Uh-oh... I goofed! Accidentally missed jury duty!

So, a couple of weeks ago I got a draft notice... I mean, a summons  for jury duty in city (Municipal) Court. Why me again? Maybe it's because I typically show up?

Anyway, the date was April 21, 2016 at 9:30 am. So noted. Got it on the calendar. I'll just suck it up and go.

Again.

This evening, I was trying to get everything ready for that, looking for the summons-- which, of course, was lost in all the kerfuffle. With two cats hiding and doing weird things because they feel lousy... and one having a somewhat more serious/pressing issue, things got pretty scrambled and moved around. That summons is nowhere to be found. Just like my 2 cats these past few days!

So as I was hunting for that summons, it dawned on me: TODAY is April 21, 2016.  I'm stuck on yesterday.

I'm also stuck on stupid. 

I   up.  I missed jury duty because I had my date screwed up and didn't notice until time had passed... after the court closed for the day.

Seriously, y'all-- this ship is sinking. 



I'll call the court tomorrow and apologize, explain what happened, and request an alternate date. Do y'all think I should be okay if I keep a regretful and remorseful demeanor about it all? After all, it was a mistake and I do mean to do my duty. I just had a mental mix-up with my dates and such.

What do y'all think?

~Mackie

I've done that and called the next day.  it was ok, but I don't live in Texas.  Is this a hanging offense?

I don't know about Texas either, there might be an arrest warrant out first thing in the morning.

I just turned 60 in February, other than my time in the military have lived where I am registered to vote and was called for the first time this past summer  Jury duty here is normally one week and usually don't have to come in on Friday of that week.  I ended up on a jury on Thursday of that week and the trial didn't end until Friday of the following week.  It was a medical malpractice suit and I didn't agree with the majority, I didn't think the doctor was negligent.  A civil trial only requires 6 out of 8 agree and I was one of only 2.

I would call and straighten it out. You don't need a random bench warrant riding around after you. If you have served before without issue or shown up I doubt the Judge is going to be looking for blood.

I'd call and be remorseful. It's doubtful that this is the first time it's ever happened, so they probably have a procedure to handle it. I found jury duty fascinating, but I haven't been called in years. Too old, I guess. 

With so many people trying to get out of Jury Duty, I can't imagine they'd be too hard on you since you are actually willing to serve. So many people will do anything to get out of it.

I just had my own Jury Duty scare when I overlooked a summons to serve until they were threatening me with jail and a fine.  Fortunately it turned out to be a non-issue because I was being called for Baltimore and I don't live there and never have.  I don't know how I ended up being called.  

The one time I served on a jury, it was a DWI case.  It was a fascinating experience and I was glad I did it.  I'm not sure how I'd feel about a long involved gruesome murder trial though.  

Handsome Kitty said:

 
I've done that and called the next day.  it was ok, but I don't live in Texas.  Is this a hanging offense?

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LOL, naw... not hanging. Just a date with Ol' Sparky. 

I intend to call and apologize and work it out somehow... but yup, this IS Texas. This is also the ONE place i Texas that pays absolutely NOTHING for jury service, not even the token $6 "reporting fee" that you get if you aren't picked. You don't get anything for your time. Yes, compliance in Municipal Court jury selection is abysmal and yes, they often do stamp out a bunch of robo-warrants. But generally if you call the next day under my circumstances, they will give you another date and toss the warrant. MOST of the time. But there ARE some judges who love to make an example out of you just because they have that power.

Guess I'll take my lumps, get a "do-over',and if I have a warrant or charge out on me... I'll request a jury trial. 

I got $20 a day but there wasn't even a few bucks made on the deal.  It's 5 to 7 dollars a day to park and at tax time I had to report that money and pay a little tax on it.  Everything is expensive downtown around the courthouse and the extra gas, I didn't make anything on the deal.

Some employers, including any government, makes people turn that money in.  Even for those of us who don't there is still the extra tax form for that little bit of money.

Denice said:

 
I got $20 a day but there wasn't even a few bucks made on the deal.  It's 5 to 7 dollars a day to park and at tax time I had to report that money and pay a little tax on it.  Everything is expensive downtown around the courthouse and the extra gas, I didn't make anything on the deal.

Some employers, including any government, makes people turn that money in.  Even for those of us who don't there is still the extra tax form for that little bit of money.

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Some employers pay for time taken off for jury duty. I sat on a grand jury a couple years ago... for 6 months My employer paid me as normal as long as I turned in my weekly jury duty certificates so I wasn't eligible to get the money the court offered (maybe $25).

The court system here sends a postcard reminder a couple days ahead of the scheduled jury duty date.

Hey, if you DON'T want to get picked when you DO go, just inform whomever asks the questions that you don't believe in convicting anyone, EVER, and that you believe jails are a waste of the taxpayers' money! A professor of mine actually believed that and never had to serve and hasn't been called in YEARS!

I am actually fortunate in that I NEVER have to go for jury duty, but the reason isn't one I'd recommend. It's actually one of the ONLY positive outcomes from being a convicted felon. (One other positive result is that I can sometimes use my own negative experiences as an educational tool in counseling and talking to youngsters when I facilitate drug prevention seminars, as young people tend to be more receptive to therapists who come from the so-called School of Hard Knocks!

In any case, I hope everything turns out alright for you!

I just wore My Dreams Burn Buildings t shirt.

My ex always said he would say that the police are always right and everyone accused is guilty.  Of course the vast majority of jury trials are civil so that wouldn't do any good.  He never registered to vote so he would never be called anyway.  I have known people who didn't register to vote specifically to avoid jury duty.  They really need to come up with another way of calling people for jury duty.

Whoops! I would thinking calling would be ok...hopefully you don't get a judge who wants to show his power off. :-\

I managed to miss a jury duty summons, through losing it.  I called, and they sent another.  I showed up and was put in the jury pool for a case where a young black man had been arrested for possessing marijuana "with intent to sell."  From the initial statements it didn't sound to me like it was enough marijuana to be anything more than personal use, which was still illegal, of course (this was before Colorado's new recreational marijuana law), and he was arrested in the town I grew up in.  It first incorporated when I was a child, and from the conversations of the adults at the time I know that the major issue was that they were afraid that if they didn't incorporate they might be annexed by Denver, which was under court order to integrate the schools by busing.

During voir dir, I was asked whether I thought the defendant was guilty.  I said, "Well, he must be guilty of something," meaning that everyone is guilty of something; we all jaywalk occasionally, or accidentally run a stop sign, but when asked what I meant that seemed a bit too awkward to explain, so I said "Driving while black, perhaps?".  Surprise!  The prosecutor decided he didn't want me on the jury, and he was right.  My mind was already pretty much made up.  I think that kid was arrested specifically because he was black, in a predominantly white town, and that the drug laws were being applied selectively.

Margret

Axis169 said:

Hey, if you DON'T want to get picked when you DO go, just inform whomever asks the questions that you don't believe in convicting anyone, EVER, and that you believe jails are a waste of the taxpayers' money! A professor of mine actually believed that and never had to serve and hasn't been called in YEARS!

I am actually fortunate in that I NEVER have to go for jury duty, but the reason isn't one I'd recommend. It's actually one of the ONLY positive outcomes from being a convicted felon. (One other positive result is that I can sometimes use my own negative experiences as an educational tool in counseling and talking to youngsters when I facilitate drug prevention seminars, as young people tend to be more receptive to therapists who come from the so-called School of Hard Knocks!

In any case, I hope everything turns out alright for you!

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I worked with someone who pretended to be hard of hearing. Every time they asked him something, he'd look confused and loudly ask, "WHAT? I didn't get the question". they cut him loose FAST. 

I have been called 3 times. Twice in Colorado and once in Florida. The first time in Colorado it was a domestic violence case. They picked me and as soon as we were assembled in the courtroom, the judge told us that the child of the couple involved in the case had become ill and was taken to the hospital so we were free to go. 

The second time, it was a sexual assault on a child less than 5 years old.    The accused was a longtime friend of the family and had allegedly abused the little girl from infancy to age 5. DD was 5 at the time. They were planning on putting the child on the stand. They asked me if I would be affected if she cried on the stand. I said yes. They said GOODBYE. I was so relieved. I didn't want to hear the gory details. 

The case in Florida was like something out of a bad TV show or movie. I got chosen and the case was an assault with a deadly weapon. The 21 year old man accused of this allegedly threatened 2 other men with a gun. The "victims" were his grandmother's ex (Mr Z) and a friend of his. The accused (Mr. X) was angry at the friend (Mr. Y) because he thought he stole his debit card and went to confront him at Mr Z's house. They argued and Mr Z "tried to break it up". Mr X then "pulled a gun: on Mr Y/Mr Z and Mr Y was so scared that he took off running and "ran out of his shoes" which he left in the street. 

Mr Y did not testify. Mr Z did

Mr Z is a career criminal who holds a grudge against Mr X's grandmother because she would not give him money from a property sale following their breakup

No gun was ever found anywhere

The only "eyewitness" was a roommate of Mr Z who is almost legally blind and testified that she was not positive that M X ever had a gun at all. She just saw someone waving something across the street. She also could not positively ID Mr X as that person who was across the street waving something. 

The officer that arrived on scene right after it happened did not think that there was enough evidence for an arrest. Mr X was not arrested until the following day when Mr Z called and complained

I really expected to see Joe Pesci and Marisa Tomei show up 

we went into the jury room and I was made foreman. I was ready to let the guy walk then and there. They had NOTHING. No gun, no Mr Y and a "witness" who didn't SEE anything. everyone else wanted to go over everything in detail. OK fine. We ended up finding him not guilty. To this day I am still shocked that the DA decided to take this to a jury when he had nothing to offer. What a waste o time and money. 

Oh, I'm roaring over here! Thanks, y'all 

.

Yep.  Those books will do it all right.

If you're handing them out to other potential jurors I'm surprised that they keep calling you.  I'd think someone in the prosecutor's office might conveniently "lose" your name from the list of potential jurors.  May I ask where you found the first two?

Margret

Margret said:

 
Yep.  Those books will do it all right.

If you're handing them out to other potential jurors I'm surprised that they keep calling you.  I'd think someone in the prosecutor's office might conveniently "lose" your name from the list of potential jurors.  May I ask where you found the first two?

Margret

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The Jurors Handbook (Constitution) is available from many places... and a lot of radio stations-- especially conservative ones-- often hand them out during public appearances. The second one was given to me by a Ham Radio friend.

I don't see a dadgum thing wrong with reading those books-- it is, after all, my duty as an American citizen to understand the Constitution and US civics. Amirite? Perhaps some of our judges, lawyers, police and politicians should do the same. If having a Fully Informed Juror on the panel is frightening or worse-- a disqualifier-- then it's all the more important to read those books and know the Constitution.

(Slinking back under the sofa before I shake the cat tree too much!)

Drat...63 and never been called for jury duty.  Frankly, it would give me something to do.  That said, I have no clue how I would get there.  No car, very little in the way of transport money. 

I've long said that if I should ever be accused of something that I absolutely did NOT do, and the only real evidence against me was eye-witness, that I would waive my right to a jury and request a bench trial.  Judges understand very well how poor eye-witness testimony is.  Juries, sometimes, not so much.

Mamanyt1953 said:

 
Drat...63 and never been called for jury duty.  Frankly, it would give me something to do.  That said, I have no clue how I would get there.  No car, very little in the way of transport money. 

I've long said that if I should ever be accused of something that I absolutely did NOT do, and the only real evidence against me was eye-witness, that I would waive my right to a jury and request a bench trial.  Judges understand very well how poor eye-witness testimony is.  Juries, sometimes, not so much.

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If you live in a metro area, your summons would probably include a bus pass for the trip to and from court. That's how it's done where I live. I'm just the opposite of you... I get called several times a year for the different courts: municipal court, county criminal court and county civil court-- even got a spin for a Grand Jury but I didn't get picked.

I would have loved to do that. I don't mind taking my turn, really-- but it seems like it's ALWAYS my turn and my man's... we each get called to report 3-6 times a year. And getting called for one court doesn't relieve you from the others...   

Considering that I never got "jury duty pay" on my job-- I flat didn't get paid at all for the day, other than the paltry $6 show-up fee... I had no real incentive to show up other than the fact that they WERE indeed jailing folks for failure to show for jury duty. Turnout was so low, that rather than UP THE PAY to cover people's parking and lunch ... they upped the arrest warrants. That's the MAIN reason people weren't showing up: they lose a whole day's pay in a lot of cases and still have to pay for parking on top of it! And City court pays ZIP, not even the miserable $6-- and yes, you still pay for your parking.

I think that's ridiculous.