I was selected for jury duty once and actually got seated for a case. It was a personal injury civil suit. The plaintiff was a lying turd and so was his attorney. He wanted $100,000 damages for a minor fender bender accident. The defendant admitted fault so all we really had to decide was the money part. In the end, we gave him $1000 because he did have some out of pocket expenses he was able to prove. But...we found him 35% at fault so his actual award was $650. His lawyer, who gets paid on contingency, got a third of that, and then of course there are the insurance company liens to settle. When it was all done this idiot might have been lucky to have enough cash to buy a six pack to forget the entire ridiculous drama. The whole trial was over in a few hours. The best part was the look on the plaintiff's lawyer's face when the award was announced. I could see him doing the math in his head: He got a little over $200 for an entire day in court plus all the prep work ahead of time and follow up afterward. He was pissed and it showed. As for we jurors, we were treated very well. There was a very comfortable jurors-only lounge with free food and drinks (and the food was pretty good too), cable TV, and even an office area with a copier machine for those who wanted to get some work done on their down time. I don't think I'd want to do it for weeks and months, but being on jury duty for a day was kind of a cool experience.
I would not mind serving on a jury, but I am exempted from service. Pity as I am a most impartial open and analytical mind. It generally goes here that f you are guilty, you go for a jury trial, if you are innocent you stick with a judge only trial one is about showmanship and facts vs obfuscation and one is about proving a matter in law. .
Me: "Under what jurisdiction is this court operating?" Court: "Statutory." Me: "Black's Law defines that jurisdiction as being 'statutory', which is a circular definition and vague. According to American Jurisprudence, this makes it Unconstitutional. Furthermore, it is my understanding that 'statutory' pertains to public policy, and corporations make policies, not a free republic with Common Law. I am also well versed in the colorable laws (which have the appearance of law but no actual lawful standing under the Constitution) and they are all 'codified', as in UCC (Uniform Commercial Code), USC (United States Code), FRC (Federal Reserve Code), or every State Code to date, which are all Admiralty domain for corporate structures." Court: "..." Yeah. If they didn't rape or murder somebody, and I'm not including police in this definition, they're innocent in my book. (still waiting)
I blew a couple hundred bucks on a suit jacket, nice shirt, full tie (not clip-on), etc. for my federal court jury duty, as the instructions said to dress well. Sheesh, most people there were in t-shirts, jeans or shorts, totally dressed down. Money wasted. Just wear longnpants, collared shirt and shoes, you'll be better dressed than half of 'em.
Just wear clean comfortable cloths, and take something to fiddle with, it's boring as hell waiting these are good, you will look a little crazy but hey it might get you out of jury duty
For me? Normal work attire - decent, comfy jeans, a polo/golf type shirt, and my usual Merrel light hikers. Screw formality: you're going to be sitting, doing absolutely nothing, for long periods. Be comfortable.
Don't forget if you want out of jury duty, there is always the line "I believe some laws are unjust, and thus I believe in Jury Nullification."
I like jury duty. It's my only way to legally dispense a little Justice without getting into trouble with the vigilante thing. I always shake my head at the blacks and Hispanics doing everything that they can to get out of jury duty and leaving one of their own stuck with an all white jury with little or no local perspective or cultural understanding.
Better go with a regular tie. It's better for covering up the gravy drippings. Oh and zip the legs so people can't tell if you used all the eyelets or not. They call you a redneck for that faux pas around here. Trust me on this.
That might work!! Then, ask if you can have testimony repeated because you might not get it written down before the next question!
Only called for a week? Ah, here in NM, we get called on jury duty for 6 months at a time. Yep. We have to call in each weeknight and see which panel they want to show up the next day. What a royal pain! I only had to show up twice during my last 6 month stint, but the calling in was a royal pain. I think a large percentage of our criminals here do some plea bargaining. Kajun
Called once in the US......over a year after I had moved out of the country..... (my mom called them up & told them I wasent even in the country any more... never heard back so...) Been called 2 x here... wavered as I run my own buisness & if I have to serve thats my entire buisness shut down for the entire time and my dh allso out of work for however long....
I just received my official summons. I got a bus ticket, a parking permit, and most importantly a BADGE!
