How to get out of jury duty

[Brainonska511]

Do you get paid you hourly wage during the duty? If so then I see no issues with going. If not then WTF is the government thinking, people need to pay the bills.

They're thinking that it's part of your civic obligation to participate.

 

[Artorias]

They're thinking that it's part of your civic obligation to participate.

Well then lets raise our personal never to be paid back debt ceiling indefinitely too....

 

[Brovane]

You probably will not get picked. I have been called in over 10 times and have only made it into a courtroom a couple of times and have never been picked. The simple thing is to answer yes to this question"Do you have any beliefs that might prevent prevent you from making a decision based strictly on the law?". You answer in the affirmative to this you almost surely got yourself a dismissal.

 

[Brainonska511]

Well then lets raise our personal never to be paid back debt ceiling indefinitely too....

Your statement is off topic and makes no sense. You should strongly consider getting educated on the debt ceiling.

 

[Artorias]

Your statement is off topic and makes no sense. You should strongly consider getting educated on the debt ceiling.

Is it not an obligation to pay personal debt? If you miss work time and cant pay up because of duty you shouldn't get punished. Though I think there is financial support for this.

I'm just making the comparison by if the Gov't cant pays it bill, it prints new money, issues bonds etc. Cant do that as individual right? Oh sure you can take a loan out(paying a debt by taking another one out), but really for jury duty?

Even so, you shouldn't be forced to miss potential earnings in any case regarding the financial stability of an individual. The Gov needs to either pay up the diff or don't make it mandatory.

 

[T9D]

On ours they have a check box I can check that says 'I currently do not live in this county'. I check it every time. Never been called on it.

To be fair a lot of those times I did but didn't change my address because I move around so much. The other times, well I have massive massive insomnia issues. No way I can get up at 6 am let alone consistently for jury duty. Couldn't even drive there safely. And knowing I had to get sleep I'd probably sleep less. I'd be no good to a jury if I can't concentrate or listen and feel like crap the whole time too. Checking box saves all the hassle of everyone anyway since I'm sure I'd be let go either way.

 

[NetWareHead]

The simple thing is to answer yes to this question"Do you have any beliefs that might prevent prevent you from making a decision based strictly on the law?". You answer in the affirmative to this you almost surely got yourself a dismissal.

I did answer as you wrote here and the lawyer doing the questioning was not satisfied and wanted a detailed explanation of my beliefs. This was such a long time ago but the case was about a man arrested for trespassing and somehow injured himself on a property, dont remember all the details. The trespasser was now suing the owner for injuries. I gave my position that when you trespass and are subsequently arrested, then you deserve whatever bad thing happened to you. And as a property owner myself, I'm biased towards the property owner in this case and feel he shouldn't be responsible. I was let go soon after finishing my statement.

 

[Rakehellion]

Show up. It's your civic duty even though it will undoubtedly suck.

Fuck civic duty.

 

[SSSnail]

Just remember, if you ever sit in that chair, your fate is decided by 12 people that aren't "smart" enough to get out of Jury Duty.

Or, you can look at this another way, that you'd WANT, and HOPE that the 12 people in the jury box is at least as sane and logical as you are. And that's how I changed my mind about Jury Duty, that I want to be there, to give Justice the best shot.

 

[Soundmanred]

I read the OP, didn't sound like a prank to me.

You fell for it. Good thing this isn't a common occurrence.

 

[Printer Bandit]

getting picked to be on a jury should be random.

otherwise, what's the point?

lawyers can just weed you out based on what you look like, what your job is, and how you answer questions.

 

[Brovane]

I did answer as you wrote here and the lawyer doing the questioning was not satisfied and wanted a detailed explanation of my beliefs. This was such a long time ago but the case was about a man arrested for trespassing and somehow injured himself on a property, dont remember all the details. The trespasser was now suing the owner for injuries. I gave my position that when you trespass and are subsequently arrested, then you deserve whatever bad thing happened to you. And as a property owner myself, I'm biased towards the property owner in this case and feel he shouldn't be responsible. I was let go soon after finishing my statement.

About 6-years ago I was called in for a Death Penalty trial. They where going through Hundreds of Jurors. Instead of raising my hand and saying I couldn't serve, then doing the entire stupid excuse thing in front of the judge in the courtroom. I just selected to fill out the questionnaire they had for prospective jurors and said I had no problem serving. On the part that it talked about the Death Penalty I just simply stated that I didn't believe in the Death Penalty for any reason. They had the prospective jurors fill out the questionnaire and come back in 3-weeks. When I came back my name was on a list of people on the court room door that where dismissed from any further proceedings.

 

[MrRamon]

Change your address and tell them you moved

 

[rockyct]

Just remember, if you ever sit in that chair, your fate is decided by 12 people that aren't "smart" enough to get out of Jury Duty.

Or, you can look at this another way, that you'd WANT, and HOPE that the 12 people in the jury box is at least as sane and logical as you are. And that's how I changed my mind about Jury Duty, that I want to be there, to give Justice the best shot.

They also are the ones bitching about the results from some trial that has been on the news. Most trials I'm sure are super boring, but still, I trust my judgment over a jury made up mostly of retirees. Frankly, the last people I'd want on a jury are people who have absolutely nothing else to do. I've been summoned I think five times now, but I've never even been selected to go to a courtroom.

 

[IndyColtsFan]

First off I have no experience or much knowledge regarding this, I got a questionnaire letter once but wasn't called in.

Do you get paid your hourly wage during the duty? If so then I see no issues with going. If not then WTF is the government thinking, people need to pay the bills.

No, you get paid peanuts. Depends on where you're at, but $20/day isn't uncommon. It is completely ridiculous.

 

[killster1]

Courts seemed to have become much more serious about jury duty. In CA, claiming not to have received it results in a fine and then still having to serve.

I got picked for a felony gun possession case which was estimated for 10 days. When asked if I owned any guns, I told them I had around 100 of them. They quickly cut me loose.

i threw the letter away.. then about year later got another one.. threw it away.. then they sent me a letter saying i have 10 days or fine / jail time ... haaaa.. i called up told them really didnt have transportation (its 80 miles away from me) and they said cool just write up that in a letter and mail it back and i be dismissed.. (well i have 3 cars but i dont have money or time to be driving 160 miles round trip to be honest so i just said no transportation or mode of transportation and im off the hook.. phewf.. wonder if they will look up my registration.. (well two my cars have bad tire in front so its not fully false.. ;/ waiting for the tire to show radial before change it but dont like making big trips in the rain and tires are 130+ for mine.. /me rolls eyes hmmm

 

[StoutMaster]

With all the taxes you donate to the government, you should be proud to take part in one of the greatest things an American can do...send some piece of shit to prison for the rest of his life.

Trouble is 99% of the time it's some stupid simple assault or DUI case and you waste three days of your life on some dirt bag who gets a $500 fine and three days suspended.

Unless, of course, you could use your jury nullification powers to send one of those guys to prison for life for wasting your time like that. :hmm:

 

[nageov3t]

I'll cop to lying to get out of jury duty a few months ago... if it was a normal trial, I would have done my civic duty, but before asking who couldn't serve in the trial, she warned us that it was expected to take upwards of 2 months in court.

there's nooooo way I could have gotten away with not working for that long (even though I personally would be paid, I just don't think my department could survive losing one of its senior guys for 2+ months when we're already understaffed). when the judge asked why I couldn't serve, I explained that I work from home to take care of an elderly relative and couldn't provide outside coverage for that long.

(it's at least partially true... I do work from home occasionally, and I do take care of my 86 year-old aunt who lives next-door, but it's mostly limited to cooking her dinner and taking her shopping)

 

[DrPizza]

i threw the letter away.. then about year later got another one.. threw it away.. then they sent me a letter saying i have 10 days or fine / jail time ... haaaa.. i called up told them really didnt have transportation (its 80 miles away from me) and they said cool just write up that in a letter and mail it back and i be dismissed.. (well i have 3 cars but i dont have money or time to be driving 160 miles round trip to be honest so i just said no transportation or mode of transportation and im off the hook.. phewf.. wonder if they will look up my registration.. (well two my cars have bad tire in front so its not fully false.. ;/ waiting for the tire to show radial before change it but dont like making big trips in the rain and tires are 130+ for mine.. /me rolls eyes hmmm

Weird. There's a message in the moderator email, asking for your IP address.

 

[Sonikku]

I got interviewed for jury duty once. After a few questions I got excused every time until they told me to go home. I can only conjecture that I outsmarted them somehow.

 

[BoomerD]

To all of you who think you're time is worth more than jury duty...or who think they're too important to serve...I can only hope that you, someday, have to have your fate decided by people who aren't smart enough to get out of jury duty...You don't have to actually be guilty to face a jury trial...just guilty-looking enough to get charged with a crime. (or picked up for hookers & blow, DUI, cheating on your taxes....)

I'm sure they'll do the right thing.

 

[IndyColtsFan]

To all of you who think you're time is worth more than jury duty...or who think they're too important to serve...I can only hope that you, someday, have to have your fate decided by people who aren't smart enough to get out of jury duty...You don't have to actually be guilty to face a jury trial...just guilty-looking enough to get charged with a crime. (or picked up for hookers & blow, DUI, cheating on your taxes....)

I'm sure they'll do the right thing.

Ahem, aren't you the former ATOT Grammar Nazi?

It is a matter of economics -- most of our time IS worth more than jury duty and for those of us who would not receive any pay from an employer while on jury duty, it is financially untenable. Retired geezers like you should be serving on the jury.

 

[tcsenter]

Just don't respond to the summons, it's what I do. After the third summons, and then two 'official notices' from the court (whatever that is) which I did not open, they stopped sending them.

 

[rh71]

you should tell them about your opinions on bikers vs. Range Rover or link them to the thread... they would promptly dismiss you.

 

[IronWing]

Dari, I got you covered man. Just print this out and give to the judge.