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[quote user="CNW 6000"] [quote user="Bucyrus"] [quote user="gabe"] Given what I said of the regard I hold jurors, you might be surprised that I am telling you this secret.  But, my view is, if your civic duty is not enough to make you show up and take jury duty seriously, then you really do not belong there--and you have no business complaining about what jurors do. Anyway, if you really want to get out of jury duty, legally, here is how you do it.  It is a little-known rule, but most states allow jurors to ask questions.  Just tell both lawyers how much you are looking forward to asking the witnesses questions--they will not be able to find a way to get you out of there fast enough.  No lawyer wants someone other than him doing the questioning. Gabe  [/quote] Gabe,   Several of us have made comments about juries and jury duty obligations, so I am not sure whom you are talking to.  It is a common cliché that juries are composed of people who are not smart enough to get out of jury duty.  That, of course, is aimed at disrespecting the decisions that juries make.  I have no concern about problems with the decisions that juries make.  I don’t know how much of a problem it is.  A lot of people seem to believe that it is a big problem.    I certainly don’t believe the jurors are stupid as a group characteristic.  And if taken literally, the idea that juries are composed of people who are not smart enough to get out of it is complete nonsense.  Unless you are blessed with one of the official excuses, the only way I know to get out of jury duty is to move to another state.    Your advice about answering questions by the attorneys in a way that causes them to reject you for a trial will not get you out of jury duty in my county.  If you did happen to get rejected for one trial, you would just be sent back to the waiting room to wait for the next call for another trial.  The obligation runs two weeks even if you get rejected from every trial along the way.         [/quote]I'll flip this question the other way then: how does one get picked for jury duty?  I was told it was from the pool of registered voters.  I registered to vote the day I turned 18 and have voted in every single election since then.  I have never been selected or sent a letter.  My wife, however, registered before the last Presidential election and has since received 3 notices and been selected once.  I actually would like to experience Jury Duty to "do my part".  Ideas?[/quote]   You can call your jury office and volunteer if you want to serve.  Otherwise, I have no idea what criteria they use for selection, and why some are selected often and others are never selected.   <?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p> The details of jury service vary considerably from one district to another.  Some release you after one trial selection.  If the case happens to be dismissed before trial, you might end your obligation after one day.   <o:p></o:p> My county requires you to stay for the entire two weeks--ten full days.  It is downtown in a big city.  You go there in rush hour and come home in rush hour.  They reimburse for mileage, but at only about ¼ the actual cost.  You park in a ramp 3-8 blocks away from the government center, and walk there.  They have food vending machines.  The pay was $30 per day, but it was just recently reduced to $10 per day.  The pay just barely covers the cost of parking. <o:p></o:p> Some, but not all employers give their employees full pay while serving on jury duty.  All local, county, state, and federal government employees are given full pay while on jury duty.   <o:p></o:p> Keep in mind that the two-week obligation continues past two weeks if you get put on a trial that continues past that period.  The entire ordeal could last many weeks if the trial runs that long.  In certain trials, you could be sequestered by the court and spend the nights in a hotel.  <o:p></o:p> Last fall, there was a newspaper article that said the county is having a hard time getting enough jurors.  This is because people are simply refusing to serve because they are worried about losing their job if they vacate it for two weeks.  Many employers do not compensate their employees while serving on jury duty, so the two-week obligation means a loss of two-week’s worth of pay.  But the people refusing are not doing so because of the loss of pay.   <o:p></o:p> In this lousy economy, employers are stressed to the limit.  They can no more stand to lose an employee for two weeks than the employee can stand to lose the pay.  So the employees are simply worried about losing their job and then not being able to find another one.  The jury office tells them not to worry about that because it is against the law for their employers to fire them for vacating their job to perform jury service.   <o:p></o:p> Well that’s fine and dandy, but there are loopholes in that assurance big enough to drive a truck through, and the employees see right through it.   So they simply take a chance on prosecution and refuse jury duty.  They weigh the risk and consequences of prosecution against the risk and consequences of losing their job, and the job wins.
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