jury duty is in your best interest

[cellio]

One of the minyanaires this morning commented that he might not be there next week because he has a jury summons -- but he's trying to get out of it. (My first thought was that he won't succeed; I got picked for a jury for a (predicted) 2-week trial last January, even though I told them up front that I would be leaving early on Fridays and they should schedule me in June or July instead. Then they settled the case between jury selection and the start of the trial, so it never came up.)

I don't understand why smart people try to get out of jury duty. We need smart people to be on juries as much as possible, to offset the bozo factor and the gullibility factor. Even if it's a PITA, enlightened self-interest should motivate people. I mean, if I were to be accused of a crime (heaven forbid), as it stands I'm not sure I'd want a jury. I suspect a judge is much more likely to evaluate the evidence.

I was on a jury from hell once. It was astonishing. The other jury members really did say, and believe, things like "he looks guilty" (really: "he's black"), and "he must be telling the truth because he's a priest", and crap like that. Utterly disgusting. Not one of them demonstrated any ability to really think. (I was an alternate, so I got kicked out when delibrations began. So I don't know how that played out.)

Comments

[chite.livejournal.com]

Wow... that's pretty astounding. I had a friend who was on a grand jury last year... 3 days a week for 6 weeks, and he was pleased as punch when he saw a short article in the Wash Post about the indictment that they handed down.. like he had really played a part in something.

Since I don't drive, I never get a summons for jury duty. Kind of amusing when you think of it.

[cellio]

In Pittsburgh they use all sorts of public records to compile the list. So not having a driver's license reduces your odds a bit, but if you're a registered voter or in the phone book, your name is still in the pool.

[indigodove.livejournal.com]

I wish it were possible to volunteer for jury duty. I have never been called, despite the fact that I vote and drive (regularly, even). I would have liked to be on the juries for Taylor & Baumhammers because I understand mental illness better than the average person and I care about being both just and compassionate.

Yeah, volunteer juries could be an ethical nightmare...but there's some merit to the idea.

[cellio]

Yes, this would be handy. In theory you can be called every, I think, 2 years (maybe it's 3). I've been called 3 times in my life (the first in the mid-80s), so I'm ahead of you and below the theoretical max. I don't know what the average frequency is. But it seems a little weird that I (for instance) would go several times before you go once. I know that's what randomization is about, but it's still a bit odd.

A volunteer system that still limited you to the max frequency, and didn't let you volunteer for a particular trial or date, wouldn't seem to be that much of an ethical/legal problem. It might be an implementation problem, though.

Within the bounds of ethics and the law, I actually feel an obligation to sit on juries if the opportunity presents itself.

[dvarin.livejournal.com]

This volunteering for jury duty thing sounds reasonable, but I think businesses might have a problem with it.

I still have a driver's license from New York. Maybe I should fix that before I get called for jury duty in a town I don't live in...

[cellio]

This volunteering for jury duty thing sounds reasonable, but I think businesses might have a problem with it.

Maybe, but they're already required to allow you to serve every N years, so this changes the odds but not the upper limit. There would probably be a lot of unofficial pressure on employees, though, the way there is sometimes to get people to "get out of it somehow".

I still have a driver's license from New York. Maybe I should fix that before I get called for jury duty in a town I don't live in...

Gee, I would hope they would filter based on mailing address, but who knows? (Or do you still have a New York PO box or parental abode or some such that your paperwork gets mailed to?)