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True. Getting out of jury duty is hard. Not getting picked is east.
It’s not that hard. When I was working as a per diem therapist with my own business, I was the coverage for vacations, maternity leaves and call outs, so I had to fulfill the commitment to the rehab companies or nursing home, often made months ahead of time. I also didn’t get paid if I didn’t work. I would write those things on the summons and send it back and I always got excused.
The last time I served jury duty they told us it was a 20 year old cold case murder and we might be there 3 weeks. You should have seen all the hands shoot upward from people who couldn’t be there that long. I was one of a few dozen waiting to be interviewed for the one empty seat they still had. It was easy to get out of it at that point. They ask you what news channels you watch, what your bumper stickers say, etc. if you said you watch Fox the defense would say “we want to dismiss this juror” and if you said MSNBC, the prosecutor would move to dismiss.
It took 25 or 30 people before they got the one juror they needed.
Exactly, i wish i would get called. oh well, maybe one day. I find the process fascinating.
I was on a murder trial. It was a fascinating and surreal experience, sitting a few feet away from a teenager describing the murder of another teenager.
I was on jury duty for six weeks for that.
About ten years ago I served in Monmouth County. Three days. Forgery, defendant was a cop. Guilty. Boom. No longer a cop.
I know someone who, over 20 years, has tossed his jury duty notice in the trash at least 7 times. So repeatedly? Naah.
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Originally Posted by NjDevils3027
a true POS
I'd disagree......... some people can't take a paycut or burn up vacation days for a long trial. I think jury duty pays $15 a day locally.
Its a civic duty that potentially has real financial consequences! So because someone chose to break the law, the law abiding citizen has to lose money? That's not right.
My uncle (retired) got a murder case, 3 weeks. He found it fascinating and enjoyed the process. Guy was found guilty.
He lost no money (stipend covered his gas/parking was free)
He got out of the house for 3 weeks straight
Missed a few rounds of golf but had something to talk about for about a month!
I'd disagree......... some people can't take a paycut or burn up vacation days for a long trial. I think jury duty pays $15 a day locally.
Its a civic duty that potentially has real financial consequences! So because someone chose to break the law, the law abiding citizen has to lose money? That's not right.
People love to say that, but the truth is that, in my experience, a judge is not going to force you to be on a trial without pay. When I was on the murder trial, the judge specifically gave the instruction when they were seating jurors and then asking who wanted to be excused and for what reason that if they were not going to be paid for the three weeks that the trial was expected to last, to stand up and say so. Some of them hemmed and hawed and said they didn't know, and he would have the bailiff call their boss.
Also, if you were unemployed and looking for work, you were excused. If you had purchased tickets for a trip that would be taking place during the trial, you were excused. And of course, if you or a family member is in law enforcement, you are never going to serve on a jury. One guy did not ask to be excused but was rejected by the prosecution because he had the same last name as the murder victim, although he was not related. I guess there was a just a weirdness factor.
It's strange that people go in with this attitude that someone is out to get them and force them into doing something. It's just a process they go through, like everything else, and if you get up there and act like a jackass, of course you're going to be treated like one. If you are going to lose income by serving on a jury, show up and simply say so.
Or don't show up and enjoy having these unnecessary arguments in your head if that's what blows your skirt up. It appears no one is going to come after you. As someone said, nobody has the manpower to go after people who don't show up for jury duty.
My uncle (retired) got a murder case, 3 weeks. He found it fascinating and enjoyed the process. Guy was found guilty.
He lost no money (stipend covered his gas/parking was free)
He got out of the house for 3 weeks straight
Missed a few rounds of golf but had something to talk about for about a month!
That was my experience, too.
I did the right thing and did not read any newspaper articles during the trial, but I had my mother save them for me. When I read them later, I was amazed at how the day's story was one tiny piece of the trail picked out of the whole day and focused on that one testimony or witness. It made me realize ever after how incomplete and warped the reporting is on these trials.
I also read things that occurred when the jury was out, which was interesting. There were other previous attempts that we never heard about. One of the reporters subsequently wrote a book about the murder and the trials (there were two, one for the guy who did the actual killing and the one I was on as an alternate for the guy who told him to do it). That gave me a more complete picture.
I am in Essex County. I think, in reality, in a very high crime county, the courts have more important things to do that go after people who skip jury duty, as long as enough show up in the end. Assuming tens of thousands skip every year, going after them would be like New York City going after everyone with unpaid parking tickets.
Last edited by MJoseph42286; 05-11-2024 at 02:06 PM..
i was in a state for 20 years where they pulled off the voter rolls, and since i was not a registered voter, i never got called. then i moved to a different state (where they instead pulled from driver's license issued) and got called many times. i actually enjoyed it. i was called for three trials during the same 4-week period i was told to be available. The first trial was a drunk driver who had a ridiculous defense and was found guilty. The third trial they settled on the very first day, after we were all picked and sitting in our jury seats ready to go.
The second trial they made me "foreperson" it was a more complex case. it was the first case in that state, where the person bringing charges, decided to drop the charges mid-way through the investigation and the state decided to go ahead and prosecute the case anyway, with the state becoming the prosecutor. so it was a landmark case. it was a domestic violence, the woman dropped the charges against the boyfriend (father of their kid) and it was very creepy during the trial seeing the force and power he exerted over her. She did not say anything during the trial except "I don't remember" to every single question. She was required to take the stand. However the 911 tapes when she made the call while he was breaking in her apartment and threatening her and trying to attack her were very clear, and based on those we were able to find him guilty. It took several days' deliberation.
the most interesting part was that after the three trials were over, we were told by the court that we were likely to be stopped on the way out of the courthouse and be asked questions by attorneys from any of the trials. And that is exactly what happened. We were told we could talk freely, and that we could also ask questions of the attorneys. Turns out the violent boyfriend it was one of four different trials he was brought up on various charges for. And the drunk driver they knew he was guilty and apparently the attorneys said let's just come up with some ridiculous defense which they did, and of course it did not work. (Claimed that when the arresting officer said he needed to take the "breath test" for drunk driving he insisted that the police officer was asking for a blow job due to a "language barrier" even though the defendant had been in the USA for over 20 years and his English was just fine. )
anyway i thought it was very interesting. yes i was working at the time when i was called for jury duty but my employer paid full salary, so for me it was an interesting break from work.
then i moved to a different state and was called for jury duty again, and was looking forward to serving, i made it through all the questions they asked us, where the different attorneys both sides pick people or don't pick people based on their answers. And I was in the final group they picked, and they brought us all up to the front of the court room and had us sit in the jury seats and then they said we could now ask any questions. by then they had told us about the case, and it was an assault case. well i asked a question and apparently it was a hot-button question and i was immediately dismissed. I had not even finished asking the question, they interrupted me loudly and sharply, and immediately escorted me out of the court room. It was rather jarring. The question i asked was "What religion is the defendant?"
Those did not happen in New Jersey, they were in three different states. During the 2 years I lived in New Jersey, i was not called for jury duty.
People love to say that, but the truth is that, in my experience, a judge is not going to force you to be on a trial without pay. When I was on the murder trial, the judge specifically gave the instruction when they were seating jurors and then asking who wanted to be excused and for what reason that if they were not going to be paid for the three weeks that the trial was expected to last, to stand up and say so. Some of them hemmed and hawed and said they didn't know, and he would have the bailiff call their boss.
Also, if you were unemployed and looking for work, you were excused. If you had purchased tickets for a trip that would be taking place during the trial, you were excused. And of course, if you or a family member is in law enforcement, you are never going to serve on a jury. One guy did not ask to be excused but was rejected by the prosecution because he had the same last name as the murder victim, although he was not related. I guess there was a just a weirdness factor.
It's strange that people go in with this attitude that someone is out to get them and force them into doing something. It's just a process they go through, like everything else, and if you get up there and act like a jackass, of course you're going to be treated like one. If you are going to lose income by serving on a jury, show up and simply say so.
Or don't show up and enjoy having these unnecessary arguments in your head if that's what blows your skirt up. It appears no one is going to come after you. As someone said, nobody has the manpower to go after people who don't show up for jury duty.
Probably right. In reality, a judge probably realizes that a person not being paid is not going to be fair and impartial. That person is going to do whatever gets them out faster. At least in a long trial anyway. A judge is probably not going to let people off as easy in a trial only expected to last a couple of days. They probably have a much bigger pool for a trial expected to last three weeks as opposed to 3 days.
People love to say that, but the truth is that, in my experience, a judge is not going to force you to be on a trial without pay. If you are going to lose income by serving on a jury, show up and simply say so.
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Good points but you still lose hours in day 1 to do this!
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That's not right. 
