Serving on a jury - 3 or 4 days

[CarolinaWoman]

I am apparently the perfect juror when I am called I always end up serving.

I served one year on our county Grand Jury which is an entirely different ballgame from the regular jury of 12 peers. You are allowed to ask questions when a case is presented.

I have served on Civil Cases ... I could build a house after serving on one of the cases ... the builder didn't go down to virgin soil with the foundation thus house was sinking, doors wouldn't shut, cabinets hanging open. The lady cried during the entire two weeks of trial ... every single day crying, sobbing ... about drove everyone nuts. They had 17 Civil engineers and contractors on the witness stand. In addition the judge had a van that transported the jury out to see the house, cracks in the brick, porch sagging to one side ... and the lady just continued to cry with her husband patting her on the back!!

Another civil case a lady had insurance on her home and it was empty ... druggies or homeless caught it on fire. She had not advised the insurance company the home was empty for over a year ... which would mean changing the policy coverage. According to the insurance policy the home was owner occupied not empty. Empty means you can't have Homeowner Coverage if she had only changed to a standard fire policy and Vandalism and Malicious Mischief policy all would have been covered.

I served on a neighbor's tree falling on the next door neighbor's house too. Act of God or diseased tree!

I have served on mega drunk driving cases ... which are fast and usually just local magistrate's court. A home invasion case, armed robbery case is the only criminal other than drunk drivers. I like criminal cases better than civil cases.

I served on a Federal jury trial ... when you are called for Federal Jury Duty they send you this questionnaire to complete with all kinds of strange questions ... Do you have bumper stickers on your vehicle and what do they say ... I do not do bumper stickers but my hubby and kids (teens at the time) placed a bumper sticker on my car ... "Wild Women Don't Get The Blues" .... I didn't know it was on there for weeks. I did remove it. The Federal case was a 'white collar' crime.

All my years of jury duty ... the Grand Jury met once a month unless called for some emergency which was rare ... this was the only jury that really took the time, dedication to arrive at a decision, placing personal opinion aside and determined if the case would go to trial based upon the law.

Several of the other cases we had jurors that needed to get back to work ... we had older ladies that didn't work but was missing their soap operas ... we had jurors "just whatever the rest of you decide is ok with me" ... I was always a PIA because I took notes and asked questions and some of the jurors that wanted to get out of there didn't like my inquiries. This was not the case on all juries I served on but on the majority. I have never caved on a jury decision just to be able to get it over with and go home. Some people just hate jury duty and this type serving does an injustice to our system.

I decided if I should ever get in trouble of any kind I do not want a jury of my peers ... I would prefer a judge made the decision. I like jury duty but I take it serious and I do not let my personal feelings get involved. The lady crying got on my nerves but it did not touch me as far as following the law in arriving at the verdict (instead of giving her a few million dollars.) We did award pain and suffering, loss of loss of consortium in personal injuries and enough money to buy her a home comparable to the present dwelling or attempt to repair present home.

After I started supporting MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving) I was never allowed to sit on a drunk driving trial again.