Jury duty is a wonderful thing (1 Viewer)

[Dre]

In New Orleans you need to go for five days (and then see if you get selected to go to a courtroom). It is a waste of time; it is dirty; there is no water fountain; the Internet is bad; and you mostly sit in silence, nervously waiting to hear for the workers to call your name OR tell you if you can leave.

However, the wonderful part about being selected to come here is that it unifies us. Rich or poor, black or white, EVERYONE is excited to not have to serve on a jury at trial. When we get released for the day, we are all celebrating together.

 

[SuperQuincy]

Sadly, I do not even exercise my right to vote because I don't want to be bothered with jury duty.

Granted i'm also an independent and would not vote for 95%of these people running for office anyway. But I refuse to even register because of jury duty.

 

[RussTKD]

Sadly, I do not even exercise my right to vote because I don't want to be bothered with jury duty.

Granted i'm also an independent and would not vote for 95%of these people running for office anyway. But I refuse to even register because of jury duty.

In Louisiana, they pull jury duty from drivers licenses, not voter registrations.

My Mom never registered to vote and regularly got called by Jefferson Parish. My wife never registered and got called in St. Tammany. Then said 'eff it' and finally registered to vote.

 

[efil4stnias]

funny...they never send me jury duty notification via "certified mail"

and i never get it.

huh.

 

[SuperQuincy]

In Louisiana, they pull jury duty from drivers licenses, not voter registrations.

My Mom never registered to vote and regularly got called by Jefferson Parish. My wife never registered and got called in St. Tammany. Then said 'eff it' and finally registered to vote.

They really pull the names from annual residency listings in all states.

They only way they can get that information is if its offered. Generally voter registration is the form most people offer the information to the government to compile these lists. The information can be obtained through the RMV, can also be obtained through home owner records. But its most often gathered annually through voter registration.

The state doesn't know where you reside unless you offer that information

 

[mb504]

I agree that it's annoying and inconvenient and can feel like a waste of time, particularly in New Orleans, and even more so because you're probably way too educated to not be stricken from the jury by one side or the other, and the only people happier than a jury pool leaving at 11:00 a.m. without being picked might be those dudes on Maury who find out they are not the father...but if the low paid civil servants in the jury room didn't say it, thank you for stepping up and making an effort to fulfill one of the most basic civic duties. Some of your fellow citizens appreciate it.

 

[jumpingoff]

Sorry to dump this here. It started as a comment and kept going.

I had my first criminal jury duty summons a few months ago. I was selected for a 2nd degree murder trial on the first day. I was only an alternate so I was excused once the deliberations began but it was a powerful experience.

Things that I came away with (yes, you "know" this stuff but experiencing it really puts things in perspective)

1. Being on a jury is a huge responsibility - you are determining guilt/innocence, an outcome that will affect the lives of many people with that decision. You must make decisions based on facts, not opinion and feelings.

2. Evidence is presented and it can be very graphic. You can be desensitized to it via TV and video games but once it's real life, it hits home.

2. Our justice system, while not perfect, is designed to be a very fair and open process. It includes regular people off of the street to participate in it. Not all countries judicial systems do this and it made me really really appreciate ours.

3. Yes, there are ways to "game the system" mentioned in the above post - i.e. not all attorneys are created equal. Jury members can lie and bs their way in and out of a cohort. You wonder what personal motivations are influencing the way some people may or may not think when making decisions.

5. Some of the better crime dramas really have the portrayal of a criminal trial down. I had weird deja vu moments throughout the whole thing.

6. I came away feeling proud to have participated in an important process, one that makes our country a decent place overall. But I also left feeling very sad. You watch the news - another New Orleans shooting, another black man gunned down, same story different day, etc. But over time you forget (at least I did) that there are people involved who care, who's lives have been changed forever, who have lost loved ones and friends, who deserve some sort of justice (if warranted). Not to get political or whatever but our murder problem is so bad. Not the so much the number, but the reasons - usually nothing important if a reason is even known at all. Trivial things and petty bickering. For this trial in particular, person A kills person B thinking he had something to do with a friend's murder. It turns out that person B actually witnessed the friend's murder and was going to testify on behalf of person A's murdered friend against the suspect. So this guy just killed a witness to his friend's murder thinking that he did it. It's so ridiculous you almost have to laugh. But it's an outcome from those who have nothing to lose and who just don't care about anything.

 

[guidomerkinsrules]

I SRed the whole time I was there
So no big difference

 

[Domefan504]

I think Jefferson Parish just sends it by standard mail and if you did not send the card back you were not put on the list for the day you were suppose to serve. Those days may have changed but if you don't want to serve I can't see how they can punish you for not wanting to do it? Anyone ever skip Jury Duty? Do they come and kick your door down if you don't show up? Serve a bench warrant? I would think the D.A. and clerk of court have better things to do than going after people who do not show up for jury duty.

 

[Lustmord]

when i was an inv for the state we used the line- "do you really want your life decided by 12 people too dumb to get out of jury duty? (or not smart enough to get out of jury duty) lets make a deal".

worked quite a bit.

one job was also to go thorough the jury pool and nullify folks, single out folks etc. You should see some of the crazy stuff on the jury pool forms. The vore dire which id sit and watch potential jurors body language and reactions etc, was just a circus most of the time.

 

[MamaSaint]

I lived in Louisiana for for nearly 50 years & was NEVER called for jury duty. I was a registered voter from the time I was 19. We lived in NC for 7 years & I was notified twice. Both times I was excused because, of all things, it snowed & the courthouse was closed. I can count the times it snowed while we lived there for on one hand. Hubby has already got notified out here, but was excused. There are high profile trials out here, & honestly I would not be adverse to serving on one of those juries, but it is still kind of scary to know you hold the fate of someone & their families in your hands.

Jan

 

[SaintJ]

Good for you, jumpingoff.

It's easy enough to be cynical, but you handled it just the right way.

There's lots of stuff in a democracy that's not always easy or convenient. I feel badly for those who have already given up on a system that, for all of its flaws, is one of the fairest in the world. Given the strains on the system from drug crimes, I think it's working pretty damn well.

 

[TheDeparted]

I've always been interested in serving on a jury, but I've never gotten a summons. My wife, however, has gotten at least 4 in the last 10 years - but almost always during the school year when she's teaching, so she gets out of it that way.

To some it's an inconvenience. To me, it's another of life's experiences. Maybe, if I ever get one, I will decline wanting to serve again.

 

[Ti Rider]

Believe me it could be worse - my wife received a summons for federal jury duty in Jackson, MS. Details if you get picked to serve - 6 months of service, you must call each week to see if you need to report, if you get seated on a jury you are sequestered for the duration of the trial, you are responsible for your own transportation to and from the federal courthouse in Jackson (which is a miserable 3 1/2 hour car trip from our house) with a payback of 27 cents a mile. So she went to Jackson, sat most of the morning in the pool, the judge was not excusing anyone, it came down to a lottery, her number wasn't picked (not millions of dollars but the feeling had to be close).

 

[st dude]

I tried a jury trial in Baton Rouge last month. 12 people plus an alternate gave my client a week of their lives to help determine what he was fairly owed after someone's mistake altered his life in a very bad way.

I told them in thanking them for their service that the three most American things one can do is serve in the military, vote and serve on a jury.

If you live long enough it evens out. You may serve on a jury and give your time. You or a family member may get hurt or be the victim of a crime and a jury gives you their time.

I have been called a couple times for jury duty but never selected. I think I could be a fair juror and hope to take my turn one day.

I have tried many criminal and many civil cases over the years. You read a lot of stories about how messed up the system is. Ours is the best in the world. Every jury I have ever had, win or lose, has taken the responsibility very seriously and has worked very hard to try to do the right thing.