I got summoned for jury duty. Blech!

I got called for state jury duty and federal jury duty back to back. I didn't get chosen to sit for the state one. I did get chosen for the federal one, it lasted 3 weeks! It was the most boring thing I ever did, it was 1 company suing another company, and a few other people for stealing their ideas.

I wouldn't mind it if my company actually paid people to be out on jury duty... but for $5 a day or whatever it is, blech! I have bills! Makes me want to search online to see if there are any temporary swastika tattoos you can stick on your forehead like Charles Manson and I already started giving myself a buzz cut, that should do the trick.

Are you sure you're allowed to get called more than once per year? I thought most jurisdictions say if you are summoned for jury duty, then you're excused for 1 year. Or maybe it's only if you've actually served. Hmm.. Check it out anyway.

I've been called 4 times, and I just turned 29 (+1)!!

First time was when I was 19, and it was for federal jury duty in Philadelphia, about 1.5 hourse from where I lived. I looked at all my options and the best thing for me was to get a hotel room and stay overnight, because you had to show up for 2 days, more if you got picked obviously. And since I lived however many miles from the courthouse, I got compensated for staying overnight, and I got more than the room cost I think. I didn't get picked for a panel even, just had to sit in the waiting room for 2 long days... Then when I moved to LB, I got a summons from the county I used to live in in PA. Sent to my Long beach address!! So obviously I sent it back to them saying no thanks, I don't live there anymore. I think I've been called for jury duty 2 times in LB in the almost 4 years that I've been here. That was the kind where you call the night before to see if you have to show up. I think the first time I didn't have to go at all, but the 2nd time I had to go 1 day, but never got called for anything. Fun wasted days of nothing.

Good luck, whatever happens!!

I had jury duty just this week. Here it is one day or one trial. My panel was #1 so I had to go in Monday. I just sat in the jury room with a couple hundred other people. In the morning they called for a jury in an outlying town. Those who did not have reliable transportation were exempt from that trial, so I didn't have to there. (we have really thick fog in the mornings and it is worse in the outlying towns) In the afternoon, they called for one and chose 50 people, of which I wasn't picked again. Then about 2:45 they dismissed the rest of us saying our service was completed. The first day you are there, they do not pay you, but if you are picked for a trial, it is $15 per day plus mileage. At least I still get paid at my job for the day.

When I first started going to jury duty, you had to report every day for a week! I have sat on 4 juries. found one person innocent, 2 guiltys and a mistrial. One of the times I sat, the judge treated the jury to lunch at a Chinese restaurant nearby. And you had to go!!! LOL

My husband just got a letter earlier this month. He didn't have to go in last week or this week either. So he is off the hook again. This is the 2nd time for him.

Blech is right... I got summoned last year, but I didn't get chosen for anything and was able to go home early so it wasn't that bad. Also it was kinda interesting because I recognized the interior of the courthouse from the Dark Knight movie (it was filmed here.) Also there was a Thai festival going on in Daley Plaza which is right outside the courthouse so I got to have lunch there.
I'm still trying to figure out how they got me, I always heard it was from voter registration but I wasn't registered.

They can pull your name from the DMV database or if you receive any social services. It depends on the state.

Oh, the random things you remember when you used to teach Civics. I always felt bad lying to the kids and telling them jury duty could be super fun.... I mean it COULD be. It just usually isn't. lol

A friend of mine recently had to serve jury duty, and the way she got out was basically the asked her questions and she had to answer based on her moral beliefs, they asked her if someone was drinking at a bar and wanted to drive home afterwards, do you think that's okay- and she said yes. Then they let her go, and she was happy. Then she told me she didn't actually lie, they didn't specify how much the person drank and what his/her alcohol blood level was, so she told herself that the person in question could have only had a beer and left the bars hours later...right, whatever

I personally think it would be really interesting! I am very interested in law and criminal trials, but I can understand where some would find it tedious. Hopefully you won't have to go hun!

Since you've had so many health problems recently, you might want to see if you can reschedule. They allow you to do that here ONCE every time you're summoned. You just call in, pick the date you'd like to be summoned and wait. I had to do that once when my boss was out of town and I was the only other keyholder person in charge working.

I think someone programmed the computer to pick my name on purpose!!! I ALWAYS get called for Jury Duty. A few times I've been able to get out of it because I had already served within the time.

I'm one of the few people who actually WANT to do jury duty... I've been summoned 2 or 3 times, but here they send you the summons, you have to call the night before you're to report to see if they call your number. I haven't gotten any further than that, they've never called my number.

Here you are exempt from serving 2 years after you are called. I've fortunately only been called once; for a 2 week period. I was just getting over a severe allergic reaction but I was able to go. I didn't get picked for any cases though. I spent several days sitting in a windowless room in the courthouse basement. We were in numbered groups and didn't have to go in every day; just call the night before. Mostly it was very boring. But it just so happened that one of my god-mother's was also called so she was there a couple times. It was nice spending that time with her. One day we got out pretty early so I took her to lunch. Best part of the whole 2 weeks! LOL

I was just thinking about this yesterday because I happened to catch the news and that the trial for a man who killed a cop in a town near here is on. Now that infuriates me to begin with... but they were talking about showing several very graphic post-mortem photographs of the cop...I'd have wanted to stone the man on the spot. That cop left behind a small child. He sighted a car that had just been involved in a shooting; drug related. But stuff like that is very rare around here. Not that there isn't crime; but a violent crime against a cop is different. I believe the "accused" man is not even from here. And if I remember right all the cop did was pull up and the guy started shooting at him. For all he could have known he could have been pulling him over to say his tail lights were out...but the guy just opend fire....

I got summoned too - for Feb 3rd. I replied with a request of dismissal for 2 reasons.
1 - My DH was out of work for over 2 years and we are just starting to get back on our feet, financially. It will take a long time to really catch up.
2 - I am the office manager at my work. NO ONE knows how to do my job. Because of the economy, we are operating on a skeleton crew. When someone is absent it really causes a hardship for everyone else.

Well, they postponed it to Aug 1. I don't see how things are going to be any different then, but I'm stuck with it.

You know what gets me? - And I'm just beaching now. I know it's the luck of the draw. My DH and all the other people I know who are/were out of work were never called while unemployed. My neighbor, on the other hand, is an OTR truckdriver and had to drive cross country to fulfill his jury duty obligation, but of course, was excused after one day.

I was summoned twice before. The first time they jerked me around for 3 days through phone calls; the second, I went there and waited. I was excused both times without an attorney interview.

Honestly, I wouldn't mind doing it at all if it wasn't going to affect my job and my finances so much.

I was called up for a coroner's jury. I really wanted to go. It was to investigate if a police officer wrongfully shot a suspect. Unfortunately I fell and hurt my back. I wasn't able to stay in any postion, even sitting for more than 10 minutes. I was excused.

Good luck! They tried to get me last March but I was out of the country... so I had to postpone it. And then I was picked in August. Luckily, after a few hours of waiting we were all dismissed! I won't be called in for the next six years as a result and am glad for it.

We are allowed to bring a laptop so I just caught up on tv shows and I brought lunch.
It wasn't too horrible!

I think I would love to do jury duty, it would be really interesting but I bet I never get called.x

You don't have to serve!

There are many ways to get out of jury duty.

1. Financial hardship
2. Physical health
3. Bias opinion about the case/person/crime etc.

Wasn't it Mark Twain who said something about the problem with the jury system is that it's so hard to find people who don't know anyone or anything and don't read any newspapers, but are still intelligent enough to serve on a jury.

ugh i got summoned too for feb 14 how awesome.

I don't get any services and I don't have a driver's license either.


My mom got them to reschedule once, she has a bad knee and was having rehab on it at the time, and she would have had to get there on public transportation. She was afraid she wouldn't be able to climb the stairs to the bus/train.

ell them you're a cat x

I have been called a number of times for jury duty, and have never actually served yet. Too bad, because my employer pays me 10 hours of pay every day I serve.

The last time was for a drunk-driving case. I told the judge and lawyers that I was a trucker, a million-miler plus (no at-fault accidents in 1,000,000 miles), but I had been hit by 3 drunks in that time. They decided they didn't want me.

The time before that, we all went to the courtroom hall and waited to be called in. Lots of gray-haired white people. The lawyer looked out at us, went back in, and the defendent took a plea deal.

Ugh, jury duty is not fun. Actually serving, I think, would be neat..but the waiting and questioning. UGH indeed!

I had to go last year, on my 21st birthday. Yeah, fun way to spend a day! I was told by friends and family, that because my (at the time) Fiance was a corrections officer, they would not take me. We all assumed I would then get to go home pretty much immediately. Try again. I was there from 8am to 4 pm, with out a single bite of food, and I didn't eat breakfast. That was a horrible birthday, lol.

It was neat though. One of the people on trial was on DH's floor in the jail. Another guy's lawyer was pretty much interrogating us, the judge had to repeatedly remind him that WE were not on trial. He would ask the same question 3 or 4 times, wording it differently in attempts to trip us up. It was odd.

Oh, and, a creepy guy in his 20's tried to get me to walk the 10 or so blocks to the cars with him. I refused, so he spend the entire wait, the ride on the bus, and my walk to my car, trying to convince me to go somewhere with him. Ick. He didn't get the hint with the engagement ring either. It was NOT a fun time.

Jury Duty can be very interesting. I have served on 4 juries in my lifetime.

First case was a young couple that were arrested for resisting arrest and striking a police officer. They were in a bar and were asked to leave which they did, but the girl forgot her purse. The young man went in to get it and a police officer put a choke hold on the guy. He passed out and while they were standing around him, he woke up and being disoriented, struck out at the officer. We found them innocent because if they had just let him retrieve the purse, none of that would have happened.

Second case was a shoplifting case. This lady who always represents herself (big mistake) was arrested for stealing some meat from a local grocery store. Her story was she "bought" the meat earlier in the day and then proceeded to walk about a mile to a department store, then walk back to the mall across from the grocery store staying there for an hour or so, then back to the grocery store where she decided to put the meat she had bought a few hours earlier in her purse! The problem was is that it was July and over 100 degrees that day. The meat was still cold!!!!!! Guilty, guilty, guilty! We found out after the trial she had another case pending for welfare fraud! She always defended herself and she always lost. This was not her first case.

Third was a drug case. The police officer's testimony was spot on. The defendant's witnesses couldn't even get their stories straight. Of we found him guilty of running a meth lab.

Fourth was a petty theft. This was declared a mistrial. The prosecutor brought of the fact that the defendant had been in jail at one time. A big no no! We just looked at each other and shook our heads. Next morning it was declared a mistrial.

There were other cases that I interviewed for and was excused. One was a lawsuit where one of the attorneys represented me as a defendant of a lawsuit.

But I learned a lot about the jury system and the legal process. I think everyone should sit on at least one jury. It certainly opens one's eyes.

I've never been called, but I think it would be interesting. DH, on the other hand, has been twice. The last time he said the room was hot, crowded, and the person next to him didn't smell pleasant (pleasant being my word, not his.) I am convinced it was more fun than DH indicated.