I got a jury duty notice in the mail. This is the third jury duty notice in three years. This is crazy, we have 1.5 million people in this county, and they keep bangin' on *me* for jury duty?!
-- Badtux the Well-juried Penguin
2 days ago
Monday, January 05, 2009
14 comments:
Ground rules: Comments that consist solely of insults, fact-free talking points, are off-topic, or simply spam the same argument over and over will be deleted. The penguin is the only one allowed to be an ass here. All viewpoints, however, are welcomed, even if I disagree vehemently with you.
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I was hoping you would refer to yourself as the jurisprudence penguin.
ReplyDeleteBut I have crazy ideas like that sometimes.
Prudence is not part of my genome, in case you haven't figured that out.
ReplyDelete- Badtux the Imprudent Penguin
Ah, but you don't actually serve, do you? Defense attorneys despise geeks, whether chimpanzee or penguin. It still ruins at least one day, though.
ReplyDeleteTrue dat. Never had to serve. But you're right, it ruins a day.
ReplyDelete- Badtux the Day-ruined Penguin
Here's a thought: are your name and address on your driver's license EXACTLY the same as your name and address on your voter registration certificate? In Harris County, TX, if the answer is no, you will receive twice as many jury summonses as the typical driver/voter. Can I get out of every other one? Yes, if I keep track. Can they fix it so it doesn't happen? No, they've assured me: the gummint's IT people are too fucking dumb to fix the problem. (In my case, it's middle name vs. middle initial.)
ReplyDeleteThe last time I was called for Jury Duty (and called to fill the first panel, before questions) the defendant had chosen to represent himself. Ten minutes in the room with him indicated that he didn't know the first thing about courtroom protocol, and I don't even watch TV shows that illustrate it! But he hadn't caught on to the notion that you're always, always polite to the judge. Silly ass.
ReplyDeleteSo, when the judge asked us if anyone had a problem with the defendant representing himself, I raised my hand. I was exceedingly polite (a damn hard thing to be at that point) and suggested that the defendant was not working in his own best interest by availing himself of all available resources to be used in his defense. I didn't follow my statement, as I longed to do, with a diatribe to the defendant of "You idiot! Why set yourself up for failure!"
He dismissed me without prejudice.
:-)
Displaying intelligence will always get you kicked out of a jury pool. I'd LOVE to sit on a jury, especially if it got me off work, because I'm a harsh, judgmental bastard who'd love to penalise the stupid and venal. Which is another reason why I'll never be called for jury duty. That, and not being a citizen.
ReplyDeletethe last time i was called for jury duty i took steps. i didn't tie back, or even bother to comb or wash my past the shoulder length hair for a couple days. i wore ripped at the knees jeans, ratty sneakers without laces, and a bright red shirt that said "question authority."
ReplyDeleteneedless to say i was excused on the first round.
I've been back in Santa Clara county for seven years now, and never a jury duty notice. I totally want to do my civic duty, but nooooo.
ReplyDeleteJust say you watch old Perry Mason episodes and know all about it. ---That should do it. Otherwise appreciate the $20.00 a day salary that justice now pays. lol
ReplyDeleteI just got my notice for jury duty a few months ago. It will probably be Feb or March - I still haven't heard back after I sent in my quesitionaire. Given my profession, I don't give it high odds that any lawyer would seat me on a jury. But I'd like to do it - I get paid by my work when I do it, so I don't lose income or have to take vacation, and I'd like to be able to decide a case for once.
ReplyDeleteI have served on a jury -- here in Silicon Valley, in a pool of 50, they couldn't find 12 non-geeks, and I guess I'm less geeky than some -- and it was a sorry state of affairs.
ReplyDeleteI learned that some laws regarding interpersonal conduct are written in such far-reaching ways, ostensibly to protect battered women, that it's possible to commit a crime by merely being stupid, without a more nefarious intent.
We the jury most grudgingly agreed the victim was guilty of violating a badly-written law. Nobody but the D.A. went home happy, and I'm sure I wasn't the only juror who felt the entire episode was an exercise in injustice. Today, being much older and more outspoken, I would have exhorted my fellow jurors to consider that the law wasn't written to cover the scenario described in the courtroom. But I was young and shy then.
So, you who wish to serve: be careful what you ask for!
Karen - you know, technically, you could have voted not guilty if you felt the law was really not supposed to cover the situation, or even if you thought the law was stupid, or for any other reason you want. The jury is a black box. Assuming there is nothing illegal (i.e. the jury was bribed or given evidence it wasn't supposed to have), a jury can vote not guilty no matter what the judge says about the law. That's what jury nullification is. Of course, if you actually admit openly that is what you are doing, then they stop you, but if you do it without admitting it, there's nothing they can do.
ReplyDeleteHow often is it y'get to see a penguin in the jury box? You're a novelty.
ReplyDelete