I mean, have you recieved a summons (letter) either from your municpality or another in which you’re selected to be a juror. You show up to the courts and assigned a number along with being asked about occupation, status, etc. but is the probability even that high on becoming part of the 12 jurors? Is it a criminal offense for failing to appear?
If you are registered to vote then jury duty is mandatory.
In the Us there are different levels of courts, county/city, state and federal.
Jury Duty is mandatory in the US. I have been called for Jury Duty numerous times for the County I live in.
Each county has different procedures. One county I lived in gave you a number and I was required you to call a phone number every monday and the message would list the range of numbers that had to report.
I had to report on two different cases and in both cases I got removed from the jury Pool by the Void Dire process.
How the Void Dire Process worked in that county was there was a court room full of potential Jurors who each got a number and the judge would ask questions like. “Do you know anyone involved?”, “have you read anything about this case?” Do you work in law enforcement?”. You would raise your number hand and the judge would bring you up and clarify.
One case was a wrongful firing case a doctor brought against his previous practice and the Void Dire process had selected the 12 Jurors and three alternates before my number came up.
The second case was a murder trial and after the Void Dire Process I was the third alternate. the juror was composed of 12 members and three alternates. I guess the defense did not like somethign about me so they just had the judge remove me.
How that Void Dire worked is that the judge could remove any potential Juror and the defense and Prosecution could remove up to three.
In the current county I live in I got called up and there was maybe 50 of us sitting in a room waiting to get assigned to cases and we sat there for about 4 hours and the Court Clerk announced that all trials scheduled for the day had either been rescheduled or reached plea agreements so we were all released.
Though I have never been called up for a Grand Jury, I know two people who have. I think a Grand Jury is only a state level thing in the state I live in. That process is fucking nuts. The Jury consists of 18 people and you have to do one day a week for three months.
In a Grand Jury, only the prosecution presents evidence and they jury decides if there is enough evidence to go to trial. Its weird…it is nothing but a rubber stamp.
I have never been called to a Federal Court or known anyone who has.
Beyond the Void Dire process there are other reasons you can be released from Jury Duty. My wife got called up and she had a surgery scheduled for that day, so I took a copy of the surgery “appointment” slip to the Court Clerk and he told me she was released on the spot.
I’ve been given notice for jury duty like 5 times in my life, and it has never gone beyond calling into the system to hear my group has been dismissed. I’ve only ever known 1 person to even actually serve on a jury once, and that was my dad.
Though I did take a job as a juror for a mock trial once ($250 for 4 hours of my time? Hell yeah); basically the lawyers presenting their cases to us and seeing what would be the most likely outcome before actually going to court. IDK why they needed it with that particular case; it was pretty cut snd dry. The defense had no leg to stand on what-so-ever. Maybe it was to determine how much punitive damages might be suggested 🤔
yes. you can be held in contempt for not showing. That being said there is a very good chance you are not selected. I don’t think I have ever made it to the point where an attorney is even asking me questions. Its annoying though. The only compensation you get is a token sum for travel and lunch expenses.
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Is it a criminal offense for failing to appear?
I believe that it technically illegal but I can say that I’ve received dozens in 4 states over the decades and threw each one away.
I’ve not been arrested yet.
I’m glad I served. On the trial I was on three young men could have easily seen their lives destroyed because of shitty cops and a shitty prosecutor.
I will never forget having to explain reasonable doubt repeatedly to more than one other juror in deliberations.
Please, don’t skip jury duty.
Thank you.
Same.
Interesting that you’d assume that some people such as myself can even remember names between the cops and the people on trial from one day to the next. Some trials go on for months, and I just can’t remember all that stuff, let alone be bothered to not take care of my mom for a few days even.
Jury duty isn’t for everyone ya know.
Even celebrity trials rarely take more than a few days. The case drags on for months, but the jury is only selected and seated for the very end. Such cases are extraordinarily rare.
The overwhelming majority of the time, jury duty means calling in the evenings to determine if you are needed the following day. Most of the time, the answer is “no”.
The flip side of your right to a trial by a jury of your peers is a duty to judge as a peer of the defendant. It is extraordinarily selfish to deliberately avoid jury duty.
Yes.
Read up on jury nullification.
While there are no laws for the wealthy, not sure why the rest of us are supposed to be held to them.
What does Jury Nullification have to do with OP’s question?
The existence of jury nullification means the answer is No, actually, because explaining your knowledge of jury nullification and intention to use it if necessary when questioned in the jury selection process is guaranteed to disqualify you and is a foolproof way to get out of having to do jury duty.
Jury Nullification has nothing to do with a citizen’s obligation to serve on a Jury. That is related to how a Jury finds someone innocent.
I know what it is, I am saying that judges don’t like people knowing about it and in practice will block you from being on the jury if you make it clear that you do. In that sense it does have to do with the enforceability of an obligation to serve on a jury.
I’ve had multiple summons. Consider it part of one’s civic duty.
Never been picked, though.
Showed up for one summons and was told the trial they were trying to seat would run 4-8 weeks. I said “nope”. The woman didn’t even bat an eye and said “we can reschedule you one time for 6 months.” 6 months later, I was excused the night before.
The only time I was a possible candidate, the judge asked those who claimed hardship to write out why. I gave the listing of client sessions that I’d have to cancel for the 10 day trial costing me $1600. She excused me.
Someone else told me that during the voir dire screening, she stated that as a former IRS auditor she could tell when people were lying to her. The defense attorney excused her. I could use the same statement, as a senior IT system administrator in my job, I’m used to people lying to me about why their computers aren’t working. I’ve heard that attorneys don’t like engineers because they’re not easily swayed by emotion and tend to make decisions on rational facts. That could go either way depending on how prosecution or defense are planning on arguing a case.
I’m over 70, I’m exempt in California. Apparently as of 2024, there are 41 states with an age exemption.
https://www.aarp.org/government-elections/jury-duty-age-exemption-2024/
Yes, it’s mandatory for all citizen who are capable of doing it. Jury duty just means you have to show up for 3 days to be a potential juror. If you don’t get picked to be a juror you’re done after 3 days. Then you won’t be summonsed to do it again for another 5 years.
I was on the selection pool for it. Had to show up one time to get counted, then called in every day to make sure I wasn’t needed. I wasn’t.
If you end up for selection on a jury, no need to be extreme. Anything you say is recorded. It’s incredibly rare for cases to actually go to trial, and only some of the jurors in the pool are selected.
This also various by region.
Probably depends on the state, but they can certainly haul you in for failing to appear where I am.
I’ve been summoned 4 times for county court in 3 different states. The first summons I got to reject because I was moving to another state prior to the court date. In the second state I got called in for the pool, and had to go in for a few days if I remember correctly, but never made it to the courtroom. In my current state I’ve been called in twice. The first time I went in for one day, and was dismissed some time early or mid afternoon having not been called to the courtroom. The second time which was this year, I was called into the courtroom and got to see the jury selection. I was in the group of backup jurors, and since there were no issues with the jurors in the box I got dismissed before noon. I don’t know if I would have made it through selection as I would have told them I have adhd (I brought my diagnosis paperwork with me). I would have tried my best if selected, but with the executive function and auditory processing issues I may not be the best suited for it. I would like to serve on a jury at some point, but would prefer for it to be when my kids are a bit older
When you do get called up and go in, there will likely be a period of time that you can’t be called up again for
I’ve never been summoned. I’ve lived in the same ward for fifteen years, owned a home here for the last decade.
I’ve been in the pool for a little over 20 years. I’ve been summoned 3 times, asked questions once, and never been selected. If you stay in one area I’m pretty sure you’re certain to get selected at some point because they don’t typically choose completely randomly. Usually after being selected you can’t get selected again for some time. If you move around, maybe you never get selected since it’s more random selection. Probably still nearly certain if you live a reasonable length of time though.
There are offenses for not showing up. Couldn’t tell you what they are though. I’m pretty sure in my jurisdiction you get put into the next group of potential jurors. Not sure what happens if you keep not showing up.
Got called to sit in a courtroom for several hours - the defendant saw all the juriers coming in and got scared and agreed to the plea bargin offer at the last minute. Never saw jury selection, just 40 of us waiting for things to happen. (i was on call for 3 months and only had to appear that one time - tiny county I’m told federal trails in the nearby city you are on call for a week)
I’ve been called on multiple times, but always get excused because the bus system isn’t compatible with their scheduling.
