The Captain
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Hugs are good...
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Post by The Captain on Jul 30, 2013 13:28:41 GMT -5
i've been called several times (we only get one year), never served. DH got called several times and he has actually served once.
Turns out he was chosen to be the foreman on a drug case. Typical low level dealer selling at a gas station across from a school.
Only thing is, the chain of evidence was evidently tampered with not clean and there was several glaring inconsistencies in the arresting officer's story. DH states that even though everyone knew this guy was guilty of dealing, they could not find him guilty in this instance.
Turns out same guy runs into DH about 18 months later at the same gas station. He remembers DH (since he read the verdict) and actually thanked him for his service. Says he used it as a sign to get his life straightened out and now he had a legitimate job.
We can only hope it's true.
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alabamagal
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Post by alabamagal on Jul 30, 2013 13:44:20 GMT -5
I have lived in the same county for 27 years, and have only had jury duty once. I am a registered voter, have driver license etc. but I seem to be able to avoid the selection. DH has had jury summons at least 15 times in the same time period. One of my kids got a summons when they were 18+ but not registered to vote. I guess they get info from driver's license. She was away at college so didn't have to go
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Peace Of Mind
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[font color="#8f2520"]~ Drinks Well With Others ~[/font]
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Post by Peace Of Mind on Jul 30, 2013 13:51:09 GMT -5
Right after I registered to vote I was called, so the summer after my eighteenth birthday. The hit and run I mentioned on another post. Kid hit someone, panicked, went home and told his father who took him to police station. Brand new driver. Fortunately the other party was not hurt badly and the kid got probation and community service. I think I was picked because I was young and could empathize. Hmmmm. I wonder.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jul 30, 2013 13:52:59 GMT -5
D'oh!
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zibazinski
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Post by zibazinski on Jul 30, 2013 13:59:22 GMT -5
Not sure about that but that's what the lawyer guy told me. Intelligent people are not wanted on a jury so if you want jury duty, play dumb?
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Peace Of Mind
Senior Associate
[font color="#8f2520"]~ Drinks Well With Others ~[/font]
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Post by Peace Of Mind on Jul 30, 2013 14:01:35 GMT -5
Not sure about that but that's what the lawyer guy told me. Intelligent people are not wanted on a jury so if you want jury duty, play dumb? That must be why I never get called. I was summoned once many years ago and that was the last time.
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zibazinski
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Post by zibazinski on Jul 30, 2013 14:03:18 GMT -5
It would make sense. If you want to sway people, you don't want independent thinkers.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jul 30, 2013 14:05:53 GMT -5
Anyone else notice that the Attorneys have been really quiet on this thread??!?
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Peace Of Mind
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[font color="#8f2520"]~ Drinks Well With Others ~[/font]
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Post by Peace Of Mind on Jul 30, 2013 14:08:01 GMT -5
Zib - I think you are right. I'm totally like Beer's SIL! hahahahaha
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Post by The Walk of the Penguin Mich on Jul 30, 2013 14:11:45 GMT -5
The closest I got to being on a jury was when I was chosen to set through voir dire. The lawyers questions up through juror #25, I was #26. But as I listened to the questions and answers, they would not have chosen me anyway.
No one that sat on the jury had any more than a HS education (I had an MS). Everyone had lived in San Antonio for their entire life, had attended San Antonio schools (nope). Every person chosen had children (I guess my cats didn't count).
It was the last jury chosen for the day and we were released at 5:30, which truly sucked as I was caught in the traffic jam to end all traffic jams to get out of there.
Next time I was called, we sat in a room all day waiting then someone came in and said that all cases had been settled, no need for a jury.
Last time I was called, I was going to be out of town at my research meeting. When I called to reschedule, I got a letter back saying "never mind".
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973beachbum
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Post by 973beachbum on Jul 30, 2013 14:23:26 GMT -5
I think it is true that lawyers don't want people on the jury that they feel might know more about something than they do so to speak. I will say that that doesn't always work. I did end up on two juries for trials that I still am baffeled by. One case was for health insurance fraud and I was a mid level mgr for a health insurance company. I don't actually remember any questions after my name, address and where I worked. When I said where I worked heck broke out in the court room It turned out they only have so many passes to kick peole off the jury wihtout a real reason the judge will agree with. He wouldn't agree to remove me with no proof that I was biased which they didn't have so on the jury I went. I was the person who felt the strongest that although everyone knew he did it there was no proof, so we had to find not guilty. The other case I ended up on the jury was a capital murder trial. I don't believe in the death penalty. To this day i have no idea how they managed to put me in the jury for a capital murder trial. the questions about the death penalty were really convoluted! It wasn't do you believe in the death penalty? It was more like "Is there any set of circumstances that could come together to allow you to consider that the death penalty might be appropiate in that case even if you don't think the death penalty is right?" That case they plea bargianed before we had to decide a verdict. I have never seen such a happy group of people in my life! I have been called up a few other times but didn't have to sit on the jury, just the wooden bench in the hall for a few days. Coudn't they at least get office chairs for jurors to sit on?
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HoneyBBQ
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Post by HoneyBBQ on Jul 30, 2013 14:45:17 GMT -5
I've posted before I was selected for a murder trial jury. I was 1000% sure that they wouldn't want a white, STEM phD on their jury, but I guess I was wrong! I was also one of the few women in the jury pool that wasn't a victim of domestic violence. I was asked no questions period. Just instructed that I was selected based on my bio. :/
It was a very hard process for me. I had to watch a child testify against their mother. It made me very sad. His mother murdered his father. How can you not feel for the child?
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souldoubt
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Post by souldoubt on Jul 30, 2013 14:54:58 GMT -5
I think it depends on the case. The case I was on the guy had a public defender and you could tell the public defender knew it wasn't a case he was likely to win. On the jury we had more than 1 accountant, a lawyer who had experience in non-criminal cases and other people who were educated. The public defender made it a point to try and excuse women who had experiences with being sexually assaulted while the prosecutor was trying to get males who had no issues with law enforcement on the case. You could see both of them playing sides and going for certain jurors but again this was one of those cases where you sat there knowing it was the guys right to plead not guilty but it was a colossal waste of time.
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Abby Normal
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Post by Abby Normal on Jul 30, 2013 15:19:41 GMT -5
Anyone else notice that the Attorneys have been really quiet on this thread??!? They are too busy trying to hire the studmuffin that sent his beefcake picture.
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Sum Dum Gai
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Post by Sum Dum Gai on Jul 30, 2013 15:22:34 GMT -5
They must be stuck at the courthouse all day trying to find 12 people that aren't total dumbasses, but not too smart either, out of the 75 or so mopes sitting there wanting to go home.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jul 31, 2013 9:10:22 GMT -5
I think it's only 3 years here too. I got called in 2008 and then I got called again not that long ago.... maybe last year.... but then I called the hotline the night before and my number didn't have to show up the next day. I HAD to go in '08. I was in the first group called to the courtroom, but my number never got selected for juror examination. The ones not called were sent back downstairs, and then it was lunch time. We got an hour, so I went to Qdoba (my first time going!). I came back and watched soap operas for a couple of hours (that's what they had on TV in the main sitting room), and then they let us go at around 4.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jul 31, 2013 10:15:25 GMT -5
Being in the military (& everywhere but my home state) I was never called for jury duty. That is until last year. I'll be honest I don't want to do that stuff, nor even be there. So I walked in with my little card (I think it was a card) & talked to them. I think I opened up with "What do I need to get out of this". They answered a couple of thing with medical problems being one of the first. I came back with my medical stuff & asked if they needed my doctor to write a letter. Nope, I'm off jury duty. So being old & falling apart can be a good thing!
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