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dvowel t1_isbmtko wrote

Reply to comment by ariceli in Parkland prosecutors ask for an investigation after a juror says she was threatened by ‘a fellow juror’ during deliberations - CNN by SilentR0b

Is it not mandatory?

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HaCo111 t1_isboxcu wrote

Easy to get disqualified. I had jury duty earlier this year and in the second day of jury selection got disqualified for having tinnitus.

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fradigit t1_isc7mgu wrote

I think they are getting more desperate for jurors. I sat on a jury earlier this year about eminent domain, and 2 of the jurors also owned property that was involved in the same project. Somehow they were still selected. My coworkers were also surprised I was selected as a CPA, usually they were released shortly after identifying their occupation. I think it's either a backlog of cases or less people showing up but they seem to be much less picky about who will be on the jury.

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Matookie t1_isck0ub wrote

IME many people do not vote because they might be called.

ETA: Damn, y'all, why you downvoting me? I'm just telling you all what I have heard.

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fradigit t1_iscnwuk wrote

It isn't certified mail, so they can easily say they just never received the jury summons... Sometimes I think people are looking for excuses to not vote.

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mammoth61 t1_iscsxfh wrote

For clarification, do you mean some people don’t vote/register because they might be jury summoned? I just know 3 states in the US that don’t use voter registry, but instead use DMV records (that’s how I got summoned, despite moving out of state months earlier).

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fradigit t1_isd09fa wrote

I didn't claim that, the person above me did. My state uses DMV records but I did a quick Google search and it seems at least some places use voter registration for jury selection.

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swift_risk88 t1_ise7wc8 wrote

Bro if Reddit had profile pics, you would take your downvotes with pride.

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PatacusX t1_isc5o6x wrote

I had jury duty once in a fatal car accident case. I got eliminated really early on (along with pretty much all of the younger jurors) and one of the things they were asking about was if we had experience driving large vehicles.

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JohnnyAK907 t1_isc4h0k wrote

It is? I said in my interview that I would vote not guilty because the "victim" was not only a jackass for selling his returned engagement ring after he cancelled the wedding but a moron for being stupid enough to take a check from a complete stranger for 3 grand without verifying it first and deserved to be scammed. They still put me in the jury.
If there is a better way to get out of jury duty than showing a flagrant disregard for the whole process then I would love to hear it.

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DudeIsAbiden t1_iscgn19 wrote

I usually ask a hostile question of the prosecutor during Voir Dire-or express my disdain for police, judges, DAs etc while answering a question- and I get kicked every time

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CupcakesAreTasty t1_iscv7fn wrote

>If there is a better way to get out of jury duty than showing a flagrant disregard for the whole process then I would love to hear it.

Know how the law works. And make it obvious when the judge and lawyers are talking to you. Lawyers hate educated jurors, especially jurors who know how the law works. Prosecutors will be scared they'll fail to convince you, and defense attorneys will be scared you're too smart to have the wool pulled over your eyes.

As soon as I told the judge I was a history teacher who had also taught law, I was dismissed.

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Revolutionary-Yak-47 t1_isdgjaf wrote

Tell them you don't believe cops are more reliable witnesses than anyone else. Here in FL, it's the fastest way out of the courtroom

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HaCo111 t1_isci8rw wrote

Just act like you are really interested but there is something keeping you from paying attention to the trial. In my case it was tinnitus. I just asked to step out for a second and got dismissed.

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justec1 t1_isbxo5d wrote

That's a valid excuse? If so, thank the gods I went to all those concerts in my 20s.

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HaCo111 t1_iscibgb wrote

Yeah, just say you are worried about it affecting your ability to pay attention to the trial

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mces97 t1_isg8rws wrote

Oh wow, you can get disqualified for having Tinnitus. Good to know. I have Tinnitus. I got disqualified because I said my brother got a shit deal when he was mentally ill and was ruled not competent to stand trial, but competent enough to somehow be found guilty. I've always actually wanted to serve, but the case I was on I wanted no part of. This person was charged with a dozen felonies. One was attempted murder against a cop. And that cop was given a medal from Obama for what happened to him. Fuck that, I ain't gonna be the person to look at evidence and what if there was a struggle and it looks like the gun accidentally went off? I don't want to be the guy who says no guilty and get on a shit list.

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addicted_to_placebos t1_isbnxuv wrote

It’s is here in the US as far as I know, but the jury selection process makes it easy to get out of a case if you really wanted to. My highschool civics teacher even suggested just acting super racist if you really don’t want to serve, tho I disagree with the idea of trying to skirt such duties personally.

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Tashus t1_isboe3w wrote

>I disagree with the idea of trying to skirt such duties personally.

Yeah, I hope I'm never charged with anything, with my fate in the hands of a jury of my peers, or rather the ones that weren't able to get out of it.

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addicted_to_placebos t1_isbqz29 wrote

I don’t really recall anyone specifically trying to get out of the jury I served on, tho the whole process was rather eye-opening.

I don’t particularly like the idea that the quicker they decide a case the quicker they can leave, I think that plays a big role in jurors intimidating/bullying each other. I had nearly the entire rest of the jury table yelling at me for being the one dissenter during our preliminary vote.

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Tashus t1_isbyzly wrote

If you haven't watched the 1957 classic Twelve Angry Men, I highly recommend it.

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addicted_to_placebos t1_isc0ohq wrote

Oh I’ve seen it, it’s certainly a classic. Our arguments were considerably less animated tho, luckily.

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DudeIsAbiden t1_iscgx04 wrote

Having been surrounded by barely literate idiots on every jury selection I have been on for 30 years, I will def ask for a bench trial if I ever get in enough trouble to need it.

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Saltyballs2020 t1_iscm3mj wrote

Ah yes. A bench trial in front of a Judge meeting these officers for a FOP endorsement, ex parte search warrants, and politically connected.

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equalsolstice t1_isbvwht wrote

Lmao this is literally the premise of an American dad episode

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onioning t1_isctfs8 wrote

Honestly the whole jury of our peers concept is pretty fucking awful all over. I do not see how letting the legal actors pick and choose twelve people who then somehow have power over law despite not having any relevant qualifications is possibly a good thing. I'm pretty hugely distrustful of the state, but at least the state is theoretically accountable.

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[deleted] t1_isd29y7 wrote

[deleted]

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onioning t1_isd434h wrote

They have power over the facts before the law. That's a pedantic objection. Jurors have power over how the interaction between law and person will turn out.

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Inevitable_Physics t1_isbuzib wrote

There was a lady who showed up for jury duty dressed up in a Star Trek Next Generation (complete with tricorder, I think). Don't remember whether she got onto a jury.

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themoneybadger t1_iscov8q wrote

Theres an entire curb your enthusiasm based on this. Larry pretends to be super racist to get off a jury.

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Cfp0001-Iceman t1_iseq2ym wrote

If you cannot afford to miss work or that being on the jury would cause you intense financial hardship, you can request to be excused from duty. They don't pay you enough to cover anything more than some of you travel expenses.

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Old_Week t1_isbrxk0 wrote

When they’re asking questions during jury selection, just say you think anyone who’s arrested is guilty. You’ll be sent home.

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LaLionneEcossaise t1_iscvjwm wrote

Years ago I was on a jury for a murder/attempted murder case. During jury selection, they asked if anyone on the panel had issues with our local police force. One guy stood up and ranted for a good five or six minutes about how he thought the cops were all crooked and he’d never believe anything they said. He went on and on. Finally, the judge broke in and just asked the prosecuting attorneys if they wanted to use one of their refusals. They of course did.

That guy knew what he was doing—he smirked and even commented to some of us as he left, “And that’s how you do it!”

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AbandonedArchive t1_isbzmxz wrote

I emailed the clerk and told them I had important stuff to do at work and they replied back that I was excused from serving.

I guess your mileage may vary.

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jonathanrdt t1_iscvz7p wrote

If you say you don’t trust police and/or may not follow a judge’s instruction, you won’t ever serve.

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abigailxo94 t1_isf2dps wrote

I just told the judge that I don't find cops to be reliable witnesses and I was pretty much immediately dismissed. You still have to go in and stuff but it's easy enough to talk your way out of.

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ariceli t1_isc5w4c wrote

It is mandatory to go and see if they select you but there are many ways to get out of it that I now know.

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vindictivemonarch t1_isj69s9 wrote

ive been summoned several times. everytime they find out i have a stem degree in the survey and don't contact me again for several years.

probably keeps their conviction rates higher or something

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