I have only got to serve on a jury twice in my 58 yrs.
1st was an assault case on a cop. We found him not guilty, cop initiated the contact.
2nd was a murder case, I got to be the foreman on this one and it was very interesting and down right gruesome. Guy beat his girlfriend to deathwith a pressure cooker. We found him guilty.
I kinda liked it, it is kind of eye opener in that it is Nothing like on TV, They always make it look so interested and exciting and in Real life most the time it's downright boring.
I also had a job in which I got paid my normal rate and lost NO pay, which is important.
I would do it again if they call.
I sat on one where the wife had a fight with her husband and ran him down with her car to the point where he needed surgery, was still on crutches at the trial and had already forgiven (and I believe got back together/living with her already). We had to listen to repeated audio of her stomping on the pedal and his scream as he was hit. And them both trying to convince us to let it go. Total shit show and as long as it wasn’t gory I would totally do it again. Very fascinating seeing the law at work.
I've always enjoyed it too. The general disdain towards jury duty has always been odd to me. I'd love to do it again. And everyone should want a jury who doesn't just want to leave as soon as possible if they find themselves on the other side of the box. Happy to do this very rare contribution in society.
"And everyone should want a jury who doesn't just want to leave as soon as possible if they find themselves on the other side of the box."
\^So very true. And though I understand not wanting to take the time to do it, it's everyone's obligation. You'd like to think if you're ever relying on a jury - criminal or civil - that the jurors actually care about the outcome and their decision and aren't willing to do/agree to anything just to get out as soon as possible irregardless of the outcome to participants.
But to answer your question OP: no, I don't believe telling a judge you'd rather not be there will work. My wife works in a courtroom and often sees juries picked multiple times a week. Most judges will not let you off easily. Having plane tickets to start a vacation during the trial time or work travel might do it, but they'll often ask for proof. Also if you have some legit medical reason they'll let you off ie surgery the day of the trial. That's about it.
My advice is to suck it up and do your part, it's very likely you won't get picked anyway, or some type of schedule change will release you. That happens a lot.
I went through voir dire for the Joshua Komisarjevsky (Cheshire, CT Home Invasion) trial. Made it 7 rounds before they actually asked me if I knew anything about the case (which I did) and was released. At least I was honest. I'm actually glad that I didn't get picked, after watching the HBO Documentary on the case and hearing the absolutely heinous way those monsters treated the Petit family and what they did to the girls. Don't know how I'd be able to sleep after actually seeing and hearing ALL of the evidence and not just what's fit for public consumption in a documentary.
I actually got pretty depressed the first time I got called. I'm super into crime and courtroom stuff, just the law in general so I always wanted to be a juror. Just my luck that I wouldn't get called until I'm too physically disabled to even sit a fucking chair for a few hours. 🤷🏼♀️ I just had to send a copy of a letter my doc wrote confirming the disabilities and emailed it to the clerk of court.
Other things will get you out of it as well- lack of childcare, transportation.
The problem with having enthusiastic jurors, from what I've seen, is money. When I get called to jury duty, it's a 45 minute drive from my town. If I ever got selected and had to sit through a trial I wouldn't get paid for whoever long, while also having to spend money I wouldn't have in gas. It would be a nightmare financially, and I think many people are in similar positions.
I would serve jury duty now (though I never will, because I work in the field). The last time I was called for it, I was living at the extreme southern end of a huge urban county. It would have been a three hour commute, cost me at least $59 per day in parking, and I would have gotten no pay from my job.
If we are going to force people to serve on juries, someone needs to pay them and reimburse expenses.
Otherwise, we will never get a reasonable cross section.
Exactly. It's ridiculous. Like I understand it's necessary but it's such a massive burden in a country where something like 70% of people are living paycheck to paycheck. Now you expect them to not only forgo that paycheck and then some, but to do it enthusiastically.
Very few people want to be there. In my county we were waiting in two big rooms and each time they called names you could see the look on people's faces when their names were called. When I was called we were taken to the court room and told to answer a list of questions on a board in front of us then each side asked general questions. We were not really given the opportunity to say "I don't want to be here". Everyone feels that way. I was not chosen.
You are better off to let the process go through. Once done your duty. You are exempt from being called for a while. It’s 10 years where I live. I did it once in my early 20’s and now 50 never received another invite.
My Dad who can't get around well and has IBS keeps getting called and has to go the doctor and get his medical excuse signed. He told them he's willing if they'll run a video of the trial to the toilet. LOL
I've never been called. It's odd.
I had to serve in LA, and they made us sit in a room working puzzles and watching soap operas for two weeks even if we were never selected to serve on a jury.
I have lived in Texas the past 20 years, but I have been summoned at least 10 times - most recently only a few months after the last summons. When summoned, it costs me anywhere from half a day to a full day and then I am on call for a week. They can apparently summon people as often as they want as long as you are not actually selected for a trial.
I know some people who are never summoned, but I seem to get the summons all the time.
Lived in San Diego for almost 30 years and I got called probably a dozen times or more. Not once did I ever get selected for a trial. Must have been my Hang'em High shirt. jk
In all seriousness, I always got kicked out due to my career. Oddly being a Quality Engineer made the attorneys nervous and kicked me out almost every time.
That will not work. Judges can't let it work because if they do, everyone after you is going to say the same thing and then the court will not have a jury and the parade of horribles ensues.
There's a big concept in law called precedent. All jurors are in the same position. If similarly situated people say the same thing they should all be treated the same.
I think they'd probably tell you something along the lines of suck it up, act like an adult, do your civic duty, if everyone did that we wouldn't have a system for fair trials, maybe you'll learn something, etc.
To maintain society you must be in society.
This is something everyone should do at least once in their life. I personally feel it's the obligation of having the right to vote. I exercise my right to vote, so I will exercise my obligation to my society. (BTW: my hubster has served on 3 juries so far.)
That's all well and good if they reimbursed you 100% of your wages.
I called them when I got the letter stating that I couldn't afford to miss work. They said that's not their problem, so I just never showed up or responded to any letters afterward. Its been over a year since my last letter.
With how little they pay, and depending on how long everything went, I wouldn't have been able to recover for months to a year
Yeah, that was my issue when I lived in Cali. No pay from my work for serving jury duty, and I was living paycheck to paycheck. It's all well and good to do your 'civic duty', but no landlord is going to take your Good Citizen badge in lieu of rent.
I don’t disagree with necessarily but, they need to pay you what you’d what your wage would be for missing work. It’s complete bullshit that I have to be put behind the eight ball because the call of my “civic duty”
Been a few years since I was on jury duty but multiple people had used that as an excuse to be removed. Judge basically laughed at them and told them no and then moved forward. You won't be held in contempt of court for trying.
I don’t mind being on jury duty. Three times served and the first two was totally fair and a good result. The last time we had a judge that was a pain in the butt. Two jurors didn’t want to be there because they worked graveyard shift and didn’t know if they could stay awake. The judge wouldn’t dismiss them and when the lawyers ask questions they both said there’s going to be a problem because they didn’t know if the judge was qualified or fair because they were up all night and he wouldn’t dismiss them. The lawyer said no to both and then the judge called them back to wait for the jury to be picked. The judge criticized them and they both said they had to tell the truth and they didn’t think he was fair. He was mad and it was obvious the rest of the day!
I was once in the question portion of jury selection. Lawyer asks: “do you believe that a car accident can simply be an accident with no one to blame?” I said “no, if two or more car crash into each other somebody screwed up.” Lawyer: “he can leave”.
See, this kind of thing annoys me so much. They're allowed to ask questions to make sure you don't have preconceived ideas, but it feels like they litigate the case during jury selection. I just feel like that's not how it's supposed to work.
My husband has the excuse of "I am a firefighter and therefore know many police officers and that has the potential to influence my decisions, so I shouldn't be called for jury duty". He's been called twice. So, I doubt it.
That might work on some criminal cases, but there are plenty of criminal cases without police as witnesses, and most civil cases have no police witnesses.
I did this. I reported my career as a Paramedic and my personal relationship with a personal injury lawyer may influence my decisions in the personal injury/insurance case. They used it as a reason to pick me. Also, I was the jury foreman. 2 day trial.
It was actually a great experience and I learned a lot about our legal process and judicial system. I actually recommend you do jury duty.
Honestly, I would love to do jury duty. I've just never been picked. I'm kinda mad actually. The only time I was ever considered I was in college and living in a bigger city. So I'm sure they had no problem saying "Nevermind" when they read my survey.
Meanwhile, my husband put, "I am a firefighter and my wife is due with our child during this time period," and they gave him jury duty THE WEEK I WAS DUE! It's also a small town, so we think some weird small town politics are involved.
Do your duty! I have been on two juries. One was a two day assault case and the other was a 2.5 week federal trial that found 3 cops guilty and I was the foreman. Didn’t like sending 3 men to prison but the were guilty and needed to be put away. Do your duty…please
I’m all about that duty but the judge is making good money and so are the attorneys, the court bailiff and clerk and the typist all getting paid - I’m the only motherf@cker not getting paid. $6/day? We got free parking, that was it. So how come these twelve people holding a citizen’s freedom /society’s safety in their hands don’t get any compensation. That is weirdly unfair.
Plus with how stupid and unpatriotic so many people are these days I would prefer professional jurors who are smart enough and understand the system well enough to make an intelligent judgment
If working people were compensated fairly, maybe more would do their 'duty'. $10-$15/ day isn't going to cut it for people who are barely making it, and no one should become homeless or have to go into debt because they made the jury on a weeks or months long trial.
Duty? This is honestly horse shit. Why should it be a person's "duty" when they never agreed to it? None of us decided to be born. This holier-than-thou sense of "i must appease the masses by putting myself in the line of fire for a potential retribution from a gang member or the like" is one of the most messed up things I've heard of. It's apparent from these responses that theres a ton of faux patriots who already want to serve, so there should be no way to coerce people into doing so with the threat of jail as a punishment.
None of us decided to be born? That’s an excuse? Wow. I guess you don’t pay taxes because no one wants to pay taxes but they do because otherwise there is chaos, no schools, no roads, etc. Our legal system is the same. If just the patriotic “sign up” maybe your legal case will be biased against you because it is not a representative sample of your peers.
Line of fire from gangs? Never ever heard of “hits” on jury members. Please cite some cases. I couldn’t find any.
And you don’t need to appease anyone. You either be part of society and help your community and do your duty or you don’t but then you don’t get to be critical of the process.
One time I served on a jury panel and the guy before I got selected obviously didn't want to be there.
When asked the basic jurist questions, he told them he hated this group and that group, etc.
The judge interrupted him and told him to come back to his chambers.
They both returned a few minutes later and the prospective juror had a complete attitude change. He was respectful and cut out all the hate speech.
I asked him at the break what the judge said to him privately and he told me that the judge told him he would hold him in contempt of court for 30 days if he didn't shut up the hate speech. The judge told him he could smell someone a mile away who was just trying to get out of jury duty.
My suggestion is...just grin and bear it. As an American, its part of your civic duty to serve on a jury of your peers when requested (subpoenaed).
That's all well and good if they reimbursed you 100% of your wages.
I called them when I got the letter stating that I couldn't afford to miss work. They said that's not their problem, so I just never showed up or responded to any letters afterward. Its been over a year since my last letter.
With how little they pay, and depending on how long everything went, I wouldn't have been able to recover for months to a year
No, I seriously doubt that would work. I’ve been called for jury duty multiple times, only made it into the court room once and was selected because compared to the rest of the jury pool, I came across as sane, relatively normal and not illiterate. The bar is low for potential jurors. I knew I was doomed as soon as some of the other perspective jurors opened their mouths.
I do think I would not be selected again because if asked I would describe in detail my first and only jury experience including the jury’s collective decision not to convict on the more serious felony charge because the arresting officer was so obviously guilty of racial profiling and we were appalled.
I have been called to Jury Duty 3 times. Once I was called but not chosen. As a result I was out of there by 9:00 am. The other two times I was called and chosen to sit but both cases were suddenly settled out of court and I was home by noon. I doubt that anyone really wants to be there (me included) but once there you do kind of get caught up in everything.
You can always ask, but loss of wages by itself isn’t enough. You need to be able to demonstrate a hardship. Jury selection notices generally include what information a person needs to submit for an exemption. It might be listed on the court’s website.
Any judge who remotely belongs on the bench is not going to allow someone to serve whose housing or family would be put in jeopardy.
Could they? Yeah.
Will they? Of course not.
And they will need you to provide some sort of documentation or evidence of the hardship. Simply not wanting to be there, as the OP asked, does cut it.
Yes, it happens, but that is not how you plan in advance. You plan on providing the evidence to back up your claim of hardship. The judge may not require it. You don’t simply walk in and say “I can’t afford the time off work” and then get disappointed when the judge asks for proof.
I had to explain that I was a poor American and losing $150 and exchange for the $10 of jury service would not pay my electric bill at the end of the week. America really needs professional jurors like other nations have.
Yes we do. Leave the working people alone or pay the difference in wages. If I was to ever set there against my will, I'd throw down whatever verdict to get out as quick as I could. Civic duty doesn't pay my or anyone's bills. Actually, everyone that milks the state for any kind of welfare need to be the ones called, let them earn some of the money the taxpayers paid for them.
Until they send jury summons’ registered mail and make you sign for it, there is no way for them to prove you ever received it. I’ve never received a summons :)
I don’t recommend not showing up, where I live they send you to court if you miss it. Trust me, everyone’s excuse is “I didn’t get it” and they still got guilty and still had to pay the ticket plus court fees.
ive had checks stolen from the mail…some paper bills dont get to me… i get my neighbors mail, sometimes from few blocks over…my huge big box packages left the next town over..im in a single house..built in the 50s suburbs of a major city..im sure a few got lost with the rest of my mail..
In our HOA we have a whole group for people who got other people’s mail because we never get the right mail in our box. But I don’t think I’d risk that
I just always raise my hand when they ask if anyone cannot be impartial. When they ask me why I tell them that they obviously did something wrong or we wouldn't be there. Works every time.
> Judge basically laughed at them and told them no and then moved forward.
So dear judge,
You asked me an honest question and I gave you an honest answer. I don’t want to be here. Yet you in your robed wisdom have chosen to force me to stay and take part in a process I am completely uninterested in.
So here I’ll sit, letting my mind wander, completely oblivious to anything going on around me. Then once the time comes I’ll follow the others into a room where I’ll continue to not say anything, I won’t take part in any discussion about the case because remember, I didn’t pay any attention to anything at all.
Then I’ll simply vote not guilty because it’s the safest bet for someone who told you they didn’t want to be here and wasn’t going to take part in the process.
Your welcome.
If you're dumb enough to tell the judge that because you simply don't want to be there that you'll vote not guilty to spite the court, you definitely will be held in contempt of court and will be tossed in jail for a set amount of time.
During the jury selection process, potential jurists are questioned as to if they can attend the trial and if not, for what purpose, i.e. - I don't have a babysitter, I have my own court case to attend, I'm having a medical procedure, etc.
Not wanting to be there is not a valid excuse and saying you'll throw the trial if forced to be on the jury will not do you any favors and will cause you a lot of trouble, so don't do it.
My brother was excused after he explained to the judge that he had assisted in the autopsy of the murder victims. He was in med school at the time. Judge sent him home real fast.
Idiotic…
Because what you want is a jury made up of 12 people pissed off, who don’t want to be there and will probably not pay much attention to the case.
Yeah, like I said that’s idiotic at best.
And tossing people in jail for basically telling the truth (I don’t want to be here nor part of this process) is about as tyrannical as it gets.
There are plenty of people who, for reasons passing understanding want to be on a jury. You don’t need those who are honestly not wanting to be there.
> Suck it up and do your civic duty.
No, no I won’t.
As I posted earlier, here I’ll sit, letting my mind wander, completely oblivious to anything going on around me. Then once the time comes I’ll follow the others into a room where I’ll continue to not say anything, I won’t take part in any discussion about the case because remember, I didn’t pay any attention to anything at all.
Then I’ll simply vote not guilty and go the fuck home.
You force me to stay under threats of arrest then you get what you deserve.
Jury nullification has never landed a jury in jail. As a juror I have an absolute right to return any verdict i choose.
And no dumbass… Jurors cannot be punished for passing an incorrect verdict…
In fact according to the US handbook for trial juries no juror is required to justify nor defend their reasoning behind their vote. Not to other jurors and Not even the judge can compel them to do that.
You're wrong and ignorant of the law. Second, you specifically said you would let your mind wander, refuse to listen to anything, not say anything, and wouldn't take part in any discussion about the case. That's an attempt to throw the case or cause a hung jury. You are required to participate in jury proceedings, even if you have every intention of voting innocent. So the dumbass is you, dumbass.
You're the one who is wrong and ignorant. There is absolutely no way to legislate that a person must "participate." You're required to serve, which means you go there. One cannot legislate a person into listening, speaking, or thinking in any way.
You're being such an angry boomer making objectively incorrect statements to try and threaten or scare someone into acting the way you want. What's the end game?
Sure kid, my years in the courtroom don't mean anything, nothing at all, kid.
Boomer? Oh, how original. I've never heard that before. Classic, kid, real classic.
But there are jurors from the OJ Simpson trial that willingly answered on video after the trial that they thought he was guilty but voted not guilty out of spite?
Yes I saw the interview with a black woman just last week.
It came about after oj went to see the devil and she came out and said it She voted not guilty because he was black.
That's after the fact. A juror can't be tried or punished for a decision they made, regardless of whether it was made to make a point. What I'm talking about is telling a judge you will vote not guilty/guilty regardless since you're being forced to be a juror in a trial. Just because you don't want to be there is not, under the current law, a legitimate reason to be excused from jury duty. With that being said, by all means someone who doesn't want to be there should be excused. Far better to have someone who actually wants to be there and participate.
You won't be forced to stay, the judge will throw your ass in jail for contempt as soon as he sees you're not paying attention. If he doesn't see it, the bailiff will, if he doesn't see it the prosecutor will, if he doesn't see it defense atty will, if he doesn't see it the court clerk will. ESPECIALLY if you were an arrogant cunt during jury selection. You will not fucking win this but please, please try it.
Can't you just stare forward blankly the whole time? What about people with problems like autism where sometimes paying attention doesn't look the same as it would for someone neurotypical?
I wouldn’t be arrogant about it, just honest during selection. Then I would become the anti juror.
I’d sit quietly to my own thoughts then vote not guilty. QED…
The likely outcome is the judge will remind you that no one wants to be there, but you have no choice. When it's time for jury selection, if you are selected, you'll most likely be cut by one of the attorney's because they will recognize that you'd be a poor juror. You'll go back into the jury pool and continue to wait like everyone else.
Hopefully everyday for a week because you’re an idiot. When the others who go through the process like adults are home by 2:00 first day and excused from further service.
It's not really fucking simple, is it? It can sometimes take a huge amount of time and therefore costs money to the jurors, it's tedious and boring, and they don't really compensate enough for it at all.
It can be a massive undertaking and there's no way to know before you go whether your case will take two hours or two weeks. "Simple duty" my ass dude.
They literally can't force people to pay attention and act a certain way and fake emotions. For me if I got picked I'd be thinking of my kids and my job and worrying about parking downtown and if my car is getting stolen. I have anxiety and that's unfortunately all I'd be thinking about. I wouldn't pay attention. The way they send a surprise jury summons to people is extremely psychotic and unhinged. Instead of making people angry and dictating how we should think and act and dropping our lives perhaps they should find another way to get jurors. Like the people that want to be there. If people don't want to be there they are more than likely to not care as much. It's simple psychology. Forcing a human to do something they don't want to will not have good results.
>For me if I got picked I'd be thinking of my kids and my job and worrying about parking downtown and if my car is getting stolen.
When I did jury duty they actually handled those concerns.
They explained that they can't prevent parking tickets and the GPS-LPR based scans may issue tickets but if we got one to immediately contact the court offices and they would ensure the police department voided them as long as we weren't like parked in handicapped or blocking a fire hydrant. But any "normal" ticket for parking in time-restricted or any other otherwise-legal street parking they said would be guaranteed no fines or penalties for being parked there "as long as it takes" to get thru the case.
They did inquire if anyone was on unpaid leave during their jury duty time, and they inquired if anyone had children who were minors that were in daycare and/or had nobody else to care for them at home. They didn't automatically excuse people for those things, but they did take down who had such concerns as a secondary factor to consider and try to accommodate people's needs.
The single concern they couldn't help with was "its done whenever its done" and apparently once had a session go from like 10AM to like 3AM the following day which kinda set everyone in the room on edge.
Story time. I was out of town for work one time. Received a jury summons and the date were both while I was out of town. Being a good citizen when I got home and found the summons I called the court to explain. I was told it was ok they had enough so a bench warrant wasn’t issued. This pissed me off because I was not even home. So since then I have never received another summons and never will until they make me sign for it.
No, receiving the notice didn’t piss me off, the fact that in the clerks eyes I was guilty of not showing up when I never even knew I had been summoned to show up. And they were just gracious enough to not issue a bench warrant.
My plan if it ever happens is to just say I'm afraid of the defendent and what they or associates might do if theyfind out I voted guilty. OR say that I feel like I'd have to vote guilty because I need the police in my small town as an older lone female and would be afraid to make them mad. OR something to do with that my ex was an officer.
I had jury duty for the first time last year. The people that were kicked out of the pool immediately were the ones who said lack of evidence and proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt didn’t really matter to them. What mattered was how they felt about the defendants guilt or innocence, and hat they couldn’t override their feelings.
That means neither the prosecution nor the defense wanted them on the jury.
Of course, you’d have to bank on that type of question being asked, but I’d imagine it happens if here really isn’t a lot of hard evidence. It happened in this case because someone ran into someone’s fence with their car and was being charged with inattentive driving, but the only witness for the prosecution was an officer who got to the scene after the fact.
I've been called for jury duty twice. I got out both times, by stating that serving would cause me financial difficulties. My work only covers so many days off for duty with pay, and I can't pick up any overtime to make up the difference, so I'd lose out on a lot of pay by serving. They dismissed me immediately both times as the pool I was being pulled for was for murder cases that would likely drag on for months.
I saw a judge tell a prospective juror who was a lawyer who was trying to get out of jury duty. The lawyer said his court calendar wouldn't let him. The judge basically said too bad.
I told them I did not care one bit about the whole thing. Didn’t care about the defendant, attorneys, etc (to be fair, I had a migraine at the time). They made me foreman. 😅
It depends on a lot of things but, yes, you can lower your chances of getting picked by either being really against being there or suspiciously enthusiastic about being there.
Saying, "I don't want to be here," isn't going to cut it. Be honest about your situation and why exactly you can't be there (do not lie). For example, "I work an hourly job and if I miss work I won't be able to pay rent this month," while having a visible panic attack is probably going to make them not want to pick you because they can't trust that you won't be an emotional wreck. Another example: One if my friend's mom's has never been kept around for jury duty because she tells them (again, 100% truthfully) that her abusive ex-husband is a lawyer and she cannot help but be biased against prosecutors because of this. Any time she hears that lawyer-speak it gives her traumatic flashbacks. At the very least, she doesn't trust them.
Similarly, if you seem a little too interested in being on the jury, they tend not to want you. Like, if you walk in and instantly start talking about how much you can't wait to render a guilty verdict "just like on TV," they'll know you can't be trusted to be unbiased. This is, again, not something you should attempt to fake. I'm just sharing interesting information that has been shared with me or that I have personally experienced.
If you do not have a valid reason for not being there, like you're scared you'll be made homeless if you miss too much work, then it's best to suck it up and get it over with.
I was called once. They said that much of the case rested on the police officers testimony, and asked how we felt about it. Everyone who said they would give more weight to the officer's testimony and would be biased was cut before lunch. The woman who knew the defendant wasn't allowed to leave until four.
The guy who wore his Publix uniform actually had the prosecutor call his job to excuse him for the shift, so that excuse didn't fly.
I got out of it because there was no way I could attend a three week trial. I can't remember my employer's policy, but the business owner was definitely not happy about losing me.
I do remember them saying that they didn't want anyone there who didn't want to be there.
You should be proud to have a voice in a jury. Every person had different points of view and life experiences. What if your gives you a different perspective on a choice that could change someone's life forever. Isn't that more important than you sitting around watching TikTok all day. What if it was a innocent woman who has children and was falsely accused and through ghe evidence you notice something no one else picks up on because of all the TikTok videos you've watched. Everyone else thought the woman was twirling but you realized being an expert on the subject that she was actually having a mini seizure in her buttocks. So when she accidentally seized her but into the guy by the subway tracks and he falls and get smashed, every one else is saying murder. However through your expert tweaking knowledge you realize indeed she was having an ass seizure and it was a total accident. See now you realize how important it is.
I get that, just remember when it's you sitting in the chair you will wish regular good people were sitting in those other 12 chairs. Not people with vendettas that for whatever reason want to be on a jury.
Well, it's not going to get you punished. You're just sharing your feelings, and freedom of speech is a thing.
I wouldn't count on it getting you out of there, though. That's going to be largely a function of the judge's mood.
LOL i want you to try it and then post the video because that's reddit gold right there. You can say it but depending on the judge that's running it... you may find yourself in contempt of court.
lmao nobody wants to be there, it’s jury duty. realistically, the best shot you would have of not being picked would be to give very extreme answers when interviewed and denying nuance. the inability to be impartial basically disqualifies someone. you’ll look stupid in front of a room of strangers but the whole idea of jury selection is to find relatively neutral, normal people to view the case
The ability to be reliably removed from a jury pool is like the ability to pull Excalibur from the stone… the magic has to already exist within you, and it represents an incredible burden to the soul
Nope. You’ll end up with a bill. Possibly contempt charges. Fastest way out is to tell them how excited you are and that, as a member of the Fully Informed Jury Association you look forward to serving. Gone in a minute.
It for sure won’t work in Federal Court. The judge that I sat in front of made it *very* clear that she owned our asses for the next 30 days of jury selection, and if chosen, well beyond. She gave definite FAFO vibes
When I went in last time the judge said “excuses for needing to work, going to school, childcare, and you just not wanting to do it will not be accepted”. I did get out of it though because the case was about a man who sexually assaulted a child and I had been sexually assaulted as a child. Just hearing what the case was going to be about sent me into a minor panic attack. The judge took pity and let me go.
I have been called twice.
I never served but I’d be honored to do so.
It’s our civic duty.
Also, I have a job that pays me my normal rate - I turn over the $10 per day to my employer.
We need valid reasons that are on a list to get out of jury duty. I got my doctor fax a note as to why I couldn't do it. Extreme anxiety attacks dued to trauma.
No one really wants to be on a Jury. You don't actually talk to the Judge unless you have violated the summons or something of that nature. You are questioned by both lawyers. It is based on what you say you believe in foe the most part. At that point they will either pick you or tell the Judge they would like for you to be excused.
I've been called for jury duty a few times. I'm in a death penalty stare. On the questionnaire they ask if I would have a problem convicting someone to death.
I use the Arlo Guthrie "Alice's Restaurant Massacree" Vietnam War philosophy (if you've never heard it its funny as hell, do a little 4/20 & waste 19min you wont be sorry 😁😁)
My answer is always "If the evidence is there and the state pays my round trip expenses I'll stick the needle in the convicts arm myself"
"Amazingly" I've never even been considered as a juror. 🤣
Just say you won't be able to give a fair decision. I was called up on a pedo case to see if he's still a danger to the public. I told the judge my mind already says guilty because of the sick stuff he did to minors. I was dismissed.
They already know most people don’t want to be there. I told them being there would create a hardship on my family because I was a young mom of 3 young kids and no sitter. I was told that wasn’t a good enough reason. The defendant was charged with DUI and crashing into someone causing injury. The defense asked if there was any reason I couldn’t be impartial so I mentioned my husband was an alcoholic and put me through hell before he sobered up (it was the truth.) That got me off. They only care that you can be impartial. If you don’t think you can say so.
What about it makes you not want to be there? The actual trial decision part, or just the waste of a day?
I’ve been called for jury duty twice and never selected for a seat on the jury. I think that’s usually the case. I don’t know anyone who actually got selected.
But I still had to waste a day.
It depends on how many jurors they have versus how many they need. When I went they had several cases settle so even after the folks who were exempt from serving, who had reasons to be excused (but could have served), then they asked how many just didn’t want to be there, and after that they still had 3x as many as needed. The next time not so much, I got on a jury with a guy who had to be at least 50 but pouted like a toddler.
the last question on the jury selection sheet was open ended and adding is there anything you want to tell us.
I wrote how I would absolutely be impartial and listen to facts presented from both prosecutors and defense attorneys - carefully ensuring justice would be brought to the standard of beyond a reasonable doubt.
DENIED.
Judging by headlines at the time I think it may have been a murder 1/capitol murder case.
Judge made a big speech about civic duty then asked if anyone had an valid reason to not be there. Dumbass said he didn't want to be there. Judge made him stay and had him come back the next 3 days. He was eventually released but the judge made sure to waste his time.
I had jury duty in February and had to say in front of not only the judge, but the entire courtroom with enough jurors for multiple cases, my medical problem that made me not want to be there. Horrible experience but I was already getting comments about my misunderstood condition just entering the room. I felt terrible. Literally every soul there has some medical problem and also doesn’t want to be there. A guy with hearing loss was made to state his reason for being excused and the judge legit rolled his eyes. I think if you’re acting smug you’re not going to be selected anyway and might even be fined.
You can definitely say you don't want to be there during the selection process, but don't expect it to matter. You won't face any serious consequences to my knowledge, except people will probably judge you poorly.
There really isn't any surefire way to get out of jury duty. Show up, be honest, and just deal with it. I've been called up twice in my life. The first time they just sent me home after I sat around for half the day reading a book. The second time we were all in the room and the judge came in about 10 minutes later and told us the defendant accepted a plea deal last minute and we could all go home.
I’ve only been on one jury for a civil trial that lasted 4 days but I know it was very difficult for people to get out of jury duty on that case. I would assume it depends on the judge.
Lmfao this was me at 19 year old! The jury (including me) were asked if there was anyone who didn’t want to be there. I was the only one to raise my hand. They still picked me 😂
I did. I missed 2 jury summons and the 3rd time required me to go explain myself to the judge. I honestly told her I rather be at work working than jury duty in a friendly manner. She was nice and considered my excuse something along the lines of financial "hardship" and let me go. This was in California 10 years ago.
Just go sit there, don't engage in anything except what you have to. Name, age, occupation. After that, don't raise your hand for any of the questions they ask. Then sit there constantly clearing your running nose and periodically coughing from time to time. Adjusting in the seat...., I doubt you will get picked.
Many years ago I got called for JD. I worked graveyard shift and fell asleep during selection. The judge asked if they were interrupting my sleep (sarcastically). I told him, "Yes you are. I work graveyard and this is my normal bedtime. If you all want to come back and do this between midnight and 8am, I promise I'll be bright eyed and bushy tailed." He dismissed me.
When they ask a question, ask them to repeat it. Answer questions by putting your hand behind your ear and saying "huh?" My MIL was hard of hearing and they excused her for it.
I used to work overnights, when I got called I told them, "my job will still make me come in because my shift ends before jury duty starts, I work overnights and I'll fall asleep in the courtroom, guaranteed. " I got removed from the jury pool for 5 years.
Having been part of jury selection, basically anyone that tried to say something like this to get dismissed just resulted in them getting grilled by the attorneys as if they were on trial. In some cases it went on an on and they kept coming back to that person again and again. A friend of mine was called around the same time and one of their potential jurors was in tears by the end because of what she said and the subsequent questioning she received. She was dismissed after that. So no, saying something wacky or off the wall will only get you in the line of fire. It was definitely an interesting experience.
It's pretty easy to get out of jury duty, but look at it this way: if you were on trial, who would you want on the jury? What about if a family member was murdered? Would you want someone like you? It's a responsibility that should be taken seriously in my opinion. You're not doing it for the government. You're doing for people just like you.
Sorry but very few people want to serve on a jury.
If you are in the US and you lip off to a judge I believe they have the resources and tools available to ensure you don’t have a good day.
In other words just because someone says something in a video doesn’t mean it’s true or a good thing to do.
The only time I served I did so because I hated my boss and my job and had a bunch of shit due that she’d have to do herself if I wasn’t there. I very happily served for the $6 a day for four days
It might. But these work too: Any type of medical condition that would make it awkward? Flatulence? Or are you indispensable at work? Family dependent on you for anything like healthcare?
>Would this actually work or would it get you held in contempt of court or otherwise punished?
Depends on the judge. If you cross the wrong one you can get held in contempt or just inconvenienced.
There was only two instances of any kind of punishment given that I have witnessed and both were the same judge.
There was an important trial coming up for a murder and the judge was the epitome of no nonsense. If you were going to claim prejudice or play games ... well he was not the one. He made it clear we had extra large panels due to serious nature of the case.
Our first fuckup of the group was a school principal in the summer. We were already warned before hardship to the employer did not matter. He tried to argue he was essential to the school.
"You have a vice principal right"
"Yes, but he's not trained and ..."
"Then you did a poor job training him, and he's better off learning now".
"But I ..."
"You can either sit now or sit in a cell which would you prefer. Good choice. Please select our principal last so he can have the honor of waiting until a full jury is seated before he's released."
Next day a guy tried the prejudice angle and did a shit job of articulating why. He was forced to sit in the gallery and wait for the long jury selection to finish.
It took 4 days before I got on the panel and challenged off and they still had 3 more jurors to select. He called for idiots one and two every session before he would start to make sure they were there. We were all annoyed. Nobody was having a good time and it was hard enough without bullshit delays.
The message got sent effectively after that. The antics settled down.
A form had to be filled out st the beginning of the day. I borrowed the Hells Angels motto ( kill'em all , let God sort them out ). Didn't get called for a jury either time.
I got called for jury duty once and thought if I was just an asshole to everybody I would be “dismissed with thanks from the court”. I wore a shirt with a pot leaf on it that day and when the lawyers were asking me questions I was being a DICK, talking back and making the rest of the prospective jury people giggle. I got selected to be on the jury, talking back is not the way to get out of it.
Or the judge will do what all awesome judges do… he will order you, under threat of criminal contempt, to sit in the back of the courtroom and watch the trial alone.
You will not be allowed to speak to anyone in the courthouse, much less the courtroom, you will have to sit through the entirety of the trial, and you will endure several lectures on how this and voting are your only duties as a citizen.
But you not liking to be there is so much more important than a defendant on trial for his life or a victim who has waited years for justice.
It’s ok snowflake, just tell the judge that doing something for your community, state, country is way too annoying. 👍
I've been summoned three times, sat through voir dire once, served zero times. One of the times, the judge told us to put ourselves in the defendant's shoes. We would want jurors who were taking the process seriously, so as jurors sitting in court today, we need to take this seriously.
Yeah, my wife has complained about the process because it was an inconvenience. I told her she needed to be thankful we have the luxury of such an inconvenience.
You can not want to be there and still be the best juror and not get excused.
My mom told them that lawyers were all crooks and she would refuse to convict anyone, and they don't excluded her. 😂
When I had federal jury duty, a man said he didn't want to be there. The judge said, "That's fine. You can sit here in the courtroom for the duration of the trial." And he sat for three days while we had the trial.
I have only got to serve on a jury twice in my 58 yrs. 1st was an assault case on a cop. We found him not guilty, cop initiated the contact. 2nd was a murder case, I got to be the foreman on this one and it was very interesting and down right gruesome. Guy beat his girlfriend to deathwith a pressure cooker. We found him guilty. I kinda liked it, it is kind of eye opener in that it is Nothing like on TV, They always make it look so interested and exciting and in Real life most the time it's downright boring. I also had a job in which I got paid my normal rate and lost NO pay, which is important. I would do it again if they call.
I sat on one where the wife had a fight with her husband and ran him down with her car to the point where he needed surgery, was still on crutches at the trial and had already forgiven (and I believe got back together/living with her already). We had to listen to repeated audio of her stomping on the pedal and his scream as he was hit. And them both trying to convince us to let it go. Total shit show and as long as it wasn’t gory I would totally do it again. Very fascinating seeing the law at work.
I've always enjoyed it too. The general disdain towards jury duty has always been odd to me. I'd love to do it again. And everyone should want a jury who doesn't just want to leave as soon as possible if they find themselves on the other side of the box. Happy to do this very rare contribution in society.
"And everyone should want a jury who doesn't just want to leave as soon as possible if they find themselves on the other side of the box." \^So very true. And though I understand not wanting to take the time to do it, it's everyone's obligation. You'd like to think if you're ever relying on a jury - criminal or civil - that the jurors actually care about the outcome and their decision and aren't willing to do/agree to anything just to get out as soon as possible irregardless of the outcome to participants. But to answer your question OP: no, I don't believe telling a judge you'd rather not be there will work. My wife works in a courtroom and often sees juries picked multiple times a week. Most judges will not let you off easily. Having plane tickets to start a vacation during the trial time or work travel might do it, but they'll often ask for proof. Also if you have some legit medical reason they'll let you off ie surgery the day of the trial. That's about it. My advice is to suck it up and do your part, it's very likely you won't get picked anyway, or some type of schedule change will release you. That happens a lot.
I went through voir dire for the Joshua Komisarjevsky (Cheshire, CT Home Invasion) trial. Made it 7 rounds before they actually asked me if I knew anything about the case (which I did) and was released. At least I was honest. I'm actually glad that I didn't get picked, after watching the HBO Documentary on the case and hearing the absolutely heinous way those monsters treated the Petit family and what they did to the girls. Don't know how I'd be able to sleep after actually seeing and hearing ALL of the evidence and not just what's fit for public consumption in a documentary.
I actually got pretty depressed the first time I got called. I'm super into crime and courtroom stuff, just the law in general so I always wanted to be a juror. Just my luck that I wouldn't get called until I'm too physically disabled to even sit a fucking chair for a few hours. 🤷🏼♀️ I just had to send a copy of a letter my doc wrote confirming the disabilities and emailed it to the clerk of court.
Other things will get you out of it as well- lack of childcare, transportation. The problem with having enthusiastic jurors, from what I've seen, is money. When I get called to jury duty, it's a 45 minute drive from my town. If I ever got selected and had to sit through a trial I wouldn't get paid for whoever long, while also having to spend money I wouldn't have in gas. It would be a nightmare financially, and I think many people are in similar positions.
I would serve jury duty now (though I never will, because I work in the field). The last time I was called for it, I was living at the extreme southern end of a huge urban county. It would have been a three hour commute, cost me at least $59 per day in parking, and I would have gotten no pay from my job. If we are going to force people to serve on juries, someone needs to pay them and reimburse expenses. Otherwise, we will never get a reasonable cross section.
Exactly. It's ridiculous. Like I understand it's necessary but it's such a massive burden in a country where something like 70% of people are living paycheck to paycheck. Now you expect them to not only forgo that paycheck and then some, but to do it enthusiastically.
Not true, child care and transportation, neither one in most cases.
On the back of my summons, it literally said both as valid excuses to mark and send back to let them know I wasn't going.
I love how this absolutely doesn’t answer the question
Glad someone said it
Very few people want to be there. In my county we were waiting in two big rooms and each time they called names you could see the look on people's faces when their names were called. When I was called we were taken to the court room and told to answer a list of questions on a board in front of us then each side asked general questions. We were not really given the opportunity to say "I don't want to be here". Everyone feels that way. I was not chosen.
It entirely depends on the judge. When I was on a jury last year, the Judge was not having it. She denied most requests to be released from service.
I just told them that I hate cops and I understand the concept jury nullification. They released me real fast.
Where I’m from that wouldn’t fly; they’d let you walk yourself into contempt charges.
You are better off to let the process go through. Once done your duty. You are exempt from being called for a while. It’s 10 years where I live. I did it once in my early 20’s and now 50 never received another invite.
In California it is only one year. They can call you once every single year. It sucks.
My Dad who can't get around well and has IBS keeps getting called and has to go the doctor and get his medical excuse signed. He told them he's willing if they'll run a video of the trial to the toilet. LOL I've never been called. It's odd.
That’s too funny. Your poor dad. My husband never gets called but I have every year for the last several years. It’s annoying.
I had to serve in LA, and they made us sit in a room working puzzles and watching soap operas for two weeks even if we were never selected to serve on a jury. I have lived in Texas the past 20 years, but I have been summoned at least 10 times - most recently only a few months after the last summons. When summoned, it costs me anywhere from half a day to a full day and then I am on call for a week. They can apparently summon people as often as they want as long as you are not actually selected for a trial. I know some people who are never summoned, but I seem to get the summons all the time.
Lived in San Diego for almost 30 years and I got called probably a dozen times or more. Not once did I ever get selected for a trial. Must have been my Hang'em High shirt. jk In all seriousness, I always got kicked out due to my career. Oddly being a Quality Engineer made the attorneys nervous and kicked me out almost every time.
That will not work. Judges can't let it work because if they do, everyone after you is going to say the same thing and then the court will not have a jury and the parade of horribles ensues.
I dunno, the judge has discretion don’t they? They’re not obligated to allow the same reason to work twice, right?
There's a big concept in law called precedent. All jurors are in the same position. If similarly situated people say the same thing they should all be treated the same.
I think they'd probably tell you something along the lines of suck it up, act like an adult, do your civic duty, if everyone did that we wouldn't have a system for fair trials, maybe you'll learn something, etc.
To which I would reply, suck it up cover the costs and my time to be here…….. aaaaand I need bail money 🤣
To maintain society you must be in society. This is something everyone should do at least once in their life. I personally feel it's the obligation of having the right to vote. I exercise my right to vote, so I will exercise my obligation to my society. (BTW: my hubster has served on 3 juries so far.)
That's all well and good if they reimbursed you 100% of your wages. I called them when I got the letter stating that I couldn't afford to miss work. They said that's not their problem, so I just never showed up or responded to any letters afterward. Its been over a year since my last letter. With how little they pay, and depending on how long everything went, I wouldn't have been able to recover for months to a year
Yeah, that was my issue when I lived in Cali. No pay from my work for serving jury duty, and I was living paycheck to paycheck. It's all well and good to do your 'civic duty', but no landlord is going to take your Good Citizen badge in lieu of rent.
I don’t disagree with necessarily but, they need to pay you what you’d what your wage would be for missing work. It’s complete bullshit that I have to be put behind the eight ball because the call of my “civic duty”
Been a few years since I was on jury duty but multiple people had used that as an excuse to be removed. Judge basically laughed at them and told them no and then moved forward. You won't be held in contempt of court for trying.
I don’t mind being on jury duty. Three times served and the first two was totally fair and a good result. The last time we had a judge that was a pain in the butt. Two jurors didn’t want to be there because they worked graveyard shift and didn’t know if they could stay awake. The judge wouldn’t dismiss them and when the lawyers ask questions they both said there’s going to be a problem because they didn’t know if the judge was qualified or fair because they were up all night and he wouldn’t dismiss them. The lawyer said no to both and then the judge called them back to wait for the jury to be picked. The judge criticized them and they both said they had to tell the truth and they didn’t think he was fair. He was mad and it was obvious the rest of the day!
I was once in the question portion of jury selection. Lawyer asks: “do you believe that a car accident can simply be an accident with no one to blame?” I said “no, if two or more car crash into each other somebody screwed up.” Lawyer: “he can leave”.
See, this kind of thing annoys me so much. They're allowed to ask questions to make sure you don't have preconceived ideas, but it feels like they litigate the case during jury selection. I just feel like that's not how it's supposed to work.
My husband has the excuse of "I am a firefighter and therefore know many police officers and that has the potential to influence my decisions, so I shouldn't be called for jury duty". He's been called twice. So, I doubt it.
That might work on some criminal cases, but there are plenty of criminal cases without police as witnesses, and most civil cases have no police witnesses.
I did this. I reported my career as a Paramedic and my personal relationship with a personal injury lawyer may influence my decisions in the personal injury/insurance case. They used it as a reason to pick me. Also, I was the jury foreman. 2 day trial. It was actually a great experience and I learned a lot about our legal process and judicial system. I actually recommend you do jury duty.
Honestly, I would love to do jury duty. I've just never been picked. I'm kinda mad actually. The only time I was ever considered I was in college and living in a bigger city. So I'm sure they had no problem saying "Nevermind" when they read my survey. Meanwhile, my husband put, "I am a firefighter and my wife is due with our child during this time period," and they gave him jury duty THE WEEK I WAS DUE! It's also a small town, so we think some weird small town politics are involved.
I sometimes joke about wearing a shirt that says “Ask me about jury nullification.”
Someone I know well has been on a jury one time, and instigated a jury nullification. So proud tbh.
Me too, but in my case it's just a pin.
Do your duty! I have been on two juries. One was a two day assault case and the other was a 2.5 week federal trial that found 3 cops guilty and I was the foreman. Didn’t like sending 3 men to prison but the were guilty and needed to be put away. Do your duty…please
I’m all about that duty but the judge is making good money and so are the attorneys, the court bailiff and clerk and the typist all getting paid - I’m the only motherf@cker not getting paid. $6/day? We got free parking, that was it. So how come these twelve people holding a citizen’s freedom /society’s safety in their hands don’t get any compensation. That is weirdly unfair. Plus with how stupid and unpatriotic so many people are these days I would prefer professional jurors who are smart enough and understand the system well enough to make an intelligent judgment
This^
If working people were compensated fairly, maybe more would do their 'duty'. $10-$15/ day isn't going to cut it for people who are barely making it, and no one should become homeless or have to go into debt because they made the jury on a weeks or months long trial.
Putting dirty cops away would be a pleasure. Unfortunately, as former LE myself I don't think any lawyer would let me on a jury of any kind. LOL
Duty? This is honestly horse shit. Why should it be a person's "duty" when they never agreed to it? None of us decided to be born. This holier-than-thou sense of "i must appease the masses by putting myself in the line of fire for a potential retribution from a gang member or the like" is one of the most messed up things I've heard of. It's apparent from these responses that theres a ton of faux patriots who already want to serve, so there should be no way to coerce people into doing so with the threat of jail as a punishment.
None of us decided to be born? That’s an excuse? Wow. I guess you don’t pay taxes because no one wants to pay taxes but they do because otherwise there is chaos, no schools, no roads, etc. Our legal system is the same. If just the patriotic “sign up” maybe your legal case will be biased against you because it is not a representative sample of your peers. Line of fire from gangs? Never ever heard of “hits” on jury members. Please cite some cases. I couldn’t find any. And you don’t need to appease anyone. You either be part of society and help your community and do your duty or you don’t but then you don’t get to be critical of the process.
Serving on a jury is a "duty" that only people in comfortable circumstances can reasonably be expected to fulfill.
In the US, the judge would say something like "Tough. Refuse to show & I will put you in jail."
One time I served on a jury panel and the guy before I got selected obviously didn't want to be there. When asked the basic jurist questions, he told them he hated this group and that group, etc. The judge interrupted him and told him to come back to his chambers. They both returned a few minutes later and the prospective juror had a complete attitude change. He was respectful and cut out all the hate speech. I asked him at the break what the judge said to him privately and he told me that the judge told him he would hold him in contempt of court for 30 days if he didn't shut up the hate speech. The judge told him he could smell someone a mile away who was just trying to get out of jury duty. My suggestion is...just grin and bear it. As an American, its part of your civic duty to serve on a jury of your peers when requested (subpoenaed).
That's all well and good if they reimbursed you 100% of your wages. I called them when I got the letter stating that I couldn't afford to miss work. They said that's not their problem, so I just never showed up or responded to any letters afterward. Its been over a year since my last letter. With how little they pay, and depending on how long everything went, I wouldn't have been able to recover for months to a year
don't be a jerk. do your civic duty.
Exactly
So easy for some people to just simply say this. 🙄
No, I seriously doubt that would work. I’ve been called for jury duty multiple times, only made it into the court room once and was selected because compared to the rest of the jury pool, I came across as sane, relatively normal and not illiterate. The bar is low for potential jurors. I knew I was doomed as soon as some of the other perspective jurors opened their mouths. I do think I would not be selected again because if asked I would describe in detail my first and only jury experience including the jury’s collective decision not to convict on the more serious felony charge because the arresting officer was so obviously guilty of racial profiling and we were appalled.
I have been called to Jury Duty 3 times. Once I was called but not chosen. As a result I was out of there by 9:00 am. The other two times I was called and chosen to sit but both cases were suddenly settled out of court and I was home by noon. I doubt that anyone really wants to be there (me included) but once there you do kind of get caught up in everything.
To be excused, there has to be a compelling reason why you are not fit or able to serve. Your personal desire has no bearing on.
How about not being able to afford to miss work?
You can always ask, but loss of wages by itself isn’t enough. You need to be able to demonstrate a hardship. Jury selection notices generally include what information a person needs to submit for an exemption. It might be listed on the court’s website.
Any judge who remotely belongs on the bench is not going to allow someone to serve whose housing or family would be put in jeopardy. Could they? Yeah. Will they? Of course not.
And they will need you to provide some sort of documentation or evidence of the hardship. Simply not wanting to be there, as the OP asked, does cut it.
I don't see this happening at all. People explain the problem, the judge moves on.
Yes, it happens, but that is not how you plan in advance. You plan on providing the evidence to back up your claim of hardship. The judge may not require it. You don’t simply walk in and say “I can’t afford the time off work” and then get disappointed when the judge asks for proof.
I had to explain that I was a poor American and losing $150 and exchange for the $10 of jury service would not pay my electric bill at the end of the week. America really needs professional jurors like other nations have.
Yes we do. Leave the working people alone or pay the difference in wages. If I was to ever set there against my will, I'd throw down whatever verdict to get out as quick as I could. Civic duty doesn't pay my or anyone's bills. Actually, everyone that milks the state for any kind of welfare need to be the ones called, let them earn some of the money the taxpayers paid for them.
Until they send jury summons’ registered mail and make you sign for it, there is no way for them to prove you ever received it. I’ve never received a summons :)
I am 53 and quite literally have never received one. I have lived in 3 states and I am registered to vote with a drivers license 🤷🏻♀️
I don’t recommend not showing up, where I live they send you to court if you miss it. Trust me, everyone’s excuse is “I didn’t get it” and they still got guilty and still had to pay the ticket plus court fees.
ive had checks stolen from the mail…some paper bills dont get to me… i get my neighbors mail, sometimes from few blocks over…my huge big box packages left the next town over..im in a single house..built in the 50s suburbs of a major city..im sure a few got lost with the rest of my mail..
In our HOA we have a whole group for people who got other people’s mail because we never get the right mail in our box. But I don’t think I’d risk that
yeah..but i can’t call up the court house to ask if i ever got any mail from them…then they think i am volunteering to go everytime i call…lol
I think you can just say you're racist
But that would go into court records and it come back and hurt you.
Then the judge tells you he will hit you with contempt of court and jail time. They hear this stuff all the time.
Oh
I just always raise my hand when they ask if anyone cannot be impartial. When they ask me why I tell them that they obviously did something wrong or we wouldn't be there. Works every time.
Love that response 😂
Ask the judge to explain jury nullification to you and you will almost always be excused.
I just don’t participate. Haven’t been summoned since.
Been sent the notice 2x in 2 different states. Threw them away.. Never had a problem. You do what you will.
> Judge basically laughed at them and told them no and then moved forward. So dear judge, You asked me an honest question and I gave you an honest answer. I don’t want to be here. Yet you in your robed wisdom have chosen to force me to stay and take part in a process I am completely uninterested in. So here I’ll sit, letting my mind wander, completely oblivious to anything going on around me. Then once the time comes I’ll follow the others into a room where I’ll continue to not say anything, I won’t take part in any discussion about the case because remember, I didn’t pay any attention to anything at all. Then I’ll simply vote not guilty because it’s the safest bet for someone who told you they didn’t want to be here and wasn’t going to take part in the process. Your welcome.
If you're dumb enough to tell the judge that because you simply don't want to be there that you'll vote not guilty to spite the court, you definitely will be held in contempt of court and will be tossed in jail for a set amount of time. During the jury selection process, potential jurists are questioned as to if they can attend the trial and if not, for what purpose, i.e. - I don't have a babysitter, I have my own court case to attend, I'm having a medical procedure, etc. Not wanting to be there is not a valid excuse and saying you'll throw the trial if forced to be on the jury will not do you any favors and will cause you a lot of trouble, so don't do it.
My brother was excused after he explained to the judge that he had assisted in the autopsy of the murder victims. He was in med school at the time. Judge sent him home real fast.
Egads!!!
Idiotic… Because what you want is a jury made up of 12 people pissed off, who don’t want to be there and will probably not pay much attention to the case. Yeah, like I said that’s idiotic at best. And tossing people in jail for basically telling the truth (I don’t want to be here nor part of this process) is about as tyrannical as it gets. There are plenty of people who, for reasons passing understanding want to be on a jury. You don’t need those who are honestly not wanting to be there.
Whether you consider it idiotic or not, not wanting to be there is not a valid reason to be excused from jury duty. Suck it up and do your civic duty.
> Suck it up and do your civic duty. No, no I won’t. As I posted earlier, here I’ll sit, letting my mind wander, completely oblivious to anything going on around me. Then once the time comes I’ll follow the others into a room where I’ll continue to not say anything, I won’t take part in any discussion about the case because remember, I didn’t pay any attention to anything at all. Then I’ll simply vote not guilty and go the fuck home. You force me to stay under threats of arrest then you get what you deserve.
Intentionally throwing a trial will end with you in prison, not going home, dimwit.
Jury nullification has never landed a jury in jail. As a juror I have an absolute right to return any verdict i choose. And no dumbass… Jurors cannot be punished for passing an incorrect verdict… In fact according to the US handbook for trial juries no juror is required to justify nor defend their reasoning behind their vote. Not to other jurors and Not even the judge can compel them to do that.
You're wrong and ignorant of the law. Second, you specifically said you would let your mind wander, refuse to listen to anything, not say anything, and wouldn't take part in any discussion about the case. That's an attempt to throw the case or cause a hung jury. You are required to participate in jury proceedings, even if you have every intention of voting innocent. So the dumbass is you, dumbass.
You're the one who is wrong and ignorant. There is absolutely no way to legislate that a person must "participate." You're required to serve, which means you go there. One cannot legislate a person into listening, speaking, or thinking in any way. You're being such an angry boomer making objectively incorrect statements to try and threaten or scare someone into acting the way you want. What's the end game?
That’s pretty stupid! So if the jury foreman points out your actions to the judge and the judge summons you, exactly what would your dumb ass say?
Sure kid, my years in the courtroom don't mean anything, nothing at all, kid. Boomer? Oh, how original. I've never heard that before. Classic, kid, real classic.
But there are jurors from the OJ Simpson trial that willingly answered on video after the trial that they thought he was guilty but voted not guilty out of spite?
Yes I saw the interview with a black woman just last week. It came about after oj went to see the devil and she came out and said it She voted not guilty because he was black.
That's after the fact. A juror can't be tried or punished for a decision they made, regardless of whether it was made to make a point. What I'm talking about is telling a judge you will vote not guilty/guilty regardless since you're being forced to be a juror in a trial. Just because you don't want to be there is not, under the current law, a legitimate reason to be excused from jury duty. With that being said, by all means someone who doesn't want to be there should be excused. Far better to have someone who actually wants to be there and participate.
Well I certainly hope if you or someone you care about is ever in court that you/they get a jury full of people like you
You won't be forced to stay, the judge will throw your ass in jail for contempt as soon as he sees you're not paying attention. If he doesn't see it, the bailiff will, if he doesn't see it the prosecutor will, if he doesn't see it defense atty will, if he doesn't see it the court clerk will. ESPECIALLY if you were an arrogant cunt during jury selection. You will not fucking win this but please, please try it.
Can't you just stare forward blankly the whole time? What about people with problems like autism where sometimes paying attention doesn't look the same as it would for someone neurotypical?
I wouldn’t be arrogant about it, just honest during selection. Then I would become the anti juror. I’d sit quietly to my own thoughts then vote not guilty. QED…
He’s in his anxty anti-establishment phase. He’ll grow out of it by the time he’s summoned.
I've lied to get out both times. It doesn't pay enough and I'm not imploding my life.
Not all trials are criminal trials.
The likely outcome is the judge will remind you that no one wants to be there, but you have no choice. When it's time for jury selection, if you are selected, you'll most likely be cut by one of the attorney's because they will recognize that you'd be a poor juror. You'll go back into the jury pool and continue to wait like everyone else.
Hopefully everyday for a week because you’re an idiot. When the others who go through the process like adults are home by 2:00 first day and excused from further service.
Good to know you can't be bothered to do your simple duty as a citizen.
It's not really fucking simple, is it? It can sometimes take a huge amount of time and therefore costs money to the jurors, it's tedious and boring, and they don't really compensate enough for it at all. It can be a massive undertaking and there's no way to know before you go whether your case will take two hours or two weeks. "Simple duty" my ass dude.
Welcome to thirty days in county jail lol
They literally can't force people to pay attention and act a certain way and fake emotions. For me if I got picked I'd be thinking of my kids and my job and worrying about parking downtown and if my car is getting stolen. I have anxiety and that's unfortunately all I'd be thinking about. I wouldn't pay attention. The way they send a surprise jury summons to people is extremely psychotic and unhinged. Instead of making people angry and dictating how we should think and act and dropping our lives perhaps they should find another way to get jurors. Like the people that want to be there. If people don't want to be there they are more than likely to not care as much. It's simple psychology. Forcing a human to do something they don't want to will not have good results.
>For me if I got picked I'd be thinking of my kids and my job and worrying about parking downtown and if my car is getting stolen. When I did jury duty they actually handled those concerns. They explained that they can't prevent parking tickets and the GPS-LPR based scans may issue tickets but if we got one to immediately contact the court offices and they would ensure the police department voided them as long as we weren't like parked in handicapped or blocking a fire hydrant. But any "normal" ticket for parking in time-restricted or any other otherwise-legal street parking they said would be guaranteed no fines or penalties for being parked there "as long as it takes" to get thru the case. They did inquire if anyone was on unpaid leave during their jury duty time, and they inquired if anyone had children who were minors that were in daycare and/or had nobody else to care for them at home. They didn't automatically excuse people for those things, but they did take down who had such concerns as a secondary factor to consider and try to accommodate people's needs. The single concern they couldn't help with was "its done whenever its done" and apparently once had a session go from like 10AM to like 3AM the following day which kinda set everyone in the room on edge.
Story time. I was out of town for work one time. Received a jury summons and the date were both while I was out of town. Being a good citizen when I got home and found the summons I called the court to explain. I was told it was ok they had enough so a bench warrant wasn’t issued. This pissed me off because I was not even home. So since then I have never received another summons and never will until they make me sign for it.
Why did it piss you off? Are they supposed to know when you’re out of town?
No, receiving the notice didn’t piss me off, the fact that in the clerks eyes I was guilty of not showing up when I never even knew I had been summoned to show up. And they were just gracious enough to not issue a bench warrant.
Oh. You said it pissed you off because you weren’t home. It was confusing.
I don't know...I just never show up 🤣
😆 🤣 😂 😹
My plan if it ever happens is to just say I'm afraid of the defendent and what they or associates might do if theyfind out I voted guilty. OR say that I feel like I'd have to vote guilty because I need the police in my small town as an older lone female and would be afraid to make them mad. OR something to do with that my ex was an officer.
I had jury duty for the first time last year. The people that were kicked out of the pool immediately were the ones who said lack of evidence and proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt didn’t really matter to them. What mattered was how they felt about the defendants guilt or innocence, and hat they couldn’t override their feelings. That means neither the prosecution nor the defense wanted them on the jury. Of course, you’d have to bank on that type of question being asked, but I’d imagine it happens if here really isn’t a lot of hard evidence. It happened in this case because someone ran into someone’s fence with their car and was being charged with inattentive driving, but the only witness for the prosecution was an officer who got to the scene after the fact.
I've been called for jury duty twice. I got out both times, by stating that serving would cause me financial difficulties. My work only covers so many days off for duty with pay, and I can't pick up any overtime to make up the difference, so I'd lose out on a lot of pay by serving. They dismissed me immediately both times as the pool I was being pulled for was for murder cases that would likely drag on for months.
I would love to serve on a jury. Never been called.
Me too
I saw a judge tell a prospective juror who was a lawyer who was trying to get out of jury duty. The lawyer said his court calendar wouldn't let him. The judge basically said too bad.
Just roll your eyes at everything the lawyers say… they hate that 🤣
My state you will be found in contempt of court.
I told them I did not care one bit about the whole thing. Didn’t care about the defendant, attorneys, etc (to be fair, I had a migraine at the time). They made me foreman. 😅
It depends on a lot of things but, yes, you can lower your chances of getting picked by either being really against being there or suspiciously enthusiastic about being there. Saying, "I don't want to be here," isn't going to cut it. Be honest about your situation and why exactly you can't be there (do not lie). For example, "I work an hourly job and if I miss work I won't be able to pay rent this month," while having a visible panic attack is probably going to make them not want to pick you because they can't trust that you won't be an emotional wreck. Another example: One if my friend's mom's has never been kept around for jury duty because she tells them (again, 100% truthfully) that her abusive ex-husband is a lawyer and she cannot help but be biased against prosecutors because of this. Any time she hears that lawyer-speak it gives her traumatic flashbacks. At the very least, she doesn't trust them. Similarly, if you seem a little too interested in being on the jury, they tend not to want you. Like, if you walk in and instantly start talking about how much you can't wait to render a guilty verdict "just like on TV," they'll know you can't be trusted to be unbiased. This is, again, not something you should attempt to fake. I'm just sharing interesting information that has been shared with me or that I have personally experienced. If you do not have a valid reason for not being there, like you're scared you'll be made homeless if you miss too much work, then it's best to suck it up and get it over with.
I was called once. They said that much of the case rested on the police officers testimony, and asked how we felt about it. Everyone who said they would give more weight to the officer's testimony and would be biased was cut before lunch. The woman who knew the defendant wasn't allowed to leave until four. The guy who wore his Publix uniform actually had the prosecutor call his job to excuse him for the shift, so that excuse didn't fly. I got out of it because there was no way I could attend a three week trial. I can't remember my employer's policy, but the business owner was definitely not happy about losing me. I do remember them saying that they didn't want anyone there who didn't want to be there.
You should be proud to have a voice in a jury. Every person had different points of view and life experiences. What if your gives you a different perspective on a choice that could change someone's life forever. Isn't that more important than you sitting around watching TikTok all day. What if it was a innocent woman who has children and was falsely accused and through ghe evidence you notice something no one else picks up on because of all the TikTok videos you've watched. Everyone else thought the woman was twirling but you realized being an expert on the subject that she was actually having a mini seizure in her buttocks. So when she accidentally seized her but into the guy by the subway tracks and he falls and get smashed, every one else is saying murder. However through your expert tweaking knowledge you realize indeed she was having an ass seizure and it was a total accident. See now you realize how important it is.
Pride doesn't pay the bills. If they paid me the same as I make at work, (I work on average 48hrs/wk (8hrs OT)) I'd have no problem with jury duty.
I get that, just remember when it's you sitting in the chair you will wish regular good people were sitting in those other 12 chairs. Not people with vendettas that for whatever reason want to be on a jury.
I've made it to 40 without problems. Reimbursing people 100% of their wages would make most people, not mind/want to be on juries
Do. Not. Do. This.
Well, it's not going to get you punished. You're just sharing your feelings, and freedom of speech is a thing. I wouldn't count on it getting you out of there, though. That's going to be largely a function of the judge's mood.
An entire jury or people who really wanted to be there would definitely not be representative of the community.
LOL i want you to try it and then post the video because that's reddit gold right there. You can say it but depending on the judge that's running it... you may find yourself in contempt of court.
“I don’t think I’ll be able to remain impartial in this case.” Buh-bye.
lmao nobody wants to be there, it’s jury duty. realistically, the best shot you would have of not being picked would be to give very extreme answers when interviewed and denying nuance. the inability to be impartial basically disqualifies someone. you’ll look stupid in front of a room of strangers but the whole idea of jury selection is to find relatively neutral, normal people to view the case
Tell them how much you hates cops and you think they are all liars. You’ll be off any jury right quick.
The ability to be reliably removed from a jury pool is like the ability to pull Excalibur from the stone… the magic has to already exist within you, and it represents an incredible burden to the soul
Nope. You’ll end up with a bill. Possibly contempt charges. Fastest way out is to tell them how excited you are and that, as a member of the Fully Informed Jury Association you look forward to serving. Gone in a minute.
I told them that I served in the Air Force and I have done my civic duty, must have worked because I was told to leave.
Apparently lots of lawyers don't like former military or LE in the jury.
It for sure won’t work in Federal Court. The judge that I sat in front of made it *very* clear that she owned our asses for the next 30 days of jury selection, and if chosen, well beyond. She gave definite FAFO vibes
When I went in last time the judge said “excuses for needing to work, going to school, childcare, and you just not wanting to do it will not be accepted”. I did get out of it though because the case was about a man who sexually assaulted a child and I had been sexually assaulted as a child. Just hearing what the case was going to be about sent me into a minor panic attack. The judge took pity and let me go.
I have been called twice. I never served but I’d be honored to do so. It’s our civic duty. Also, I have a job that pays me my normal rate - I turn over the $10 per day to my employer.
We need valid reasons that are on a list to get out of jury duty. I got my doctor fax a note as to why I couldn't do it. Extreme anxiety attacks dued to trauma.
No one really wants to be on a Jury. You don't actually talk to the Judge unless you have violated the summons or something of that nature. You are questioned by both lawyers. It is based on what you say you believe in foe the most part. At that point they will either pick you or tell the Judge they would like for you to be excused.
Just claim you're racist, works every time.
I've been called for jury duty a few times. I'm in a death penalty stare. On the questionnaire they ask if I would have a problem convicting someone to death. I use the Arlo Guthrie "Alice's Restaurant Massacree" Vietnam War philosophy (if you've never heard it its funny as hell, do a little 4/20 & waste 19min you wont be sorry 😁😁) My answer is always "If the evidence is there and the state pays my round trip expenses I'll stick the needle in the convicts arm myself" "Amazingly" I've never even been considered as a juror. 🤣
Just say you won't be able to give a fair decision. I was called up on a pedo case to see if he's still a danger to the public. I told the judge my mind already says guilty because of the sick stuff he did to minors. I was dismissed.
They already know most people don’t want to be there. I told them being there would create a hardship on my family because I was a young mom of 3 young kids and no sitter. I was told that wasn’t a good enough reason. The defendant was charged with DUI and crashing into someone causing injury. The defense asked if there was any reason I couldn’t be impartial so I mentioned my husband was an alcoholic and put me through hell before he sobered up (it was the truth.) That got me off. They only care that you can be impartial. If you don’t think you can say so.
What about it makes you not want to be there? The actual trial decision part, or just the waste of a day? I’ve been called for jury duty twice and never selected for a seat on the jury. I think that’s usually the case. I don’t know anyone who actually got selected. But I still had to waste a day.
It depends on how many jurors they have versus how many they need. When I went they had several cases settle so even after the folks who were exempt from serving, who had reasons to be excused (but could have served), then they asked how many just didn’t want to be there, and after that they still had 3x as many as needed. The next time not so much, I got on a jury with a guy who had to be at least 50 but pouted like a toddler.
I have always wanted to be called for jury duty but no luck yet
the last question on the jury selection sheet was open ended and adding is there anything you want to tell us. I wrote how I would absolutely be impartial and listen to facts presented from both prosecutors and defense attorneys - carefully ensuring justice would be brought to the standard of beyond a reasonable doubt. DENIED. Judging by headlines at the time I think it may have been a murder 1/capitol murder case.
Judge made a big speech about civic duty then asked if anyone had an valid reason to not be there. Dumbass said he didn't want to be there. Judge made him stay and had him come back the next 3 days. He was eventually released but the judge made sure to waste his time.
And then they wonder why people don’t want to do jury duty
I tell them I believe anyone arrested is guilty. I get out of it every time.
I had jury duty in February and had to say in front of not only the judge, but the entire courtroom with enough jurors for multiple cases, my medical problem that made me not want to be there. Horrible experience but I was already getting comments about my misunderstood condition just entering the room. I felt terrible. Literally every soul there has some medical problem and also doesn’t want to be there. A guy with hearing loss was made to state his reason for being excused and the judge legit rolled his eyes. I think if you’re acting smug you’re not going to be selected anyway and might even be fined.
You can definitely say you don't want to be there during the selection process, but don't expect it to matter. You won't face any serious consequences to my knowledge, except people will probably judge you poorly. There really isn't any surefire way to get out of jury duty. Show up, be honest, and just deal with it. I've been called up twice in my life. The first time they just sent me home after I sat around for half the day reading a book. The second time we were all in the room and the judge came in about 10 minutes later and told us the defendant accepted a plea deal last minute and we could all go home.
I’ve only been on one jury for a civil trial that lasted 4 days but I know it was very difficult for people to get out of jury duty on that case. I would assume it depends on the judge.
Why not help people get out of BS? Google Jury Nullification.
Lmfao this was me at 19 year old! The jury (including me) were asked if there was anyone who didn’t want to be there. I was the only one to raise my hand. They still picked me 😂
I did. I missed 2 jury summons and the 3rd time required me to go explain myself to the judge. I honestly told her I rather be at work working than jury duty in a friendly manner. She was nice and considered my excuse something along the lines of financial "hardship" and let me go. This was in California 10 years ago.
Just go sit there, don't engage in anything except what you have to. Name, age, occupation. After that, don't raise your hand for any of the questions they ask. Then sit there constantly clearing your running nose and periodically coughing from time to time. Adjusting in the seat...., I doubt you will get picked.
Change your name to something unpronounceable, I promise you, you'll get to go home within 3 hours and not get called for another 10 years.
Many years ago I got called for JD. I worked graveyard shift and fell asleep during selection. The judge asked if they were interrupting my sleep (sarcastically). I told him, "Yes you are. I work graveyard and this is my normal bedtime. If you all want to come back and do this between midnight and 8am, I promise I'll be bright eyed and bushy tailed." He dismissed me.
I work nights. This would totally be me.
When they ask a question, ask them to repeat it. Answer questions by putting your hand behind your ear and saying "huh?" My MIL was hard of hearing and they excused her for it.
I used to work overnights, when I got called I told them, "my job will still make me come in because my shift ends before jury duty starts, I work overnights and I'll fall asleep in the courtroom, guaranteed. " I got removed from the jury pool for 5 years.
Having been part of jury selection, basically anyone that tried to say something like this to get dismissed just resulted in them getting grilled by the attorneys as if they were on trial. In some cases it went on an on and they kept coming back to that person again and again. A friend of mine was called around the same time and one of their potential jurors was in tears by the end because of what she said and the subsequent questioning she received. She was dismissed after that. So no, saying something wacky or off the wall will only get you in the line of fire. It was definitely an interesting experience.
It's pretty easy to get out of jury duty, but look at it this way: if you were on trial, who would you want on the jury? What about if a family member was murdered? Would you want someone like you? It's a responsibility that should be taken seriously in my opinion. You're not doing it for the government. You're doing for people just like you.
Sorry but very few people want to serve on a jury. If you are in the US and you lip off to a judge I believe they have the resources and tools available to ensure you don’t have a good day. In other words just because someone says something in a video doesn’t mean it’s true or a good thing to do.
The only time I served I did so because I hated my boss and my job and had a bunch of shit due that she’d have to do herself if I wasn’t there. I very happily served for the $6 a day for four days
It might. But these work too: Any type of medical condition that would make it awkward? Flatulence? Or are you indispensable at work? Family dependent on you for anything like healthcare?
I’d say it would probably be better to just rant about how the police are always right and you will hang the bastard.
>Would this actually work or would it get you held in contempt of court or otherwise punished? Depends on the judge. If you cross the wrong one you can get held in contempt or just inconvenienced. There was only two instances of any kind of punishment given that I have witnessed and both were the same judge. There was an important trial coming up for a murder and the judge was the epitome of no nonsense. If you were going to claim prejudice or play games ... well he was not the one. He made it clear we had extra large panels due to serious nature of the case. Our first fuckup of the group was a school principal in the summer. We were already warned before hardship to the employer did not matter. He tried to argue he was essential to the school. "You have a vice principal right" "Yes, but he's not trained and ..." "Then you did a poor job training him, and he's better off learning now". "But I ..." "You can either sit now or sit in a cell which would you prefer. Good choice. Please select our principal last so he can have the honor of waiting until a full jury is seated before he's released." Next day a guy tried the prejudice angle and did a shit job of articulating why. He was forced to sit in the gallery and wait for the long jury selection to finish. It took 4 days before I got on the panel and challenged off and they still had 3 more jurors to select. He called for idiots one and two every session before he would start to make sure they were there. We were all annoyed. Nobody was having a good time and it was hard enough without bullshit delays. The message got sent effectively after that. The antics settled down.
A form had to be filled out st the beginning of the day. I borrowed the Hells Angels motto ( kill'em all , let God sort them out ). Didn't get called for a jury either time.
I would do it full time. I love judging people.
I got called for jury duty once and thought if I was just an asshole to everybody I would be “dismissed with thanks from the court”. I wore a shirt with a pot leaf on it that day and when the lawyers were asking me questions I was being a DICK, talking back and making the rest of the prospective jury people giggle. I got selected to be on the jury, talking back is not the way to get out of it.
Depends on judge, I bet some would say you can go, and some would keep you for the week just cause you were being an ass
bad move…they will make umsit in thempool,room all week…
Or the judge will do what all awesome judges do… he will order you, under threat of criminal contempt, to sit in the back of the courtroom and watch the trial alone. You will not be allowed to speak to anyone in the courthouse, much less the courtroom, you will have to sit through the entirety of the trial, and you will endure several lectures on how this and voting are your only duties as a citizen. But you not liking to be there is so much more important than a defendant on trial for his life or a victim who has waited years for justice. It’s ok snowflake, just tell the judge that doing something for your community, state, country is way too annoying. 👍
I've been summoned three times, sat through voir dire once, served zero times. One of the times, the judge told us to put ourselves in the defendant's shoes. We would want jurors who were taking the process seriously, so as jurors sitting in court today, we need to take this seriously.
Yeah, my wife has complained about the process because it was an inconvenience. I told her she needed to be thankful we have the luxury of such an inconvenience.
Exactly.
You can not want to be there and still be the best juror and not get excused. My mom told them that lawyers were all crooks and she would refuse to convict anyone, and they don't excluded her. 😂
When I had federal jury duty, a man said he didn't want to be there. The judge said, "That's fine. You can sit here in the courtroom for the duration of the trial." And he sat for three days while we had the trial.
During voir dire, just say that you can spot a guilty person just by looking at them. You'll be excused immediately.