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Grand Jury?!

I

Insomniator

Diamond Member
Just got summonsed (?) for Grand Jury duty in NJ. They meet once a week for 16 weeks?! I... have a job that I can't just be absent from for 1 day a week for a quarter of the year.

Has anyone else done this?!
 
Insomniator said:
Just got summonsed (?) for Grand Jury duty in NJ. They meet once a week for 16 weeks?! I... have a job that I can't just be absent from for 1 day a week for a quarter of the year.
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Do your duty and serve.

Just a couple of questions, and I am not trying to be rude - have you ever served in the military, have you ever donated time to the community, when was the last time you did anything to help someone besides yourself?

I am not trying to be rude, but are you one of those people that try to get out of doing their civic duty?
 
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Say you are racist and a homophobe and are pretty sure the guy is guilty.

You'll be dismissed.
 
Insomniator said:
Just got summonsed (?) for Grand Jury duty in NJ. They meet once a week for 16 weeks?! I... have a job that I can't just be absent from for 1 day a week for a quarter of the year.

Has anyone else done this?!
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my mom has too but didn't because she has a green card :3
 
LTC8K6 said:
Good luck with that excuse... 😀
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I'm sure that's everyones' excuse but its not like its not valid. How many jobs even have 16 sick/vaca days to use? Mine does not compensate for Jury Duty.


Texashiker said:
Do your duty and serve.

Just a couple of questions, and I am not trying to be rude - have you ever served in the military, have you ever donated time to the community, when was the last time you did anything to help someone besides yourself?
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Never, never, and nothing besides normal family and friends issues.

I will try to get out of it. I don't even plan on being in NJ for 4 more months. I have shit to do, we ALL do. Asking for a 4 month commitment is ridiculous.
 
Insomniator said:
I will try to get out of it. I don't even plan on being in NJ for 4 more months. I have shit to do, we ALL do. Asking for a 4 month commitment is ridiculous.
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You must have some really important stuff to do? Somehow its more important then determining the fate of someone accused of a crime?

You and the rest of the grand jury are the first defense against an overzealous prosecutor.
 
It isn't like they are asking for a full 4 months. It is one day a week. Most companies also have something in place where you still get paid your normal wage. All you have to do is turn in the check they give you.
 
J-Money said:
Say you are racist and a homophobe and are pretty sure the guy is guilty.

You'll be dismissed.
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Nope, not for a grand jury. Say you think the legal system is corrupt and that DA's are corrupt buffoons who do nothing but railroad innocent people to advance their own careers and that it's your personal crusade to make sure they don't get away with it any more. That might work for a grand jury summons.
 
Texashiker said:
Do your duty and serve.

Just a couple of questions, and I am not trying to be rude - have you ever served in the military, have you ever donated time to the community, when was the last time you did anything to help someone besides yourself?

I am not trying to be rude, but are you one of those people that try to get out of doing their civic duty?
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That's pretty harsh, lol.

Personal economics and job commitments can make things really difficult to get away from. But you're right, jury/grand jury duty is a very important and valuable service.
 
jjsole said:
That's pretty harsh, lol.
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It looks harsh, but that is not how I meant it.

We have 2 segments of society:

Those that do only for themselves

Those that do for themselves and others

Serving on a jury or grand jury is not the time to be selfish. The jury holds the fate of the accused in their hands. But somehow, someones life is less important then other things we need to do?

We get so wrapped up in our own petty lives, we forget there are other people out there. Sometimes those other people need help.
 
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I won't ever sit on a jury. It flat out isn't worth my time. No, I do not care what the person is accused of doing. There are plenty of people out there that DO care. Pick one of them.
 
Grand juries != trial juries. Grand juries are prosecutorial fishing expeditions at best. If the prosecutor has enough evidence to bring charges then the procecutor should bring charges otherwise the prosecutor should shut up. Tell this to the judge (politely, ask to approach the bench) and you should be out the door.
 
Insomniator said:
I'm sure that's everyones' excuse but its not like its not valid. How many jobs even have 16 sick/vaca days to use? Mine does not compensate for Jury Duty.
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Isn't it a law in some states for companies to compensate for Jury Duty?


You can get out of it if you go there and tell the judge you have some sorta conflict or personal/moral conflicts with the charges.

I remember i was at a jury duty and they were doing the jury selection and all i did was give the defendant this really hateful/spiteful glare the hole time and made sure their attorney knew it. Did not get chosen.....
 
IronWing said:
Grand juries != trial juries. Grand juries are prosecutorial fishing expeditions at best. If the prosecutor has enough evidence to bring charges then the procecutor should bring charges otherwise the prosecutor should shut up. Tell this to the judge (politely, ask to approach the bench) and you should be out the door.
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I read this on a few sites actually... does this really work? I feel like everyone has to be trying to get out of it. Judge must listen to stupid excuses all day.
 
Texashiker said:
It looks harsh, but that is not how I meant it.

We have 2 segments of society:

Those that do only for themselves

Those that do for themselves and others

Serving on a jury or grand jury is not the time to be selfish. The jury holds the fate of the accused in their hands. But somehow, someones life is less important then other things we need to do?

We get so wrapped up in our own petty lives, we forget there are other people out there. Sometimes those other people need help.
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You make it sound like it's 50/50. More like all humans are selfish and primarily worry about themselves except for a statistically insignificant subset. 😉
 
sunzt said:
I remember i was at a jury duty and they were doing the jury selection and all i did was give the defendant this really hateful/spiteful glare the hole time and made sure their attorney knew it. Did not get chosen.....
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Excellent idea. Don't forget to throw in some side-to-side head shaking.
 
unless your going to bring a letter from your employer specifically stating why you cannot be absent for those days don't expect that to get you out of it.
 
SunnyD said:
Op: You do realize that your employer can't legally fire you for serving on a jury, right?
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If you live in an at-will state, it really doesn't matter (I think NJ is at-will). Sure you can't be fired specifically for serving on a jury but you can be fired because you wore the wrong socks one day or were a minute late.

Jury duty sucks, but it's a civic duty IMHO. I once had jury duty for a week during a product launch, so I basically was in court from 9am til 4pm, then straight to work until midnight or so. And I had to turn my $85 in jury duty pay over to my employer 🙂
 
Insomniator said:
Just got summonsed (?) for Grand Jury duty in NJ. They meet once a week for 16 weeks?! I... have a job that I can't just be absent from for 1 day a week for a quarter of the year.
Has anyone else done this?!
Click to expand...

If you have jury duty you'll be absent and your employer will like it; firing you or retaliating is illegal.

IronWing said:
Grand juries != trial juries. Grand juries are prosecutorial fishing expeditions at best. If the prosecutor has enough evidence to bring charges then the procecutor should bring charges otherwise the prosecutor should shut up. Tell this to the judge (politely, ask to approach the bench) and you should be out the door.
Click to expand...

Not a chance. Not only are grand juries required for certain capital offenses, meaning that it's not a prosecutorial fishing expedition, but grand juries are also not screened for bias.
 
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