Jury Duty Stories

HollydollhugsHollydollhugs
in General

We aren’t supposed to speak of it while we are in the midst of it, but what are some of the cases you have been on a jury for in the past? They can be very interesting.
I had it first when I was 19. Served 1 day on a jewelry store robbery case. The guy plead guilty after the first day.

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Comments

  • Lisa123Lisa123
    edited March 2023

    I'm in my mid 40's and have never been called for jury duty.

    .........Probably just jinxed myself

  • CuddleBarista1CuddleBarista1

    I had a case that someone was murdered on my first jury duty when I was a college kid. I had an excuse on my first one and I have to serve again on my second time this August.

  • KamikaziNinja86KamikaziNinja86

    36 and never been called to serve on Jury.

  • CharlieBearCharlieBear Mod

    My mom served on a jury involving some gang related violence once, and she noticed some cars driving by her house very slowly during that time and came home once to find the front door open. Nothing happened, and we have no idea if any of that was related since there are plenty of other explanations, but still kinda creepy.

  • HollydollhugsHollydollhugs

    Oops @Lisa123 hopefully not. @Charlie_Bear oh man 😳😳.
    I’m serving this week. Hoping it will be over tomorrow.

  • achetocuddleachetocuddle

    I had jury duty the summer of 2017? in Tennessee. This was the year of the total solar eclipse (August). I had looked forward to observing the eclipse for months. I very humbly asked if I could serve all the but the last week of duty so that I could see the eclipse. I asked in June at the beginning of duty. I was given that week off since no one else had asked to be off for the eclipse. I never did get called for a trial, just had to be available. I was glad.

    When I was married I lived in Bakersfield, CA in the 1980s during that big notorious child molestation trial. I got called to serve a week then. I went to the courthouse restroom and cried cause I was so afraid I would be chosen and have to look at awful pictures (I was only 21.) I wasn't chosen and was relieved to go back to my night shift job at the post office. I worked with one of the accused. This whole scenario was eye-opening to a sheltered young woman from small-town Tennessee. I just wanted to be with my then husband, I didn't sign up for all that Lol.

  • OhioMikeOhioMike
    edited March 2023

    Hello @Hollydollhugs gosh I am one of those that gets summoned regularly. I don't necessarily mind because it does give you a "safe" peak at our judicial system. I usually don't make it out of jury selection, they don't tell you why lol. Anyways the one I remember getting selected was a murder charge where a guy stole a motorcycle and during the police pursuit he ran over and killed an innocent bystander. On the very first day and during the very first break he pleaded guilty to lesser charges and got like 20 years. Then the judge came in to the jury room and explained it all and we were free to go! A few other stories but that was most serious one.

  • JillianCuddlesJillianCuddles

    I seem to get a summons every year. I only served as a juror once, for a case that involved three victims; one murder charge and two attempted murder. We were in court for 2 weeks and deliberated for about 2 1/2 months. It was a nightmare!

  • liveninpjsliveninpjs

    I've always wanted to serve. It stems from some naive idea about truth, justice and the American way. (Sorry, the UK way for our friends immediately across the pond. Someday I'll get to visit there and see the Magna Carta - one of the best political moves in history. And we thank you again for Blackstone's commentary, very helpful for early US lawmakers. But I digress.) I've been summoned 3x but never selected. I read so many bogus legal outcomes in the news I want to be part of helping honesty re-enter the equation.

  • [Deleted User]Artemis795 (deleted user)

    I was summoned once in college during finals week. I thought I was going to be dismissed during selection and not have to serve... I was wrong! Once I saw there were less than 20 people still standing I started to panic as I needed to be studying for my exams and not be wrapped up on civic service. So, when an attorney asked me a question about myself, I immediately blurted out "IT'S FINALS WEEK AND I WAS NOT EXPECTING TO BE HERE! IF I SAY HE'S GUILTY, YOU'LL DISMISS ME -RIGHT?!?". Neither side of the attorneys, nor the judge, appreciated my sense of humor and I was chosen...AS AN ALTERNATE! All the obligation to sit through the hearing and none of the voting power.

    I continued to be a nuisance to everyone during the week and a half trial was going on as I tried to sneak in studying at any point I could. At one point, the judge saw me not paying attention and sent the bailiff over to take away my flashcards during the hearing. Looking back, had I not been a "trouble maker" during jury selection I probably would have been dismissed, but where is the comedic drama/fun in that?

  • CuddleBarista1CuddleBarista1

    @Artemis795 that is quite odd that they didn't at least push for another date for you. I had an issue that I was studying in college during the time and explained the reason that it would disrupt my studies. They understood and asked me when I was free to serve for jury duty. Recently, I received a notice on January to serve jury duty and I explained about my financial hardships and they asked me which date I prefer to serve and that they can accommodate it for me.

  • AngelPendavezAngelPendavez

    I've been called to serve twice, but dismissed each time.

    I've often wondered if it's because they don't want critical thinkers on the jury. But I would think other things would factor in, as it's meant to be a "jury of your peers", so maybe things like age, race, economic and educational background also factor in. Or not. There's so little transparency around these procedures so I literally have no idea.

    Neil deGrasse Tyson has spoken on this:

    “In 2002, having spent more than three years in one residence for the first time in my life, I got called for jury duty. I show up on time, ready to serve. When we get to the voir dire, the lawyer says to me, “I see you’re an astrophysicist. What’s that?” I answer, “Astrophysics is the laws of physics, applied to the universe—the Big Bang, black holes, that sort of thing.” Then he asks, “What do you teach at Princeton?” and I say, “I teach a class on the evaluation of evidence and the relative unreliability of eyewitness testimony.” Five minutes later, I’m on the street.

    A few years later, jury duty again. The judge states that the defendant is charged with possession of 1,700 milligrams of cocaine. It was found on his body, he was arrested, and he is now on trial. This time, after the Q&A is over, the judge asks us whether there are any questions we’d like to ask the court, and I say, “Yes, Your Honor. Why did you say he was in possession of 1,700 milligrams of cocaine? That equals 1.7 grams. The ‘thousand’ cancels with the ‘milli-’ and you get 1.7 grams, which is less than the weight of a dime.” Again I’m out on the street.”

    And here's a video of him talking about the third time he was dismissed:

  • cde123cde123

    I was summoned for jury duty once, but I had a job interview out of state. I called up the justice center, told them what's happening, and they had a magic fix: they changed my address to somewhere outside the county. Boom, no more jury duty!

    Later I was summoned again, but then COVID happened and it was cancelled.

    Once of these days I'll be out of luck.

  • [Deleted User]Artemis795 (deleted user)

    @CuddleBarista1 Yes, I chalk it up to the fact that I was being a smartass and it was a small town.

  • TheFunCartelTheFunCartel

    Called six times and dismissed every time. But out of a matter of convenience I was put into a police line-up across the street after each time so they could clear me from other cases.

  • Nature_Lover_Nature_Lover_

    Haven’t served yet either 🤷‍♀️

  • achetocuddleachetocuddle

    I just remembered during my jury duty in Bakersfield that before the swearing in one lady asked if she could affirm instead of swear. They said yes. I admired her for that.

  • HollydollhugsHollydollhugs

    There are some great stories shared here. Hopefully I’ll be sharing more soon.

  • dontrememberdontremember

    I got letters twice, from two different States, giving me advance notice to show up for jury duty on a particular day. Both times I told them, "I'm British, is that OK?" and they said "nope, never mind."

  • LionsFanLionsFan

    Called twice, served both times.

    A rape trial and an assault on a police officer

    I was struck by how poorly the PA was prepared. If you argue the "victim" couldn't give consent due to intoxication, it might help to call a witness who saw her drinking, perhaps a BAC lab test?

  • OriginalirishOriginalirish

    I've always wanted to be selected, and I've made it to the jury selection booth, but never get picked. Perhaps its my Law and order T-shirt and lifetime membership to the Marishka Hargitay fan club?

  • OriginalirishOriginalirish

    Duhn-Duhn 🎵

  • [Deleted User]Mman (deleted user)

    In 2016 I served on a jury trying an accused serial rapist of minors. 23 in total 17 of which testified. The guy was 23 and from a well to do family. Defense attorneys were disgusting in how they treated those young girls.
    Guilty on all accounts.

  • ChuleticaChuletica

    I'm a court reporter! I've only had two Jury trials to date, but watching the whole process is quite intriguing. Watching the jury get picked is my favorite part, it's always a surprise who gets picked. Last one there was an 18 year old boy and in my head I'm like... You know that boy don't wanna be here, leave him alone. They picked him but it was only a 3 day civil case so it wasn't that crazy.

  • [Deleted User]MrAdmirer (deleted user)

    I've been lucky. Of all the times I've been called, I've never had to sit on a jury. They have either cancelled the pool or they got enough jurors and the rest of us were dismissed

  • HollydollhugsHollydollhugs

    So, I just finished with the trial I was a juror for. It was very hard to be a part of. It involved a gentleman with 3 indictments against him. Monday was the hardest day. I actually had to have several drinks to help me relax from everything we had to listen to. Day 2 was somewhat easier and they let us go after 2pm. We went to day 4. The evidence presented by the prosecutor, was very tainted. Most of what was presented was not done in the manor it should have been. The incident happened 2 years ago. We found out that this was the second time this case had been brought to court. We all unanimously came to a verdict and had no doubt we made the right decision. If I ever do get contacted to serve in a case like this again, I hope it’s a very long time from now. It was interesting to experience the process though.

  • CuddleDuncanCuddleDuncan Mod

    I was called to serve at the Central Criminal Court of England and Wales, better known as the Old Bailey. The charge was possession of an Uzi submachine gun. It was not disputed that the weapon had been found by the police in the wardrobe of the accused.

    Curiously, the entire case hinged on whether the accused knew that the bag which contained the gun was in her wardrobe. The jury was unable to reach even a majority verdict (the judge offered us 10-2) and the case was dismissed. It turned out, as we had suspected, that the case was a re-trial and the convention is that if two juries have failed to reach a verdict then the case is dismissed, unless there is a pressing reason otherwise (which in this case there clearly wasn't).

    The jury choose me as Foreman, which fulfilled a small lifelong dream of mine - to be foreman of an Old Bailey jury. It was a dream not an ambition, because it's not something you can achieve by your own efforts: Lady Luck has to pluck your name from the hat.

  • achetocuddleachetocuddle

    @Hollydollhugs I hate that you had to do that. I believe in the jury system and realize I have to do my part, but I hope I never have your experience. I wish there were a better alternative to mandating nice people to do things that are so upsetting to them, even to serve justice. It's too bad there are not enough people who want to serve.

  • HollydollhugsHollydollhugs
    edited March 2023

    So, I thought I was okay. This case, for some reason, pulled up many things I had buried a long time ago and now trying to figure out what to do with. I didn’t think it would have affected me so much. It was more emotional than I realized. I just feel for the court reporters that have to listen to these types of cases everyday.

  • JohnR1972JohnR1972

    I‘ve only been called for jury duty once. It was many years ago but due to my occupation at the time I was disqualified from serving.

    A friend of mine almost served as a juror. They were called and selected but on the morning of the trial, the judge came out and gave the jury a 2 hour lecture on the history of the jury system in America. My friend said it felt like the judge was just stalling for time. After 2 hours, someone entered the courtroom and whispered something to the judge.

    The judge then announced the trial was cancelled because the prosecutor and the defense attorney had just negotiated a last minute plea deal rather than actually taking the case to trial. The judge knew the negotiations were taking place but couldn’t tell the jury because it could have biased the jury if the plea deal had not been reached.

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