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Post by Deleted on Jun 10, 2015 12:23:27 GMT -5
Afterwards, a few of us jurors were talking on the sidewalk when both lawyers came over and asked each of us how we would have voted. I don't know much about the law, but this seemed a bit odd to me, and I don't know if it is an acceptable practice or not.
I'm not a lawyer but I suspect anything is OK AFTER the case has been settled. DH was on a case in which a professor was suing the state of NJ for prematurely demolishing his house; not sure why they were demolishing it but the state sent the team in before the professor had time to clear it out and all his belongings were destroyed, including a collection of classic Playboy magazines and his notes for the college classes he taught on Chaucer. The jury was all fixated on the value of the Playboy magazines but DH pointed out that college lecture notes are developed and refined over the decades of a teacher's career so represent a significant amount of work. They ended up giving him a generous sum to compensate for the lecture notes. After the trial DH talked with an attorney for the state and the attorney expressed surprise at the money awarded for the notes. DH told him that he(DH) had written an honors theses on Chaucer in college. The attorney's response: "Oh, Sh*t".
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Regis
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Post by Regis on Jun 10, 2015 14:50:41 GMT -5
Never been selected. Attorneys don't like me. As an engineer and a surveyor, my work deals with facts of law and mathematics, not emotions. The attorney with the weakest case has always dismissed me.
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NastyWoman
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Post by NastyWoman on Jun 10, 2015 14:57:33 GMT -5
I was called up a few years ago and send the notice back that, as a non-citizen, I was not eligible to serve. Promptly got a reminder notice a few weeks later which went back the same way (checked as non citizen). Got a thrid summons a few weeks later with a threat that I was obligated by law and would face penalties, yada, yada, yada... Sent that one back and this time highlighted the cvhecked line item. Only then did they (reluctantly) give up but they wrote my name would be put back in the larger pool of names so I could expect future summonses. I now have my highlighter at the ready since I really don't want to spend the time to go through that again (I forget whether I needed to put stamps on those things - but it wouldn't amaze me)
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swamp
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Post by swamp on Jun 10, 2015 15:01:49 GMT -5
The attorneys can talk to the jurors after the verdict has been given
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happyhoix
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Post by happyhoix on Jun 10, 2015 15:37:29 GMT -5
Got called three times. Sat on one case where a woman sued because a car dealership sold her an extended warranty deal and then refused to honor it - told her the problem was due to how it was manufactured and not to come back there any more (the car couldn't be balanced and ran through a set of tires a year). We came back in her favor mostly because she was a single mom and we felt like the dealership, after strong arming her into signing up for the extended warranty, was trying to bully her into not trying to get them to honor it.
The last two times was in my little rural town where I live now, and I kept getting kicked off cases - I figured out they were kicking off the people who had college degrees. Finally got on a jury that was a child abuse case, and frankly the state did a shitty job with it. The case was about a man who lived with his wife, step daughter (about 4) and two of their own kids. They were apparently pretty poor, lived in a trailer and shared a single car. Mom went someplace then called Dad to come pick her up, he refused, she got mad and called the sheriff and claimed her DH was abusing his step daughter. Later, she recanted and said she was just trying to screw him over because he refused to come get her and she had to get a ride with someone else.
The only evidence the state had, other than this foolish wife who changed her story, was the fact that they had a lot of bottles of hand lotion around the house - and everyone knows you use hand lotion as a lubricant. Well, first of all, I don't use hand lotion as a lubricant, and secondly, if you're a criminal based on how many bottles of lotion you have in your house, I'm a serious felon.
We didn't convict him but I always worried that he really was doing something to that little girl and the State screwed up by failing to investigate very well. The parents made me furious - both of them dumber than turnips, acting like middle school kids, the mom a whiny drama queen, the dad a goober. I wish I could have taken that little girl home, I didn't think she had any chance of success living with those two idiots, even if she wasn't being molested.
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lexxy703
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Post by lexxy703 on Jun 10, 2015 15:44:47 GMT -5
I tend to be more felonious in the Winter but yeah I have a lot of hand lotion sitting around. I have 3 bottles on the kitchen window sill alone.
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Sam_2.0
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Post by Sam_2.0 on Jun 10, 2015 15:56:09 GMT -5
My granny was selected for jury duty. About 6 months after she had passed away (apparently they don't look at the county death records first). Grandpa sent in a copy of her death certificate and thought that was sufficient. Several months later a notice of warrant appeared for failure to show for jury duty. Grandpa wrote the address of the cemetary as her "forwarding" address and a nice note saying they could go get her there. Funny enough the letters stopped after that. I wish I could get selected. I think it would be fascinating! But it will never happen.
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swamp
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Post by swamp on Jun 10, 2015 15:58:21 GMT -5
My granny was selected for jury duty. About 6 months after she had passed away (apparently they don't look at the county death records first). Grandpa sent in a copy of her death certificate and thought that was sufficient. Several months later a notice of warrant appeared for failure to show for jury duty. Grandpa wrote the address of the cemetary as her "forwarding" address and a nice note saying they could go get her there. Funny enough the letters stopped after that. I wish I could get selected. I think it would be fascinating! But it will never happen. trials are boring.
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Sam_2.0
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Post by Sam_2.0 on Jun 10, 2015 16:02:55 GMT -5
Oh, I am sure they are. I wouldn't get lucky enough to get a good one Still would love to see the whole process through. Then again, I am the nerd that toured the power plant just for fun.
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NoNamePerson
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Post by NoNamePerson on Jun 10, 2015 16:42:47 GMT -5
"Also - my understanding of the law is that your employer is only obligated to hold your job for you. In other words, you can't be fired for serving on jury duty. But they are not obligated for anything else." That does make sense; thanks. I had thought I heard that employers were supposed to pay, but I'm probably wrong.A company I worked for long ago would pay you minus what you made on jury duty. Don't know the going rate now but back then it was $6 a day plus something for milage. Oh and people on jury duty were issued a Jury Duty tag to put in car - that is if you couldn't find parking in the free court house parking lot. I think everyone should have to serve at least once in their lifetime. It is a real eye-opener
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Post by Deleted on Jun 10, 2015 18:51:35 GMT -5
I get summons but have never served. I probably would have gotten out of the first one I was summonsed for because I think I knew the defendant and I would have just been screaming Guilty! the whole time through. I didn't like him much. Prick. Usually I get cancelled when I call the night before. And I always change my location to a courthouse closer to me which ups my chances of being dismissed anyway. Terrible I know. DH got called for Federal Grand Jury or whatever it was at the Moakley Courthouse in Boston. I had to drag his gimpy ass into Boston on the subway and then hobble him over to the courthouse. He wobbled with his cane in front of the judge and got dismissed. Thank God because I would have not been pleased lugging his ass into Boston every morning. Commuting is a shit show from the North Shore, be it by road or train.
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tallguy
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Post by tallguy on Jun 10, 2015 20:30:33 GMT -5
The attorneys can talk to the jurors after the verdict has been given Absolutely, and I have done that each time I have served. It is a good way to get some answers to questions you have about either the case or the law, and also a way for the attorneys to get feedback on how you as a juror think they did handling their case. What part of their case impressed you? What part did you consider irrelevant? What could they have done better? It is a great idea and works for everybody.
My last time on jury duty was maybe two years ago. It was an ex-police officer on a prostitution-related charge. In talking to the defense attorney afterward, I told him I thought he had done pretty well considering what he had to work with, but he had no real case at all. When I asked why the defendant chose to go to trial (my guess had been that he needed a not-guilty verdict to not lose his current job) the attorney just shook his head. He knew he had no case going in, but I think the defendant insisted, and was hoping for a certain racial component on the jury. The entire story by the defendant was just ridiculous.
I really wanted to spend more time talking with the prosecutor. The judge told us afterward that he was part of a special program that allows law students to get experience in court, and I think it was his first trial. He made several rookie mistakes that I wanted to make him aware of, but he didn't stay and talk long enough for me to get to most of them. A pity. I think I could have helped him.
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whoami
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Post by whoami on Jun 11, 2015 2:13:04 GMT -5
I've done jury duty 4 times, 3 times as a juror once as an alternate. My last case was in juvenile court...aggravated sexual assault of a child and lewd conduct.
We found him not guilty.
I was appalled that the case even went to trial.
The state had nothing.
I was also scary to see how you can end up on trial for something I don't believe happened. Our case want a matter of the state not proving its case....it had absolutely no case.
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Wisconsin Beth
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Post by Wisconsin Beth on Jun 11, 2015 7:06:31 GMT -5
Juvie court is the jury duty I hope never to get.
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thyme4change
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Post by thyme4change on Jun 11, 2015 8:34:06 GMT -5
The attorneys can talk to the jurors after the verdict has been given After the PI trial, the judge asked if any of us would stay and chat with the attorneys. Many of the jurors stayed, but only one of the lawyers. He asked what we found important and what we thought of certain pieces of testimony.
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happyhoix
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Post by happyhoix on Jun 11, 2015 8:58:49 GMT -5
My granny was selected for jury duty. About 6 months after she had passed away (apparently they don't look at the county death records first). Grandpa sent in a copy of her death certificate and thought that was sufficient. Several months later a notice of warrant appeared for failure to show for jury duty. Grandpa wrote the address of the cemetary as her "forwarding" address and a nice note saying they could go get her there. Funny enough the letters stopped after that. I wish I could get selected. I think it would be fascinating! But it will never happen. trials are boring. Jury duty in the city, at least I was allowed to bring a book so I had something to do in all the long periods of time that you're just sitting there waiting. In the two that I got called for in the small town I now live in, you couldn't even do that, so you had to sit there for hours watching the slow as molasses process of jurors getting picked for different trials - then, if you weren't picked, you were allowed to go home. As stimulating as watching paint dry.
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swamp
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Post by swamp on Jun 11, 2015 9:04:35 GMT -5
I've done jury duty 4 times, 3 times as a juror once as an alternate. My last case was in juvenile court...aggravated sexual assault of a child and lewd conduct. We found him not guilty. I was appalled that the case even went to trial. The state had nothing. I was also scary to see how you can end up on trial for something I don't believe happened. Our case want a matter of the state not proving its case....it had absolutely no case. Huh. NY does not have juries for juvenile crime.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 11, 2015 9:14:00 GMT -5
I've done jury duty 4 times, 3 times as a juror once as an alternate. My last case was in juvenile court...aggravated sexual assault of a child and lewd conduct. We found him not guilty. I was appalled that the case even went to trial. The state had nothing. I was also scary to see how you can end up on trial for something I don't believe happened. Our case want a matter of the state not proving its case....it had absolutely no case. Was the defendant a juvenile? If not, this belongs in the adult system.
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midjd
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Post by midjd on Jun 11, 2015 9:51:40 GMT -5
Never been selected. Attorneys don't like me. As an engineer and a surveyor, my work deals with facts of law and mathematics, not emotions. The attorney with the weakest case has always dismissed me. Aww. I'd select you! I've never even been summoned. I doubt I'd make it to a panel but I think it would be fun to be on the other side.
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Regis
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Post by Regis on Jun 11, 2015 10:00:30 GMT -5
Never been selected. Attorneys don't like me. As an engineer and a surveyor, my work deals with facts of law and mathematics, not emotions. The attorney with the weakest case has always dismissed me. Aww. I'd select you! I've never even been summoned. I doubt I'd make it to a panel but I think it would be fun to be on the other side. Drove by your place of employment yesterday around lunch time. Thought maybe you'd be outside enjoying the great weather but didn't see you!
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midjd
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Post by midjd on Jun 11, 2015 10:36:34 GMT -5
Aww. I'd select you! I've never even been summoned. I doubt I'd make it to a panel but I think it would be fun to be on the other side. Drove by your place of employment yesterday around lunch time. Thought maybe you'd be outside enjoying the great weather but didn't see you! Sadly I was stuck inside all day. But this morning I spotted the Google Street View car!
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muttleynfelix
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Jury Duty
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Post by muttleynfelix on Jun 11, 2015 11:46:15 GMT -5
I've gotten notification 3 times and I wrote an excuse each time. Too much time off for a crtical employee of a small business/sole income of my family. sorry I don't do my duty.
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NomoreDramaQ1015
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Post by NomoreDramaQ1015 on Jun 11, 2015 12:48:34 GMT -5
I've been served four times.
The first time I was in college 2.5 hours away, I got it dismissed. Second time I was pregnant with Gwen and due at any time, they rescheduled my term
Third time I got dismissed b/c I told them I was pumping and needed to know where I could do that.
Fourth time was federal, fortunately I was never asked to serve, every time I called to check it said I wasn't needed.
Apparently even death can't get you out of federal jury duty b/c my maternal grandmother got called a couple months ago. She's been dead since 2004.
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happyhoix
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Post by happyhoix on Jun 11, 2015 14:27:42 GMT -5
I've gotten notification 3 times and I wrote an excuse each time. Too much time off for a crtical employee of a small business/sole income of my family. sorry I don't do my duty. Wow they let you off for that? In our city, you couldn't write a note, you had to show up the first day and talk to the judge who was in charge of the jury pool. When I was there, I saw him lecture first a SAHM with kids, then a businessman who claimed he couldn't afford to take time off work, and then someone who claimed to have a disability - made them each go sit their ass back down in the jury pool and wait to see if they were picked. In our rural little town, the court actually sends a squad car out to your house to personally escort you to the courthouse should you chose to ignore the jury duty summons. We're hard asses down here.
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chapeau
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Post by chapeau on Jun 11, 2015 15:10:10 GMT -5
30+ years ago, when my mom's mom was dying of cancer, my mom got a jury duty notice. She very nicely explained that she was a SAHM of 4, breastfeeding the baby, was the sole caretaker of her very sick mother, and had no babysitter for the 2 kids not in school. They told her she had to report anyway. I don't think breast pumps existed then, and if they did, she didn't have one. The day she had to go, she had the neighbor watch my brother, and took the baby. She nursed my sister in the car before she had to go in, then took my sister along. When she was called to voir dire just happened to coincide with my sister's next scheduled feeding. Mom unbuttoned and let her latch on right there in court. She was excused immediately. My mom (unlike me) is not the type to just start nursing in public. I still can't believe she did it.
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happyhoix
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Post by happyhoix on Jun 11, 2015 15:25:13 GMT -5
30+ years ago, when my mom's mom was dying of cancer, my mom got a jury duty notice. She very nicely explained that she was a SAHM of 4, breastfeeding the baby, was the sole caretaker of her very sick mother, and had no babysitter for the 2 kids not in school. They told her she had to report anyway. I don't think breast pumps existed then, and if they did, she didn't have one. The day she had to go, she had the neighbor watch my brother, and took the baby. She nursed my sister in the car before she had to go in, then took my sister along. When she was called to voir dire just happened to coincide with my sister's next scheduled feeding. Mom unbuttoned and let her latch on right there in court. She was excused immediately. My mom (unlike me) is not the type to just start nursing in public. I still can't believe she did it. LOL - well, with four small kids and a dying mom, I suspect your mom was not in a mood to be screwed with by the judicial system. I think she handled that very well.
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973beachbum
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Post by 973beachbum on Jun 11, 2015 16:44:30 GMT -5
I've gotten notification 3 times and I wrote an excuse each time. Too much time off for a crtical employee of a small business/sole income of my family. sorry I don't do my duty. Wow they let you off for that? In our city, you couldn't write a note, you had to show up the first day and talk to the judge who was in charge of the jury pool. When I was there, I saw him lecture first a SAHM with kids, then a businessman who claimed he couldn't afford to take time off work, and then someone who claimed to have a disability - made them each go sit their ass back down in the jury pool and wait to see if they were picked. In our rural little town, the court actually sends a squad car out to your house to personally escort you to the courthouse should you chose to ignore the jury duty summons. We're hard asses down here. I don't know about the squad car thing but I have heard of warrants being issued. Probably not for big bucks but most people don't appreciate getting a warrant issued on them regardless of how small the fine. I have also heard the being important isn't a reason to get out of jury duty speech. I think it was along the lines that unless you had one of these very specific reasons to get excused then you had to either serve or reschedule. There was one person I heard that did reschedule to a less busy time. They were not amused though that the person didn't just say that when they got the original summons. They said they would have rescheduled it no problem if they had said March isn't a good time but summer is my slow time type of thing. Just showing up and saying you can't stay doesn't cut it with them. From what I heard they used to let every get off if they wanted. It got to the point they had a real problem getting enough people to serve. It really backed things up. Now while people grumble about being forced to serve no one grumbles about having to wait an extra year for a court date because of the lack of jurors. (I will add though that being the sole person caring for a young child or elderly parent is actually one of the reasons you can be automatically excused. )
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Post by Deleted on Jun 11, 2015 19:32:03 GMT -5
I used to work for a couple of attorneys during summers when I was in college. The older guy (probably late 60s then) was chuckling one day about helping a female friend by writing a letter to the court saying she couldn't serve because she was due to have a baby. She was well past childbearing age and I'm guessing that, from the circles in which they socialized, it would have just been an inconvenience.
I still think she should have shown up.
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whoami
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Post by whoami on Jun 12, 2015 17:25:04 GMT -5
I've done jury duty 4 times, 3 times as a juror once as an alternate. My last case was in juvenile court...aggravated sexual assault of a child and lewd conduct. We found him not guilty. I was appalled that the case even went to trial. The state had nothing. I was also scary to see how you can end up on trial for something I don't believe happened. Our case want a matter of the state not proving its case....it had absolutely no case. Was the defendant a juvenile? If not, this belongs in the adult system. Of course, they were both juveniles, that's why it was in juvenile court.
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whoami
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Post by whoami on Jun 12, 2015 17:30:53 GMT -5
I've done jury duty 4 times, 3 times as a juror once as an alternate. My last case was in juvenile court...aggravated sexual assault of a child and lewd conduct. We found him not guilty. I was appalled that the case even went to trial. The state had nothing. I was also scary to see how you can end up on trial for something I don't believe happened. Our case want a matter of the state not proving its case....it had absolutely no case. Huh. NY does not have juries for juvenile crime. I didn't know Texas had them either until I was told to report to the juvenile court house. The kids were 12 and 15 or 16 and the alleged one time incident (which none of the jury believed happened based on the testimony) was about 1 1/2 years earlier. It wasn't even reported for a year after it supposedly occurred.
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