jury duty, pt. 2

[juldea]

No juror service for me. I was called as part of a pool to be considered for a civil trial, but they filled the 12 necessary seats before I was even called up to answer any questions. Foo. I was one of the (from what I could tell, FEW) people there who WANTED to be a juror, but none for me. Bah.

The knitting got through the front door without even a whisper of a problem, and they were small metal needles (perfect for eyes, muah.) So, I guess Middlesex County is ok with that. I traded off with it and Blood Rites, finishing the latter a few minutes ago, after I got home. Butcher is not quite as bastardly as before - well, I guess I should say he's the same level of bastardly, although he didn't really pull on those strings in this book that 'get' me quite as badly. Some interesting new ones, though. Oh - and I should stop reading the backs of the books before I read the books themselves. This is the multipleth time that I've guessed at what's going on due to the back covers, and I really hate spoilers like that.

In more coincidental news, I saw wickedgoodgrrrl there, who is someone I recognized from the Buttery. She was in a different set of prospective jurors than I was, but we got a little bit of chatting time and she reminded me that the Buttery Birthday happens sometime soon.

All in all, I really REALLY don't understand why people complain so much about jury duty. Yes, I did almost nothing all morning long but read and knit in uncomfortable chairs. But... so? And if I had been chosen, I would've been overseeing MY justice system and making sure they do things right. That's damned well worth a few days in court.

Comments

[doc-smiley.livejournal.com]

For my next trick: Anvils!

[ddrpolaris.livejournal.com]

the only thing I really have against it is there really isn't anyone to do my work, so when I get back I would have huge backlog waiting for me.

[juldea.livejournal.com]

Heh. The bailiff who talked to us said (paraphrased):

To all of you who have brought notes from work saying how important you are to the business and how the company will fall to pieces without you - keep ahold of them. The next time you're up for a raise, show them to your supervisors.

[anitra.livejournal.com]

That's awesome.

Although when I was called up for jury duty in NY, they let anyone go who really WAS irreplaceble - a guy who ran his own (one-person) business, some stay-at-home moms, etc. I got to go because I made the convincing argument of "I can't stay here, I have to get back to school."

When I had jury duty in Worcester a couple months ago, I never even got into a courtroom. Just sat in the waiting room until about 12:30, at which point we got the "we've filled all the jury pools we need - you can all go home" Kinda nice to get half a day off to myself :)

[ex-sleek838.livejournal.com]

curious, what happens when you have no babysitter, you bring your kids to jury duty with you? this would be interesting... :)

[juldea.livejournal.com]

There were no kids there from what I saw. There is a form you can fill out when you are summoned to give reasons why you can't show up.

[eor1312.livejournal.com]

amen, sister.

[creemynougat.livejournal.com]

I know a couple of people that just keep getting summoned and never picked, so they always make the trip for no reason and get another summons a few months later.
That lends itself to a complain or two.

[alexx-kay.livejournal.com]

Are they in Massachusetts? Here, if you show up, that counts as your once-every-three-years service, whether or not you get picked.

[creemynougat.livejournal.com]

RI, actually.
Never mind.

[juldea.livejournal.com]

I don't know; I hope I get summoned again so that I can be picked next time!

[starfireming.livejournal.com]

Are you aware that people who want to be jurors almost always get voted off the island pronto?

The US is a silly, silly place.

/if I were a criminal you are the first peer I would choose for my jury
//fair and smart!

[juldea.livejournal.com]

Well, I wasn't blatantly aware of that, but I realized that I shouldn't be too eager about it if asked during impanelment. I mean, that's just creepy.

Thank you for the offer. ;)

[oddharmonic.livejournal.com]

When I had jury duty in 2002, I had to leave my embroidery scissors at the security check-in but they were cool with my thread-cutting pendant and a bunch of tapestry needles. (I did the border and all the backstitching to finish Old World Saint Nicholas during the week I served on a jury. We had a lot of recesses and had been instructed not to talk about the case until deliberation.)

The weirdest thing about the jury I served on was that 2/3 of the jury were people over 65. The remaining third were me, a gal in advertising in her late 20s/early 30s, a wastewater engineer in her 40s and a self-employed guy who leased land for grazing that we could see from the jury room. We used the scope during deliberation to look at his horses and donkey. (:

[pryder]

I go when I get the call -- well, except for the time the computer made a mistake and tried to call me back less than a year after my last service, I sent them a copy of the previous confirmation that time. But for me it's probably an exercise in futility. I can't really imagine that I will ever be empaneled; SOMEBODY is certain to decide I'm too weird, too intelligent, too liberal, or too something. I once got as far as sitting in the jury box for about three minutes; then the next round of peremptory challenges happened, and I was sent back to the waiting pen. The other times I have served, I never got beyond the waiting area.

At least they don't mind if you bring books to read, though now that the paranoia level has ratcheted up, you can't bring a backpack to carry them in.