Jury Duty.

[Trevelyan_06]

So Saturday I go to my parents house to pick up the mail and guess what is waiting for me, a jury notice. That's right I have to register to be a juror. It's not that I don't want to praticipate in the legal process, it's that I can't be off work for a week or more and still pay my bills. Has any one else had to do jury duty before? I'm hoping that if I explain my financial situation they'll let me off.

[DarkPanther]

Just be racist and you'll never be selected.

Otherwise, if you're able, do your duty. : p

Besides, you may not be called anyways.

[Starkist]

/me wants to get called for jury duty...

[sagelink]

lol

Ah well, I'm a few years too young to worry about jury duty myself... so anyways good luck to ya.

[Ares[K!]]

DP: I told him just about the same thing in IRC =)

[DarkPanther]

I haven't been in chat since I got banned for joining and saying something that didn't directly correlate with what Eckels was talking about at that very moment. Even though, since I had been in the channel, he had said maybe one line, and the only other thing said was of interest to me.

I'm not at all sore about it, but I only have time for that sort of bullin' around about once a month and that was it. : p Mebbe I'll see ya in there in August when my schedule clears again. ;)

[Dark Jim]

Do you have to go if they ask you? And don't you get any money for it? If first yes and second no just say you will say guilty no matter what. :shrug:

[Starkist]

Yes, you have to go. It's considered a civic duty. If you can't make it because of obligations, or if you have children to care for, they usually let you off.

You get paid, but it's not very much at all.

[DarkPanther]

It's barely enough for lunch that day. Not much more than $5 for a short "simple" case.

[linkofzelda1]

I'm sure if you explain to them your situation, they'll exempt you. My mom seems to be prone to being called for jury duty, and every single time she says she has kids, and every single time they let her off the hook. She usually writes a letter about a week prior to the actual duty. Might want to try that, as it works for both my parents.

[Mitsukara]

Just move to Canada or amputate one of your limbs, that usually works.

Oh wait, that's different... nevermind...

[~cydlet~]

i served on a jury that convicted a kid (about 19-20 yrs old) of 43 felonies back when i was 19. no one else wanted to do it, so i was the foreman of the jury, even!

usually what happens is you'll have to call at a specific time for "instructions" and that'll go on for a week or two, and half the time you get dismissed without ever being needed. if you DO have to report, there are ways to get out of it. like someone else said, being racist will work; so will knowing too much about the case or the defendants, or the attorneys involved. certain jobs will get you excluded, and someone told me that since i have a cousin who's a city cop, i can use that to get out, too. i knew a few people who got out due to vacation, or just being highly opinionated.

I must say it was an interesting and enlightening experience. listening to the victims tell what happened to them, having to view the pics of the crime scenes (including a murder!), plus going to the crime scenes themselves on a little "jury field trip" prior to the trial.

Check with your employer about jury duty ~ i don't think they can dock your pay for serving. at worst, you'll have to give them your jury duty check when you get it. mine was $15/day for seven days total.



Originally posted by Trevelyan_06
Has any one else had to do jury duty before? I'm hoping that if I explain my financial situation they'll let me off.

[TheGeepster]

I thought most companies had policies to allow for jury duty calls without any undue financial strain. You may want to check with them to see if they'll compensate you during that time.

[inori]

Businesses are required by law to allow you to take time off for jury duty, since you're required by law to be there. They're supposed to pay you as well, but not all do.

I was summoned for jury duty last year, but when I got there, they ended up not needing any jurors, as they settled the case before the trial. Then they sent me three more jury duty summonses, all of which I got to ignore because I'd already been called within the last year (even though I didn't have to be on a jury).

[Master Ghaleon]

Originally posted by DarkPanther
Besides, you may not be called anyways.

I had jury duty like a month ago and my group didnt get called :) Lucky me. I was in group 30, the last group for the week.

[tgf_guy]

Avoiding jury duty is very simple. Simply wear a large robe decorated with glitter and carry around a stave. Then, enter into the jury box, yelling, "I AM ZONDOR, FIFTH WIZARD OF THE ECHELION STATE!"

...it worked for me, anyways. ._.

[Dark Jim]

Yeah sure you did. And if you really did I'm suprised they didn't lock you up or something. -_-