I was last called to jury duty about 15 years ago (I received a couple of notices since then, but they were canceled before I actually had to show up).

I was seated on the jury. The case was assault with deadly weapon. The defendant claimed self-defense. The trial ended with a not-guilty verdict, because we felt that the prosecutor did not prove the case beyond  a reasonable doubt that it was not self-defense.

So, tell us about your jury duty experience.

What were the charges?
Did you get on the jury?
What was the verdict?

Thanks for sharing.

I sat for about 9 hours in a big room with a whole bunch of other people
watching some dvds on the tv there.
At about 5 PM, they called my name and said I was free to go.

Five years ago. Sat in a room reading a book for 5 hours. Name was called and we moved to a court room. I was one of the first to be seated in the jury box for a rape trail. Asked a bunch of questions by the defense lawyer and DA. Didn't get picked.

I just got another jury questionnaire in the mail a few days ago.

I always look forward to "serving" on jury duty.

When I get picked for a panel, they find out I am an ex-Police Officer.

The Defense Attorney then tries to get the Judge to disqualify me, so that he (the scumbag's lawyer), doesn't have to waste one of his strikes to get rid of me.

I am usually called up to the Judges desk where the Defense lawyer tries to show that I will not give the defendent a "fair" hearing.  I assure the Judge that I am totally unbiased.

After a while, the Judge declares me "fit" for duty and I return to me seat, knowing that I have done my part.  I have made the Defense lawyer "waste' one of his strikes to get rid of me.

Works every time.  

Can't..................... Not supposed to talk about it

I was on the jury for a child murder at Frank Murphy Hall of Justice in Detroit.

First of all, I couldn't believe the way alot of people presented themselves for Jury Duty.  Kids with their gangsta clothes, people wearing sweat pants and fat women in spandex were quite common.  This was a couple years ago, and I was 21 years old at the time I think.  I'm 23 now.  I wore a suit and tie.

Now, a big group of people were brought into a large courtroom where the jury selection was taking place.  Most people were asked questions about if they would have any bias in the case and whatnot.  I was only asked if serving would interfere with my schedule.  I think this was based on my professional appearance.  I actually wear dirty old vintage clothes most of the time.

Anyways...  After all the people were picked, guess what the jury consisted of?  11 rather large women of African decent, and myself, a white kid from the burbs.  Great.

So here's the basis of the trial.  This black guy about 24 years old and his 16 year old girlfriend were getting it on at 4a.m. in the girls house, while her mom was sleeping upstairs.  Their 1 year old baby girl started crying, and they didn't want that to wake up the mom.  This guy also had 2 other children, with different mothers of course.  She also had another daughter, 3 years old, which she had at: yep, you guessed it! 13 years old.

No one knows exactly what happened, but the girl woke her mom up at like 8a.m saying the baby wasn't breathing.  Turns out the baby had an extrememly severe and violent case of shaken baby syndrome.  The baby had severe brain damage and bruises all over her body.  The cops get called and the girl says it was her boyfriend who had shaken the baby.  The cops go and arrest the guy.

The jury diliberation took us about 7 days.  It was me saying guilty against the 11 women saying not guilty, Henry Fonda style.  These 11 fat pieces of shit said they knew he or the girl did it, but they would not send a young black man to jail.  They said they would not side with the police, no matter what!  

I stayed up nights writing speeches and making lists of facts to try and convince them, but they would not change their minds.  I had them tell the Judge that we had a hung jury twice, but the Judge told us to go back each time.  Turns out you have to declare a hung jury three times before it can take place.  I didn't know that at the time.  

So...  I ended up giving in and voting not guilty.  I decieded that the killer would be going back into their neighborhood, and not mine.  Maybe he did us a favor by killing that baby girl.  I know this sounds hard, but I have reason to think like this.  She would have grown up just like them, doing drugs and expanding the ghetto, making 5 more babies that would be just like her, creating more problems in this world.  She should of at least had her childhood though.

I despise ghetto people, but I cried for that baby.  I haven't cried since I was 5 years old, and I haven't cried since.  I had forgotten how until then.  

Two times ago was a case where some girl was caught smuggling drugs to her boyfriend in the county jail.  Didn't get to sit on that jury.

Most recent one was some sort of traffic case...DUI maybe?  Didn't get to sit on that one either.

I'd actually like to serve on a jury, I think I would do a good job of weighing evidence and making a decision.  Unfortunately, I don't think they want people who do a good job of weighing evidence and making a decision, they seem to want people who will be easily swayed by lawyer talk.

Jim

For a number of years I got called for jury duty, but my group never got scheduled for the courthouse. A few years ago I was questioned during jury selection for an underaged DUI case where the kid plowed through a stop sign and killed a women. I was asked if I knew anyone involved with the case. I had worked with the pathologist on a previous case and regularly worked with the Troopers on a variety of cases. The defendents atty who I also knew socially asked if I could be impartial, well yes, and what I thought of underaged DUI. Based upon my background and answer I got bumped.  Since then I haven't heard from the court system.

on jury for an 18-year old  kid with a 6th grade education  who with 2 friends  beat an 85-year old man into a fatal coma with a shovel while burglarizing his home and robbing his body.  The kid  left him to be found 4 days later. The kid's  "best friend" (not involved in the crime) wore a wire for the cops and the kid told the whole event beginning to end, laughing through the whole story. It took us 2 hours to convict him of  2nd degree murder, 2nd degree murder during commission of a robbery, 2nd degree murder during commission of a burglary, 1st degree robbery and 1st degree burglary. He got 25-to-life (the max possible), and is probably out by now (since this was 18 years ago).  One of the jurors didn't want to convict because she convinced herself that the kid "probably was talked into this by his friends".  The kids 'friends  were never charged due to lack of anything other than hearsay evidence. The judge said during sentencing that the kid was a threat to society and should never be allowed to join society again.

Quoted: Can't..................... Not supposed to talk about it

So is it an active case?  Otherwise you can talk about it as it is a matter of public record.

I've only testified in front of a jury.  If I'm ever charged with a crime I hope they pick the same people.

Spent a year on a Federal Grand Jury; all I have to say is that the world is truly filled with dumb-ass people.

I was on jury in Los Angeles County in a case against a man for distributing rock cocaine. He was arrested in the MacArther Park district of West Los Angeles, which is a known area of drug dealing by a stack-out of LAPD. Up until this point I have not personally seen any real rock cocaine, I've seen some simulated "rocks," during this trial I saw a real "nickel rock" and a "dime rock." This was not a movie etc, this was the real deal. A nickel rock is $5 worth, and a dime is a $10 worth. The jury that I sat on convicted the man on "possession of cocaine with intent to distribute," and since this was his 3rd strike to "life in prison with the possibility of parole."

Quoted: I always look forward to "serving" on jury duty. When I get picked for a panel, they find out I am an ex-Police Officer. The Defense Attorney then tries to get the Judge to disqualify me, so that he (the scumbag's lawyer), doesn't have to waste one of his strikes to get rid of me. I am usually called up to the Judges desk where the Defense lawyer tries to show that I will not give the defendent a "fair" hearing.  I assure the Judge that I am totally unbiased. After a while, the Judge declares me "fit" for duty and I return to me seat, knowing that I have done my part.  I have made the Defense lawyer "waste' one of his strikes to get rid of me. Works every time.

I thought everyone was innocent until proven guilty. By your statements here you sound most certianly like a biased person.


Roy

I was disquailified from jury duty

Case was someone suing a Insurance Company, and in the interview they asked my what I thought.


My reply: Good for him I hope he gets rich

They always boot me.

In Feb. of 97, I was called for jury duty in common pleas (state) court. During voir dire, I was seated in the jury box which meant that if I was not disqualified, I would be on the jury. When the defendant came in, I immeadiately recognized him. Of course, the judge and prosecutor and court employees know that I'm a Cop but nobody else in the room does. Well, the case is a heroin traffcking case and the Def. is defending himself. The judge begins questioning the jury pool by asking if anyone knows the Def. I had two choices, I could speak out and queer the whole jury pool, or I could discretely tell the judge why I know the Def.. While the first was tempting because the situation was a perfect example of why Cops don't belong on juries, I chose the latter because I didn't want to piss off the judge.
I raise my hand (the rest of the jury pool are all looking at me now and the people sitting next to me start inching away from me) and the judge ask's where I know the Def. from. I ask to approach the bench and speak to the judge and he looks annoyed but says O.K.. So me, the prosecutor, the Judge, the Def and the court recorder all have a little side bar and I inform the judge that I know the Def, because I had arrested him in the past and I had operated the wire while our under cover bought herion from the Def.., The same case for which he was on trial for at this time. I then asked the prosecutor if she knew that I was on the witness list and showed her my subpeona. She seemed surprised. The judge looked pissed. She apparently didn't make a note of it because she didn't expect to call me as a witness. All this time, the Def. is standing there silently. He is listening but has no clue as to what is going on. The judge asked if the Def. wanted to disqualify me from the jury pool. The Def. says, "I guess so". I was excused from both the jury and my subpeona. The Def. got convited and sentenced to 5 years minimum.

Quoted: I thought everyone was innocent until proven guilty. By your statements here you sound most certianly like a biased person. Roy

Just shows that you don't know very much, Roy.

If John shoots and murders Sue, John is immediately "guilty" of murder.

The Court system  "assumes" John is innocent "until proven guilty".

But that doesn't make him innocent.

He's a murderer as soon as he kills Sue.

Well, to sum it up, me and 11 other people costed WalMart about $300,000.  

It was a sexual harassment suit.  Sad/good thing was there were about 3 other women suing the same store/guy who worked there.  

Sukebe: You did right by saying you knew the defendant. If you had kept quiet, and the defendant got convicted, his conviction would've like been overturned, and all of your hard work would have been wasted, and a scumbag would've been on the streets.

Quoted: Quoted: I thought everyone was innocent until proven guilty. By your statements here you sound most certianly like a biased person. Roy Just shows that you don't know very much, Roy. If John shoots and murders Sue, John is immediately "guilty" of murder. The Court system  "assumes" John is innocent "until proven guilty". But that doesn't make him innocent. He's a murderer as soon as he kills Sue.

Your statements may be true, however you being a potential juror ARE part of the court system.  You refering to the defendent as a "scumbag" before the trial has even started definitely shows your bias.


Roy

Quoted: Your statements may be true, however you being a potential juror ARE part of the court system.  You refering to the defendent as a "scumbag" before the trial has even started definitely shows your bias. Roy

Oh, so that was your objection.

All I can say is, You should have seen him.  He was a scumbag, whether he was guilty of that particular crime or not.  

(In all seriousness, I'd have judged him only on the evidense presented in the case.  Can't get any more "unbiased" than that.)

But the Defense laywer "assumed" that I couldn't be fair, just because I was an ex-LEO.  He was, and is, wrong.

With ex-LEOs, however, it is lot more difficult to "pull the wool over their eyes" than with many others.  We've seen it all.

OP I stand corrected.    




Roy

Quoted: OP I stand corrected.     Roy

What a rare thing on this forum.............a man who says he was wrong.

I salute you.

Let's go shooting.

Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: I thought everyone was innocent until proven guilty. By your statements here you sound most certianly like a biased person. Roy Just shows that you don't know very much, Roy. If John shoots and murders Sue, John is immediately "guilty" of murder. The Court system  "assumes" John is innocent "until proven guilty". But that doesn't make him innocent. He's a murderer as soon as he kills Sue. Your statements may be true, however you being a potential juror ARE part of the court system.  You refering to the defendent as a "scumbag" before the trial has even started definitely shows your bias. Roy

Bias is a part of life.  Being able to make a judgement on what happened with the presented evidence has no bearing on someone being considered a scumbag.  Part of the problem with juries these days is that both side want the least educated people they can get . . . easier to sway the uneducated than the educated.

Like the gent who served with 11 overweight black ladies, they refused to convict the man . . .because they couldn't side with the police.  The Defense apparently won the lottery on who was on the jury.



ETA: and then you guys go and settle things while I am  busy writing . . . be that way . . .  

Quoted: I was on the jury for a child murder at Frank Murphy Hall of Justice in Detroit. I decieded that the killer would be going back into their neighborhood, and not mine.  Maybe he did us a favor by killing that baby girl.  I know this sounds hard, but I have reason to think like this.  She would have grown up just like them, doing drugs and expanding the ghetto, making 5 more babies that would be just like her, creating more problems in this world.

I agree.  I may not have gave in though. At least a hung jury would be a statement, his record would not have said not-guilty.

My dad got called, went to the court house and ended up bullshiting with the victims father in the hall. he got excused.

I should care about participating in the process, but I'm not gonna lose hundreds a day to do it.
I throw my notices away, have done it for years. Although they are supposed to be cracking down, I'll believe it when it's a registered letter.

I've only been called for Jury duty once.  It was about 5 months after my son Wyatt was born.  I was still nursing.  I asked the judge if I could be excused [My husband had to take off work to care for him and we made arrangements for him to bring Wyatt to me to nurse] but the judge told me that nursing Mothers were no reason that I couldn't contribute.

The case was about a woman who was suing the Postal Service for sex discrimination.  She contended [is that the right word?] that she was passed up for a position with her local post office because each time she interviewed for a job at the post office she had been pregnant.

During the jury selection process I was asked if that bothered me and I said Yes it did.  Everyone was rather taken a back by me, a woman being bothered by a woman who obviously was exercising her rights [I wonder if a Pregnant man would have gotten an interview?] and I was asked to further explain myself.  I told them that if I was an employer that I would prefer not to hire a woman with young children and that she should have made up her mind whether she was going to have babies or deliver mail.  I went on to add that I was rather annoyed that here I was a woman who wanted to be home with my child and my husband had to take a day of his vacation time off to watch MY baby so she could exercise her feminist rights.

The smile on the woman's face faded rapidly and the judge stammered a few times trying to collect his thoughts - finally he asked me if I would be able to put aside my "prejudice" towards working mother and follow his instructions on how the law was interpret.  I shrugged and answered that it just depends upon how long its been since I nursed MY baby.

I wasn't selected to sit on that jury and I haven't been called up since.

Patty

Quoted: Quoted: OP I stand corrected.     Roy What a rare thing on this forum.............a man who says he was wrong. I salute you. Let's go shooting.

Before I commit let me finish reading "The Advice if you visit Texas" post.




Roy

Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: I thought everyone was innocent until proven guilty. By your statements here you sound most certianly like a biased person. Roy Just shows that you don't know very much, Roy. If John shoots and murders Sue, John is immediately "guilty" of murder. The Court system  "assumes" John is innocent "until proven guilty". But that doesn't make him innocent. He's a murderer as soon as he kills Sue. Your statements may be true, however you being a potential juror ARE part of the court system.  You refering to the defendent as a "scumbag" before the trial has even started definitely shows your bias. Roy Bias is a part of life.  Being able to make a judgement on what happened with the presented evidence has no bearing on someone being considered a scumbag.  Part of the problem with juries these days is that both side want the least educated people they can get . . . easier to sway the uneducated than the educated. Like the gent who served with 11 overweight black ladies, they refused to convict the man . . .because they couldn't side with the police.  The Defense apparently won the lottery on who was on the jury. ETA: and then you guys go and settle things while I am  busy writing . . . be that way . . .

The jury system is invent by humans, and so is therefore not perfect. However I would like to hear some alternative if you have any.

May I suggest maybe "trial by shaman," or "trial by fire."

I've been called for jury duty about 5 times.  The last time I was excused because I knew the defense Atty.  The 3 times before that it was just, come in and sit for a couple of hours and you're excused.  The first time I served as a jury member on a 2nd Degree Murder case.  The defendant has an argument with his brother-in-law at a party.  The goes and steal a rifle from his Dad, and shot the brother-in-law in the back of his head while he was asleep.  He got "no less than 35 to 40 years."



Vulcan94

Called twice. On duty both times.

Show up in uniform. 1st time court official takes one look at me, signs my "good boy" slip and excuses me.

2nd time sat around with a book for 4 hours, then got excused, and given call-back number to call in next AM and see if my number is called for reappeareance. It wasn't.

Quoted: Quoted: Let's go shooting. Before I commit let me finish reading "The Advice if you visit Texas" post. Roy

All you need to know is Rule #1:  Texans mean what they say.

Quoted: I was on the jury for a child murder at Frank Murphy Hall of Justice in Detroit. Turns out you have to declare a hung jury three times before it can take place.  I didn't know that at the time.

Col Kurtz:  That's good to know about the 3 times.  I realize it may/probably will be different in other states and courts but I'll remember that if I'm in jury duty and I'm the lone holdout.  

My own jury experience:

DUI and traffic violation case, first time offense.  I got picked for the jury which amazed me because I answered "yes" to "are any of you a non-drinker?"  

For some reason I was the only juror out of 6 who took notes.  Everyone else looked like they didn't want to be there.  Come deliberation time they all picked me as jury foreman.  I read my notes on the major arguments of each side as well as the police report and intoxilizer printout.  I explained how I thought the guy was guilty (every argument they made was heavily disputed by either the physical evidence, videotapes, or the defense shot themselves in the foot at some point in the day with contradictory statements).  To my surprise all 5 other jurors agreed immediately.  I think we took 7 minutes of deliberations.    We find him guilty on both counts.

Judge dismisses us and other 5 jurors walk briskly out while I sit and wait.  I wanted to hear the verdict so I hang around.  WOOOO the judge threw the book at that kid for taking a whole day in court.  

To this day about 9 years later I still see the judge in a local eatery at lunchtime.  He still remembers me and thinks I did a great job that day and would love to see me on another jury.  I politely told him I know one lawyer that won't let me on his jury ever again.  hen
I also learned if I ever have to go to court, to get a good lawyer and get my ducks in a row.  

Got called three times, thirds a charm.

Charge was DUI.  With the evidence provided in court, we found him guilty.  It was a fight though.  Took all freaking day. The  court bought us a bad lunch.  My fellow jurors made me the foreman, 'cause I wasn't married, and had no kids.  Nice of them huh?

Have been called once and served on two cases.  

First was a drunk who got into a fight with an off duty deputy.   2-3 days to decide that he did the fighting and waved a knife but not that he tried to take the deputy's gun (that never the holster) while wrestling, sounded like a very short altercation from the testemony.

Second was a drug possession one for Pot and a small quantity of Heroin.... his story was the Heroin was a 'bonus'.   Has the head of the local boys correctional facility on the jury... really was a more of a process thing as the only people dismissed knew someone involved.   Got to the jury room at 5:30 and decided "We know what we're going to decide but can't do it in 5 minutes this late"  Came back the next morning and talked it over for maybe an hour and said guilty.   Did surprise me that the drugs were passed down the box.  Was a VERY healthy bud

I was on an assualt with a deadly weapon jury!

I was on a jury about 3 years ago for a trial of a man accused of molesting his  step-daughter in California and then in Hawaii.  He was extradited back to California and charged with the crimes from both states.  It was pretty much an open and shut case with taped evidence presented from phone calls where the guy all but admitted his guilt.  It took us about an hour to find him guilty of all charges.  The only reason it took that long was because some of the jurors wanted to talk about the case since we had been forbidden to do so for the 8 days of the trial.  It was not a fun trial.

I asked the prosecutor to inform me what sentence the dirtbag got.  The prosecutor was nice enough to let me know after the sentencing.  The SOB only got 13 years.