Jury Duty

I have always wanted to have jury duty and have gotten so jealous when everyone else has been called but me. Well I got my summons for jury duty yesterday. But the kick is, it isn't for the county courthouse where everyone else I know gets called. It's for the federal, The Courthouse of the United States. It says I would be picked for a grand jury case or a trial of some sort (can't remember the name). At any other time this would be exciting. I am not worried about work, of course, time off and they aren't allowed to fire me! But I have classes right now and it will be the week before finals. I am struggling to maintain a B right now, I really can't afford to miss reviews for the finals though.

I guess this moral is, "Be careful what you wish for!" I hope it all works out!

Oh Tanya you lucky thing!, i've always wanted to do jury service then my husband got called up for it, i was so jealous!

Do the courts pay you for whatever money you would lose?, they do here.

Now that you mention it, I haven'tgotten called in a while, I used to get called ALL the time. If it makes you feel any better, I did get called up to Boston for the same thing as you and I was only there for half a day, didn't get selected and I was all done. Good Luck!

I've never been called for Jury Duty, I don't think I want to tho!

As a student facing final exams, you can probably get out of it. I got called up once while living in the U.S., and was looking forward to it. I had to fill out a questionnaire, and answer all sorts of questions, and got chosen. The first day of the trial, I had to ask to be dismissed, because I knew one of the arresting officers personally (but on a first-name-only basis).

Good luck there. Federal trials tend to be much more fun than their local counterparts. If its a grand jury, you will take an active part, in which you can even ask questions to the people questioned and so on. Just don't tell us at TCS about what happens in the investigation; its illegal to reveal grand jury proceedings.

As for me, I am too young to be called to jury duty in Puerto Rico, but my grandfather was once called. The problem? He had died several months prior to the arrival of the letter. The best part is that a while later, the state police showed up looking for him because he hadn't shown up. We told them to go off to the cemetery and if they can talk to him, bring him to us show we can talk to him ourselves.

Sometimes you can send it in and ask for a delay, or ask to be excused when you go but you are willing to come back later on.

I served on a jury. It was a kidnapping case. The experience was emotionally draining yet fascinating.
The "perp" was found guilty.

For me, the most interesting part of serving on a jury, was the interaction between the jurors.
We were "11 Angry Men & one Pissed Off Woman."

Although I would not want to do it again...I wouldn't have missed it.
If you get on a jury, when you are done, let us know your feelings about the jury system. Good luck

I got called to serve on jury duty one time. I was not decided for the final trial though.

My jury group has always been excused, before I had to go. Federal jury duty usually pays better than Superior Court, though. Here, Federal Court pays $40.00 per day and Superior Court is only $12.00. In addition, you have to pay for parking!

I think it would be so interesting to get to be there and hear all the evidence etc, in a big case like kidnapping, murder, etc. (Not that it is good that things like that happen, but I've always been a big fan of law and order, CSIs and shows like that). But I don't know how I would feel about having someone future in my hands, it would be a little scary!

I've always wanted to do Jury duty! Do we even have that in NZ? I'm not too sure!

Susan, I will get paid $40/ day if chosen to serve on the jury.

I did send in a form requesting to be excused because I have exams. I really do want to serve, but doing so would literally cause me to fail anatomy. I have worked so hard this semester that I don't want to throw all that work out the window and have to retake the class. That would be a huge set back.
I think it would be a great experience so hopefully I will be able to serve at a later time.
xocats, were you sequestered during your time on the jury?

The jury that I served on was not sequestered. I have talked to a couple of people that were. It was very difficult for them.
I hope that when you are able to serve, you have a challenging trial. It is surprising how intelligent lay people can be when so much is at stake. I found the whole process fascinating.

Originally Posted by WellingtonCats

I've always wanted to do Jury duty! Do we even have that in NZ? I'm not too sure!

Click to expand...

Yeah... all the common law nations have them (i.e. based on British Law). Puerto Rico is an exception to the rule though, as it operates trial by jury within Spanish Civil Law.

I have been called for jury duty at least a dozen times in the last fifteen years. LOL

The snag is that I have only been put on a jury ONCE in all that time -- and that was on the first call.

I used to work for lawyers and judges, which usually scares off lawyers in criminal trials. And I've worked for a couple of insurance companies, which usually nixes me for civil trials. But because the jury supervisor has to prove that s/he dragged X number of warm bodies into the courthouse, I still have to sit through the selection process.

I have never been called for federal jury service.

However, if you want my advice, take your cell phone and something good to read, because you're going to be doing a lot of SITTING and WAITING. lol