 week civil trial once. Also had to go to Trenton for grand jury, but did not get selected.
 
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Just throw out the summons and if they ever come back at you just respond 'did you send it certified'?
 
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Yeah, call ahead, you may not have to report. Unfortunately I had to report. I was called in once a few years ago, and immediately put onto a civil trial.

I was just getting my career off the ground and was in the midst of a giant proposal that I really wanted to win to prove myself. I explained to the judge and she said that wasn't sufficient grounds to excuse me from serving. I served on the jury for close to three weeks, spent my nights and weekends working on work, pulled some all-nighters to get that proposal done on time. Now, if this were for a criminal trial or some suit that would serve justice, fine. It would be worth the pain. But all of this pain was for a stupid civil suit that should have been settled. I could honestly say the hardship on the jurors for those three weeks was a bigger deal than the hardship the plaintiff in this case claimed. Such a fricking waste and an abuse of the system.

I learned my lesson. Jury duty isn't noble. If called, wear a gorilla suit and make silly noises. Do whatever it takes to get dismissed.
 
OTBOTOR said:
Yeah, call ahead, you may not have to report. Unfortunately I had to report. I was called in once a few years ago, and immediately put onto a civil trial.

I was just getting my career off the ground and was in the midst of a giant proposal that I really wanted to win to prove myself. I explained to the judge and she said that wasn't sufficient grounds to excuse me from serving. I served on the jury for close to three weeks, spent my nights and weekends working on work, pulled some all-nighters to get that proposal done on time. Now, if this were for a criminal trial or some suit that would serve justice, fine. It would be worth the pain. But all of this pain was for a stupid civil suit that should have been settled. I could honestly say the hardship on the jurors for those three weeks was a bigger deal than the hardship the plaintiff in this case claimed. Such a fricking waste and an abuse of the system.

I learned my lesson. Jury duty isn't noble. If called, wear a gorilla suit and make silly noises. Do whatever it takes to get dismissed.
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tell them you are there to seek justice for harambe
 
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In Monmouth County you can sign up for text messages and you get a message the night before telling you whether you have to go. The last two times I had jury duty I never set foot in the courthouse. My daughter had a similar experience just this past month. I am an attorney and have sat on three juries. Once in law school. I know it is an inconvenience. But it is a civic duty and if everyone had the OP's attitude the court system would not function (to the extent it functions now). I hope you are never in a position where you need a legal dispute decided by a jury. If you do, you will be thankful that there are people there to serve.
 
For those seeking to avoid jury service for reasons other than those pointed out by RU4Real above, you best hope that you or a significant other is not the main party in case where people with your attitude are on a jury.
 
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RU Husky said:
You said you work out of the country. On your next trip- don't come back.You won't be missed.
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This is the guy who started the Colonoscopy AND Vasectomy threads. I'd put him on ignore, but I'm kind of interested in what he'll do next.
 
when you show up and they start asking you questions just be:
- biased for or against cops
- have knowledge about a detail in the case (ie. you were in an accident once at the corner of where the incident took place)
- have strong opinions politically (build a wall around Mexico or pro / against abortion)
- be a total dick where the lawyers can't determine how you may act in a jury room
 
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I must have been sent about a dozen jury notices during my work years....... When in business I really did not want to get involved in anything that would have been an extended trial

When I sent the response in I asked to be excused because I had a business where I had to be there or I would have to close..... They always accepted this, so I did not serve

Now retired, I would not have that objection,
Or excuse.
 
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rulaw87 said:
In Monmouth County you can sign up for text messages and you get a message the night before telling you whether you have to go. The last two times I had jury duty I never set foot in the courthouse. My daughter had a similar experience just this past month. I am an attorney and have sat on three juries. Once in law school. I know it is an inconvenience. But it is a civic duty and if everyone had the OP's attitude the court system would not function (to the extent it functions now). I hope you are never in a position where you need a legal dispute decided by a jury. If you do, you will be thankful that there are people there to serve.
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Wow, how did they let happen? I was asked to serve on a federal grand jury in law school and I said I was a law student and was excused. They sent me a letter right after graduation and I had moved by then. Persistent but still understanding.
 
I have been called for jury duty, and told the judge I was a law professor. The attorney for one of the parties raced up to the bench and engaged in a colloquy. The judge said, "No, you have to challenge him. He doesn't get disqualified just because he is a law professor." The lawyer promptly used a peremptory challenge to get him of me.

Grand juries often work differently than regular (petit) juries. They only want people with the time to serve, because a grand jury is generally very busy and lengthy. Maybe that's why they left me alone.

I'm serious about the "I don't believe in the American system of justice." The judge will say something like, "I hope you never need it" but he will excuse you. I have seen it happen more than once. You might say something less outrageous like "I don't believe in the jury system" and that would probably work. There really are people who don't believe in the jury system, thinking that cases are generally too complicated for jurors to understand.
 
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When I went to grand jury in Trenton, the judge did not let anyone out no matter what excuse they tried. One guy brought a letter from his employer stating how much he is needed at work. The judge said this is a great letter, you should use it to get a raise, but you are not getting out of jury duty.

Every single person had a different excuse and none were excused. The next to last guy stood up, the judge said do you have any excuse not to serve, he said yes but they were all used already and you turned them down, and he sat back down.

It would have been once a week for 18 weeks.
 
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RUfinal4 said:
when you show up and they start asking you questions just be:
- biased for or against cops
- have knowledge about a detail in the case (ie. you were in an accident once at the corner of where the incident took place)
- have strong opinions politically (build a wall around Mexico or pro / against abortion)
- be a total dick where the lawyers can't determine how you may act in a jury room
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I had to go in last year, and told them I was biased FOR the cops. They let me go. Was a murder case in Union county, think he got convicted on lesser charges.

One woman tried to weasel out by saying she has to work to "pay her property tax", but she was so nervous talking to the judge, he made her stay
 
I've done jury duty in the past and found it interesting. I particularly enjoyed watching the legal eagles battle in a case where a tenant was suing a landlord because she claimed a ceiling tile fell on her. I haven't done jury duty in a while, because I'm in a situation in which I won't get paid if I don't work. Hopefully I'll get to do it again.

I have a bit of a pet peeve about the system, though. In my view, if we truly wanted "a jury of our peers," it would be sufficient to sit a random panel of jurors without allowing the lawyers/prosecutors to pick and choose. This would require a much smaller pool of jurors to be brought in. I'm sure there are flaws in my argument (and I'm anxious to hear them here!) , but no more so than in the current process, in my opinion.
 
camdenlawprof said:
I have been called for jury duty, and told the judge I was a law professor. The attorney for one of the parties raced up to the bench and engaged in a colloquy. The judge said, "No, you have to challenge him. He doesn't get disqualified just because he is a law professor." The lawyer promptly used a peremptory challenge to get him of me.

Grand juries often work differently than regular (petit) juries. They only want people with the time to serve, because a grand jury is generally very busy and lengthy. Maybe that's why they left me alone.

I'm serious about the "I don't believe in the American system of justice." The judge will say something like, "I hope you never need it" but he will excuse you. I have seen it happen more than once. You might say something less outrageous like "I don't believe in the jury system" and that would probably work. There really are people who don't believe in the jury system, thinking that cases are generally too complicated for jurors to understand.
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I have heard that some attorneys now want other attorneys on juries. I think it depends on the case. When I was called in, I was also removed by peremptory challenge. I have to say, I was mildly disappointed. Kind of wanted to be part of a jury deliberation, though I have heard they are scary for some of the off the wall commentary.
 
I was jury foreman on a trial several years ago (sexual assault, burglary and witness tampering) and two other jurors were a federal prosecutor and a police detective from the town adjacent to the town where the crime was committed.
 
Thanks for all the advice guys, think I'll just throw it out and act like I never received it. Honestly I'd rather just mow the grass, go kayaking or go to the gym. Plus there's a new pizza place in town I really want to try. No offense but this seems boring to me, and I don't feel like falling asleep in court and having the guy with the wooden hammer get all pissed off because I'm not into the whole court thing
 
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JayDogSmooth said:
Thanks for all the advice guys, think I'll just throw it out and act like I never received it. Honestly I'd rather just mow the grass, go kayaking or go to the gym. Plus there's a new pizza place in town I really want to try. No offense but this seems boring to me, and I don't feel like falling asleep in court and having the guy with the wooden hammer get all pissed off because I'm not into the whole court thing
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Troll Confirmed.
 
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one of my co-juryers was a retired federal district court judge. It was a criminal case. The attorney for the defendant (accused of selling cocaine in substantial quantities) used his peremptories to challenge every white juror. Finally he ran out of challenges and ended up with me and the (white) judge. We convicted the guy, and the judge told us it was his third conviction or so and that he'd do considerable time.

I was impressed by the police officer who testified. Under cross-examination, he would not speculate or purport to be an expert in drugs. He was "just the facts, sir." The judge was good, too, and she is now on the appellate division, which is where the best judges go (one doesn't have to preside over trials).

I've never seen any suggestion that peremptories be challenged. The Supreme Court has ruled they may not be systematically used to exclude minority jurors. Maybe we'd be better off without them.

In one case I saw, the lawyer would lean down to the plaintiff as each prospective juror was called, and ask her, "do you like him?" I was dressed in a sportcoat -- I hadn't yet learned to wear sweats -- and that may be why she wanted me off. But I don't think that's why. The lawyer challenged every person who seemed prosperous; evidently he wanted a jury like the plaintiff, an Atlantic City waitress.
 
JayDogSmooth said:
Thanks for all the advice guys, think I'll just throw it out and act like I never received it. Honestly I'd rather just mow the grass, go kayaking or go to the gym. Plus there's a new pizza place in town I really want to try. No offense but this seems boring to me, and I don't feel like falling asleep in court and having the guy with the wooden hammer get all pissed off because I'm not into the whole court thing
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Just so you know; you will be asked again and you might receive a criminal citation if you don't appear.
 
JayDogSmooth said:
Hi Everyone,

Thank you for the advice on Stocks and other things, I work out of the country and only have spadoric Internet time so I do read the responses but often times cant respond back until 3-4 days later.

My latest dilemma is Jury Duty, I just got summonsed and I don't want to do it. Without getting arrested or thrown in jail, how do I get out of it? Should I claim to be insane, tell them that I'm openly racist, fake an injury? Any help would be greatly appreciated, thanks!
Click to expand...

Just "be yourself." You will not get selected.
 
Tell them that you have a dentists appointment, and that it can not be rescheduled. Tell them that you had an affair with your dentist and if you attempt to reschedule one more time she is going to probe your mouth with her strap on.
 
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camdenlawprof said:
I've never seen any suggestion that peremptories be challenged. The Supreme Court has ruled they may not be systematically used to exclude minority jurors. Maybe we'd be better off without them.
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If you listen to Podcasts listen to More Perfect from Radio Lab Episode: Object Away. The Podcast is fantastic and generally about the Supreme Court, but this one is specifically about jury selection and includes opinions on if the current system of peremptory challenges works well.
 
Extra Point said:
Tell them that you have a dentists appointment, and that it can not be rescheduled. Tell them that you had an affair with your dentist and if you attempt to reschedule one more time she is going to probe your mouth with her strap on.
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When that happened to you how did it feel?:scream:
 
Does the OP even follow RU football? All I've ever seen him post are "Help me do life" OTs, many of them as dirt-dumb as this one.

He lives out of country but is worried about jury duty? And uses his very limited Internet time solely to ask "life for dummies" questions on a football message board? Clearly a troll, and not a very entertaining one.
 
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Some of my fondest memories from my clerkship were listening to the courtroom feed during jury selection and hearing the judge I clerked for ruthlessly skewer people who were trying to make up excuses to get out of serving.
 
Union County is 2 days 1 trial. My son, a recent college grad just got called and ended up he didn't have to show up. He checked the message the night before each scheduled day and was told he was not needed. It may have helped that it was the week before labor day.

Last time I got called it was for the week before a major deadline at work. I immediately called and asked if they would push me back a week and they did so no problem. When I showed up I was put in a pool for a criminal case. An African American defendant from Plainfield, robbery I believe. They went through the process and had one last seat to fill when I got called into the jury box. The defense attorney had 1 challenge remaining. The judge went through his questions asking about my background (college educated white guy, father was police though retired for over 30 years) Then the judge asked the money question: where do you get your news. I told him I watch Fox News. Bingo the defense used the last challenge and booted me home.
 
He posted the same exact thread on the Rivals Soundoff board. It's probably on every rivals free board.
 
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