Jury Duty

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On Wednesday before Thanksgiving I got a letter saying I have been summoned for Jury Duty in a couple of weeks. All I know is that it's mandatory to go. I am very nervous and I don't know what happens there. Has anyone else gone through jury duty?
Did it last all day? What did you do there?

You just have to say two magical words to get out of it, jury nullification. Knowing that you can reject any law, saying a guilty man is innocent for example, will make eligible you for jury duty. Thus, by even reading this make you eligible for jury duty.

Just go and answer the judge's questions honestly. If you feel that you'll be unable to sit in a room with 11 other people, and engage in discussions with them, ask to explain this to the judge privately.

Some trials require that only 6 jurors be seated, so that will only involve 5 other people.

Every state has its own system, but typically, you show up an hour or so before the court goes into session and watch a 20 minute orientation video where the whole process is explained. Then you go to a central jury area and wait until you're called to a courtroom for the jury selection process. in the federal courts and in most states, only the judge asks you questions. In some states the lawyers get to ask questions, too. Just answer the questions as honestly as you can. Judges are typically understanding, but the one thing that will annoy him or her is you trying to lie your way out of jury service.

Whether you stay all day depends on a lot of things. If you get seated on a case, yes, you will, and probably have a couple more days before the case goes to the jury for deliberations. On the other hand, many cases get settled on the day of trial (it's put up or shut up time for the parties), and often jurors are excused before noon. In most states today, your service is for "one day or one trial". If you don't get selected for a case, in those states, your service is done and you're exempt for a certain period of time.

I've never been seated on a jury, but as a practicing attorney for 30 years, I've participated in the selection of over a hundred of them.

You might have to wait in a line beforehand, so you could pass through security. Hopefully, you don't have to wait outside in cold weather--you'll wait in the building.

Make sure you bring your jury notice. Bring a book or your tablet. You'll be put in a "jury room," with lots of other people who are reading books and tablets. They'll call your name. You'll go with a bunch of other people. You'll have a seat in a courtroom-type place. You'll be asked questions by defense attorneys (don't read your book or tablet when you're in that courtroom).

From my experience, it takes about two days if you're not picked for a jury--probably around the same amount of time if you're picked.

It can get boring at times. But...if you meet somebody interesting, it could actually be beneficial for you. You could make new friends.

In New York State, if you serve jury duty, you're exempt for six years.

One quick way to get out of jury duty is just tell them that you can spot guilty people just by looking at them. (I think George Carlin came up with that one.)

I got a notice for Jury duty back in back in July, but never had to even show up because the two cases that were scheduled for the period for which I was called were settled. To be honest, I would have enjoyed talking part in the process. Unfortunately, being a caregiver, I wouldn't have been able to serve.

As Orangez and VegetableMan suggested there are easy ways to get excluded from jury duty. Buy a copy of your local newspaper and pretend to study it while waiting your turn to be questioned. When called for questioning, stick it under your arm and, if asked, say that you always read the newspaper. That alone while exclude you by one or both lawyers.

However, if you are like me and actually would like to serve on a jury, answer the questions as blandly, briefly and simply as you can. All potential jurors are asked if they can ignore whatever they have read or heard about the defendant and arrive at a verdict fairly. If you want on the jury, answer "yes." After all, who among us can't put aside our presumptions and later change our opinions?

I am actually a fully-informed-jury advocate. But, I could truthfully say that I would ignore my presumptions and arrive at a verdict fairly. The idea that I can also consider the facts in ways that are constitutional but not appreciated by most courts and judges is my little secret. Being a fully informed juror doesn't mean I am obligated to volunteer that fact or any other information about me that isn't asked directly. I wouldn't volunteer being gay unless I was asked, why should I volunteer my understanding of the Constitution for the United States of America? The Fully Informed Jury Association http://www.fija.org/ can help you find if your state laws prohibit acting as a fully informed juror. A few states, like my own, actually have laws which support such jurors.

Do your best whether you want to serve or not. That is all that the laws and the court can expect of you.

I wear an NRA ballcap and carry a copy of "The Combat Leader's Field Guide".

They've never even called me out of the waiting room.

One time when one of my brothers had some time with nothing to do, he tried to volunteer for jury duty, but they wouldn't let him.

I've been called for jury duty three times.

The first time they sent a bunch of us to a court room where we stood around for a while. Eventually, the judge called us into the room and told us that the defendant had pled guilty at the last minute and so we would not be needed.

The second time was for a defendant who had sold fake drugs to a police officer. The first thing that the prosecutor asked was whether anyone thought drugs should be legalized. I was the only one who raised my hand. We were seated in order and the first 12 of us in that order not to be removed from the list by either the prosecutor or the defense attorney would be the jury. They had the 12 for the jury before they got anywhere near my number.

I would have liked to have been on that jury. I talked to the prosecutor later and asked why they didn't charge him with fraudulently misrepresenting whatever it was that he sold as drugs. He said that they could have charged either way. I would have been more likely to vote guilty for selling fake drugs than for selling real drugs as long as the real drugs were not inherently dangerous.

The third time was in a small county where trials of any kind are unusual. We have maybe one or two a year, maximum. The standard rule here is that you call the sheriff's department the night before you are supposed to appear and they tell you whether or not you still need to appear.

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As far as being dismissed from jury duty for cause, I knew one guy who was dismissed from jury duty, along with a severe scolding, was when he tried to vote guilty while they were selecting the jury. From memory, his exact words were, "I vote guilty. Where do I sign?"

I used to know one engineer who worked on police radar who was on a jury panel from which a jury was to be selected for a speeding ticket.

During the selection, they asked if anyone had any special knowledge about radar. The engineer didn't think that he knew anything more about radar than anyone else who had a decent scientific education so he didn't raise his hand.

Some older gentleman did raise his hand. They asked him what knowledge he had and he said that he had been a radar operator in the military. He was promptly dismissed for having special knowledge about radar. The engineer got a good laugh out of that. He didn't make it on the actual jury for other reasons.

He also told me about a jury he was on involving a woman who had more cats in her house than was permitted by law in that town. At one point, the animal control officer was asked by the defense attorney while testifying how he knew how many cats she had in the house. He said that he counted them through the window. The defense attorney asked how he could do that since the house was not that close to the street. He replied that he had to walk right up to the windows to see in. The prosecutor immediately asked the judge that the case be dismissed and the judge readily agreed.

Based on all of your responses I am going to be put in a room and I will have to watch an intro video. Then I will be put into another room with a group of people and be asked questions by a judge.

Whether or not you will watch a video will largely depend on where you are. Around here, there are no videos to watch. On the times I was called to show up there was never any mention of a video at all.