Have you ever been on a trial jury?

[QCzar]

The true great equalizer. A demonstration of democracy in action. A pain in the ass (especially when it sneaks up on you just when you least expect it).

I could give you all the usual blurb about how jury duty is "everyone's civic duty for the equality of liberty and justice and freedom and blah blah blah", but I trust everyone has heard all that at least once or twice.

What I will say though is that, even though I've never sat in on a trial and don't, on any given day, want to, I have always been fascinated by the concept. And sometimes frightened. Would I really want someone like me judging me?

Anyway, I just recently went through the process (which, in DC, happens somewhat frequently due to the small population) and found myself, for the first time, genuinely curious and welcoming of the idea of being on a trial jury. Maybe it was because of the *cough*brainwashing*cough* orientation video. Maybe it was because I had gotten like 3 hours of sleep the night before.

But there I found myself, ready and willing (not that I'd have had a choice, mind you). So of course I got sent home. I was miffed, but not overly disappointed. I didn't exactly have a hard on for it. But, for the next two years, I'll be wondering.

And so my question. I have heard few good things about being on a jury. Lots of talk about "heavy burdens" and "responsibility" and "people with attitude problems", but very little else.

Can anyone recommend the experience?

 

[Shazam!]

I was on Jury Service over here and it was brilliant. For a couple of days I just sat in some room and caught up with some reading.

 

[Arrqh]

I'm also fascinated by the concept and perhaps this is overly naive of me but I really do believe in the system and the importance of an impartial jury. I would actually be really curious and interested to be called for a jury.

I was called for jury duty once, in NJ... but I was temporarily living in Vancouver at the time and didn't find out until several months later when I found the letter in a pile of old mail at my parents house. Ah well.

 

[Mr. B]

I've never been called, which is somewhat surprising since I've been registered to vote for over seven years. I am curious about the process but it would really just be a hassle I have no real desire to deal with. Hopefully my answers to the voir dire questions would scare off any attorneys.

 

[Locutus of Bored]

I was on a trial jury for a third strike case where the defendant was a twice convicted rapist who had failed to register as a sex offender when he and his family had moved from one city to another.

The selection process consisted of the defense immediately excusing the two women prospective jurors, which while not surprising itself had led to a surprising result of having a couple of men remaining on the jury who had answered that they wouldn't be able to hear the case fairly and would be predisposed to vote against the defendant. One of them was a retired sheriff whose son was an active duty sheriff. He was shocked because saying that always got him off of jury duty before. Somewhat ironically he wound up being chosen as our jury foreman.

The case lasted two days, and hinged on whether the defendant had deliberately refused to report or had simply forgotten or not been reminded to do so. The prosecution had documentation that the guy had been notified on more than one occasion that he needed to register before he was arrested for doing so. The defense built a large portion of its case on making an emotional connection with the jury by pointing out that the defendant had committed the two (separate) rapes as a young adult and that since getting out of prison he had not re-offended and had gotten steady work, married, and raised a family.

When we went to deliberate, we discussed the facts of the case for an hour or so before deciding to take a vote. It was 10 to 2 in favor of acquittal, with myself and one other guy being the two hold-outs for a guilty verdict. The other ten (including the former sheriff) had been swayed by the emotional appeal of this guy turning his life around and not being recidivist, when we were explicitly warned not to take that into account and only base our decision on the facts and whether we believed his failure to register was deliberate or accidental.

It was strangely reminiscent of '12 Angry Men' with the roles reversed, with the 10 guys arguing for acquittal against me. The one guy voting guilty with me was simply doing so because he wanted a rapist to be put back behind bars, and didn't base his position on the facts of the case at all, which means he was of no help to me and pissed me (and the others) off. We kept deliberating for several hours, with a couple of guys especially getting angry at me for holding out. The retired sheriff (our foreman) was very nice and supportive when this happened (despite voting for acquittal), because I was just 20 or 21 years old and was getting talked down to by a bunch of older guys who thought I was just being a stubborn kid even though I was arguing the facts of the case. Without getting into any specifics of the case he gave me a nice pep-talk about standing my ground when we took our lunch break.

Things got more and more frustrating as we reported to the judge twice that we were deadlocked and he kept telling us to keep on deliberating. After about six and a half hours of deliberation we reported back to the judge again that we were hopelessly deadlocked, and he finally called it quits then. We went back in and the case ended in a hung jury.

The most surprising part for me was that after the case was done both the prosecution and defense (along with the defendant) were waiting outside the courtroom to discuss the case and how we came to our decision with us. The prosecutor was quite obviously a bit pissed when some of the jurors responded that they were swayed by the guy turning his life around instead of just basing their decision on the facts of the case. The defendant was there with his family and was shaking everyone's hands and thanking us, which was kind of awkward.

Despite being the brunt of some angry ranting, I considered it a worthwhile experience both for performing my civic duty and for challenging my perceptions about the jury and trial process, which up to then had been informed by school, non-fiction books on the law, and (largely erroneously) by TV, movies, and novels. I exchanged numbers and remained friendly with the retired sheriff after the trial, and it turned out he had actually known my uncle from the department.

Afterward I always find a (legitimate) way to get out of jury duty (oddly enough I just sent in a request to be excused from jury duty only a couple of days ago after receiving a summons), but I was young and curious about the legal process at the time, so I wanted to give it a try and perform my civic duty. I think it's worthwhile for everyone to try it at least once.

 

[Delta Belle]

I almost made it onto the jury for a misdemeanor domestic violence case. During the selection of the final twelve I got into the box, but was immediately excused by the defense.

I had expected that, because at the time a friend's estranged husband had recently falsely accused her of physically abusing their children. I don't know whether the defendant in my case was innocent or guilty. I do know that in fairness to him, I didn't belong on the jury making that decision.

 

[MarianLH]

I was second alternate on a jury for a murder trial, about ten years ago, and I found it to be a fascinating experience. I don't know why so many people regard it as a burden.


Marian

 

[Lindley]

The prosecution had documentation that the guy had been notified on more than one occasion that he needed to register before he was arrested for doing so.

If someone was able to notify him of his need to register, why did he need to register at all? Why couldn't the left hand just give the right hand the information it needed?

 

[Locutus of Bored]

The prosecution had documentation that the guy had been notified on more than one occasion that he needed to register before he was arrested for doing so.

If someone was able to notify him of his need to register, why did he need to register at all? Why couldn't the left hand just give the right hand the information it needed?

I don't know. It was different cities in two different counties (LA and Orange) and had been several years since he last registered, so perhaps there was some extra information one required that the other didn't, or fingerprinting / updated photographs that he had to handle in person.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

I don't know why so many people regard it as a burden.

Maybe they're worried that the trial will take too long and thus deprive them of the wages they would have earned on the job.

(Am I correct in assuming that it is strictly against the law for someone to be *fired* just for going on jury duty?)

 

[RobertVA]

I was a juror on a gun possession case a few years ago. The defendant had a feloney record.

The young man was on video climbing over a payday loan office counter and pinning a former girl friend on the floor behind the counter. She testified that he brandished a pistol and scratched her cheek with the end of it. The combination of camera angles (it was programmed to alternate between two cameras) and poor video quality made it impossible to determine if the defendent did or didn't have a pistol in his hand.

Ironically there was absolutely no doubt he possessed a pistol, since he was caught a few hours later with a pistol in the glove box of a borrowed automobile. The statue makes possession an offence only if the possession is intentional, and the defense argued that a prior operator of the vehicle left the pistol in the glove box without the defendant knowing it was there. The intent aspect of the case hinged on the defendant having a pistol in his hand during the assault. The defense argued the girlfriend was lieing about the pistol in connection with their breakup and jealousy over subsequent relationships.

There weren't any particularly sharp corners on or around the muzzle of the pistol. We couldn't agree on the veracity of the former girlfriend's testimony in light of the antagonism between them and the issue of his availability to give emotional and material support to their daughter.

 

[Locutus of Bored]

(Am I correct in assuming that it is strictly against the law for someone to be *fired* just for going on jury duty?)

Yeah, it's against the law if your employer is notified in advance of your jury service, even in at-will employment states. That doesn't stop companies from trying on occasion, or finding another excuse, but if they do you can sue for wrongful termination.

 

[Mallory]

I don't know why so many people regard it as a burden.


Marian

First of all, my company doesn't pay people for jury duty. Being married with kids I wasn't willing to give up $200/day in pay for the privilege. A ten day trial would have cost me two thousand bucks.

Secondly, I've worked for small (10 or less employees) companies all my life. When you have someone missing for any period of time, it creates a real hardship for both the company and the people who are there.

Either of these reasons, with accompanying documentation, is a sufficient reason to be excused from jury duty.

 

[CorporalClegg]

I was on a civil lawsuit case about five years ago, and then in February was on a grand larceny case. We found the guy guilty and he got 25 years.

 

[Alpha_Geek]

I was a juror in federal court for a capital case with 5 defendants.

It was an interesting 3 weeks, and jury pay sucks, which made life all the more interesting the following month.

 

[auntiehill]

Yes. I served on a county jury this year. The trial, which was a DUI with a 19 year old defendant, was only 2 days long. My company was very forgiving, as I had warned them far in advance that I'd been called for jury duty.

It was a very interesting experience, but very saddening, when you convict someone, and see them weeping a whole five feet away from you. It's a heck of a responsibility. But I see it as part of my civic duty. Yes, it was a big inconvenience for me, but I think of like club dues. If you want to belong the club, you have to pay your dues. I took it very seriously, as I would hope someone would do the same for me if I was ever in court.

I felt bad for the kid, but the judge was very lenient and the sentence given out may actually end up helping her in the long run.

The court and all the officers were very welcoming and went out of their way to make the experience as easy and as comfortable as they could.

 

[Miss Chicken]

I was the only female on a jury once. The case only lasted 2 1/2 days. The guy was charged with "trying to prevert the course of justice by using the threat of violence".

The huy concerned had previously been charged with social security fraud. Two women were going to lie for him and had given flase statements to the police. The police knew the women were lying and mot long before the first court case the police explained to them about perjury and the women decided to change their statements but also tald the police that they had only made their original statements because the guy had threatened them while we made our decision.

The defence attorney tore the women to shreds. It was obvious that they weren't scared of the guy. One was living with the guy at the time of the original case and the second women, who was the sister of the first woman, was having an affair with the guy behind her sister's back.

The guy also had a wife, and turned up to court with another woman hanging off of him. I couldn't see why he seemed to attract women.

We found him not guilty. We had no doubt that he did try to get the women to lie for him but there was absolutely no evidence that he did so by thretening either woman.

I think jury service was a good experience, I learnt more about how the law worked and I had the added bonus of being locked up with 11 men.

 

[Nerdius Maximus]

The true great equalizer. A demonstration of democracy in action. A pain in the ass (especially when it sneaks up on you just when you least expect it).

I could give you all the usual blurb about how jury duty is "everyone's civic duty for the equality of liberty and justice and freedom and blah blah blah", but I trust everyone has heard all that at least once or twice.

What I will say though is that, even though I've never sat in on a trial and don't, on any given day, want to, I have always been fascinated by the concept. And sometimes frightened. Would I really want someone like me judging me?

Anyway, I just recently went through the process (which, in DC, happens somewhat frequently due to the small population) and found myself, for the first time, genuinely curious and welcoming of the idea of being on a trial jury. Maybe it was because of the *cough*brainwashing*cough* orientation video. Maybe it was because I had gotten like 3 hours of sleep the night before.

But there I found myself, ready and willing (not that I'd have had a choice, mind you). So of course I got sent home. I was miffed, but not overly disappointed. I didn't exactly have a hard on for it. But, for the next two years, I'll be wondering.

And so my question. I have heard few good things about being on a jury. Lots of talk about "heavy burdens" and "responsibility" and "people with attitude problems", but very little else.

Can anyone recommend the experience?

Yes, and it was a complete farce. The defendant was a landlord who had been repeatedly sneaking into a woman's apartment and going through her underwear drawer. One day she came home to find him in her bedroom with some lingerie he'd purchased for her. He asked her to model it for him. The guy was really creepy, and the woman was totally creeped out and traumatized.
He was guilty of breaking and entering, stalking and sexual harassment. When we went to deliberate, most of the jury seemed to feel that he shouldn't go to jail. Why? Because "Jail is a bad place." One girl even suggested that one day in jail might "Teach him a lesson." I let it be known that as the jury foreman I was not going to go out there and tell the judge we wanted to send him to jail for a day, because that was totally weak. We ended up compromising and settling on a month. The charges could have carried up to two years, so he got off easy. One of the jury had even sniffed the crotch of the lingerie, apparently in an attempt to ascertain whether the victim had tried it on or not. I just sat there looking at her with a "wtf" look on my face.So no one there really wanted to determine his sentence based on the law, it was all about personal feelings. I think they felt sorry for him because he cried on the stand. "I was a good manager and now I've lost my job, blah blah blah."

I'd previously been called for jury duty a couple years before that, but didn't make the jury. It was a guy who'd had sex with some kids and filmed it. At one point he turned around to look at the jury pool. He had this disturbed look on his face as he flashed us a creepy smile.
I think he ended up getting sentenced to 300 years.

 

[Nerdius Maximus]

I was a juror in federal court for a capital case with 5 defendants.

It was an interesting 3 weeks, and jury pay sucks, which made life all the more interesting the following month.

Fortunately my job had to pay me the full wage I would have earned had I been there. So I got the jury pay in addition to that.

 

[Tiberius Jim]

Yes, I was an alternate on the jury for a murder trial. The defendant was found guilty of first degree murder for bludgeoning his father-in-law to death in the head with a sledgehammer. Let's just say the images of those crime scene photos, autopsy photos and the evidence which included the sledgehammer itself, the victim's blood soaked clothing and the bedspread on which he died will stay with me forever. It was quite an experience, to say the least.