Jury Duty

[Wolfgang1952]

Got a Subpoena for Jury Duty. To start off with I am an X cop. I got picked in the first round for the Jury. When they started asking the potential juries to tell the court about them self’s. Well I informed them that I was an X Cop from the St Bernard Sheriff’s Office. The Judge asked why I left? I told them why. I got tired of the ******** with the Sheriff. Second thing I am a Life Member of The NRA, and am a strong believer in our Bill of Rights. The District Attorney sure was surprised with my answers to his questions. Boot booted.

 

[DCKilla]

A sure fire way to get out of jury duty, telling the truth.

 

[eye95]

A sure fire way to get out of jury duty, telling the truth.

In some jurisdictions, that will only keep you off a specific jury and dropped back into the pool for selection on other juries.

Me? I will answer questions honestly, but circumspectly, volunteering nothing. I would rather that my views on protecting Liberty get into that jury room during deliberations.

 

[carracer]

One of the questions here is if you know what jury nullification is. A yes gets you tossed.

 

[eye95]

"I've heard the term. What is it?"

"Never mind. That's not important now."

 

[sudden valley gunner]

One of the questions here is if you know what jury nullification is. A yes gets you tossed.

Ahhhh so you get tossed for knowing your true role as a juror, which has nothing to do with "strict" judge orders on how to rule.

 

[BigDave]

"I've heard the term. What is it?"

"Never mind. That's not important now."

Why would it not be important now? Jury nullification for those who are not aware of it do a Google search of on it and you will find that essentially that a jury can vote to aquit even though through the letter of the law were guilty but it is seen that it was not in the intent of the law and for sake of justice.

It has been stated that some Judges will remove anyone from the jury pool for knowing or talking about jury nullification which should not be occurring either.

 

[eye95]

Why would it not be important now? Jury nullification for those who are not aware of it do a Google search of on it and you will find that essentially that a jury can vote to aquit even though through the letter of the law were guilty but it is seen that it was not in the intent of the law and for sake of justice.

It has been stated that some Judges will remove anyone from the jury pool for knowing or talking about jury nullification which should not be occurring either.

A prosecutor, thinking I don't know what it is wouldn't want to answer and wouldn't want me to think it was important enough to check out.

 

[Citizen]

SNIP you will find that essentially that a jury can vote to aquit even though through the letter of the law were guilty but it is seen that it was not in the intent of the law and for sake of justice.

Jury nullification includes the above function. Its true nature is even deeper and farther reaching.

Jury nullification refers to the right and power of jurors to nullify a bad law by refusing to convict the defendant because the law itself is bad, regardless of whether the defendant broke that bad law.

This right goes back centuries. It is one of the essential bulwarks against government tyranny. The people (jurors) form a check on government by refusing to convict.

You can learn more in five minutes about the jury and how it fits into the scheme of government than 99% of the population knows by reading the first section of Lysander Spooners essay, An Essay on the Trial by Jury. This very eye-opening.

http://lysanderspooner.org/node/35


You can also learn more from the Fully Informed Jury Association: http://fija.org/

 

[SouthernBoy]

My month long jury duty ended today. It's my third time at bat.

 

[Wolfgang1952]

So fore I have been picked for two juries’. But just to be dismissed for my views. In the beginning I inform them I was a cop, and the reason I left the SO. It’s when the Da and Defense Attorney starts asking hypothetical questions. That is when I get thrown off. See I’m very pro NRA, and our Civil Rights. I guess the courts think Cops and X Cops shouldn’t believe in our Civil Rights.

 

[sudden valley gunner]

So fore I have been picked for two juries’. But just to be dismissed for my views. In the beginning I inform them I was a cop, and the reason I left the SO. It’s when the Da and Defense Attorney starts asking hypothetical questions. That is when I get thrown off. See I’m very pro NRA, and our Civil Rights. I guess the courts think Cops and X Cops shouldn’t believe in our Civil Rights.

Many cops aren't. Wish we had more like you.

I was just told by my LEO friend last night I was a liberal who wants to have his cake and eat it too, (being constitutionalist with more of a libertarian mindset I had to laugh) because I want to limit what is "proactive" police work in his mind. He refuses to accept that it is not illegal to carry ID.

 

[KBCraig]

Me? I will answer questions honestly, but circumspectly, volunteering nothing. I would rather that my views on protecting Liberty get into that jury room during deliberations.

+1

There are some cases where I'd desperately love to be on the jury, but unfortunately we don't get to pick.

I've only had to show up three times in 21 years (multiple jury notices, but all other times my number was too high and I didn't have to report).

First: My small town (pop. 2,600) started calling random residents until they could get six jurors for municipal traffic court. It was my day off, so I accepted. Plus, I was fascinated, because until then I had no idea we even had a municipal court! (Turns out, the municipal judge was the preacher at one of our local churches.) The other jurors and I showed up, the defendant didn't, the judge declared him guilty in absentia, and told us to report to the city clerk if we wanted our $4 per diem checks. I passed.

Second: Civil trial (medical malpractice) in U.S. District Court. Great. Three days of boring medical testimony countered by wailing and tears. I was the foreman, and the initial 11-1 vote (guess who was the "1"?) in favor of giving the plaintiffs the lottery, eventually turned to a reasonable award for actual pain & suffering, and only against those primarily responsible (instead of everyone with deep pockets, typical shotgun approach for a medical case).

Third: The only time I've ever had to report to the county courthouse. The court was holding screening for three criminal cases. I got selected to the pool for a misdemeanor assault case. I was Juror #8; they took the first six, with #7 as an alternate, and I went home.

I strongly support FIJA, by the way.

 

[Nevada carrier]

I got a summons to appear for jury duty once, Believe it or not I wanted to go. I was 21 years old, and genuinely enthusiastic about the chance to do my civic duty. I looked at the date on the summons, which was three days prior to the date it was postmarked, and 5 days prior to the day I actually received it. so being 21 years old, I thought I was going to have a warrant for my arrest. I called the court and they said, don't worry, the court doesn't prosecute because they have no way of knowing who did and did not actually receive their summons. It appears that the marginal cost of sending out notices with return receipts added to the marginal cost of prosecuting those who fail to appear is greater than the marginal benefit of the fines levied against offenders added to the cost of the prosecution; Econ 101.

 

[jayspapa]

I have been called to serve only one time. It was a murder trial . This guy had been in the home when the elderly man and wife returned from town. He killed the wife and left the husband for dead after doing ....well some really cruel things I won't put in print.....all for a small TV and some fake jewelry. The husband lived but was never quite right after wards.

My dad worked for a farmer from 1959 till the farmer died in 1976. The woman who was killed was the farmers sister and I knew the couple quite well.

Well I wanted to be on this jury badly but knew they would let me. I tried to talk to the clerk the first day to let him know who I was and why they shouldn't keep me there to be payed each day. Of course I got blown off. There were 135 of us the first day and they told us to be prepared for it taking a week to go through everyone.

Well guess who got called last out of those 135 people .... Yep ME!!! And knowing they weren't going to let me sit on the jury just made it more maddening.

They finally called me into the other court room where they were interviewing people . Had to go through the name , location , blah , blah...then the man asked me if I thought there was any reason I couldn't sit on the jury. I told them how I knew the people who were attacked and as I looked right at the defendant said " I would love to see the man who did this hang by his neck till dead! " They dismissed me!

 

[END_THE_FED]

...........then the man asked me if I thought there was any reason I couldn't sit on the jury. I told them how I knew the people who were attacked...............

Why did you even mention it?

Him- "Do you think there is any reason why you couldn't sit on this jury"?

You- "I am both willing and able to be a juror".

 

[JamesCanby]

Why did you even mention it?

Him- "Do you think there is any reason why you couldn't sit on this jury"?

You- "I am both willing and able to be a juror".

Oh, yes. And when the defense attorney finds out that he knew the victims and was on the jury specifically to make sure the defendant was found guilty and "hanged" for his crime, even before he heard any testimony .... and the case gets thrown out because of his bias ... what then?

Jurors are supposed to be picked for their objectivity and must reveal any prior knowledge of the case. It is then up to the attorneys and the judge to decide if the potential juror is acceptable or not.

I was a potential juror in a medical malpractice case and, when asked, told the judge that my prior experiences with the medical community might not allow me to be objective. The judge decided that my prior experiences would not prevent me from hearing the testimony and deciding the case on its merits.The defense attorney, however, used one of his rights to excuse a potential juror and dismissed me.

That's the way the system is supposed to work. If I'm ever on trial, I want an unbiased jury comprising objective people that have no specific agenda other than hearing the testimony and applying the law.

 

[Nevada carrier]

Can't you be charged with perjury for lying during a jury selection?

 

[eye95]

Can't you be charged with perjury for lying during a jury selection?

I am sure you can.

Did I miss someone advocating lying during jury selection?

 

[KBCraig]

Can't you be charged with perjury for lying during a jury selection?

Yes, but: voir dire is the responsibility of the parties, not the potential jurors. The judge usually asks the important elimination questions before the prosecution and defense get a shot, and Big Question Number One is: "Do you know either the defendant or the victim in this case?"

When that question is not asked, and the closest thing asked, on the last day, is whether or not the juror knows of any reason why he shouldn't be on the jury, the fault doesn't lie with the juror. The juror isn't responsible to know what would exclude him, only to give fair and impartial weight to the testimony and render a verdict accordingly.