I received a jury summons in the mail.  I was browsing their website [url]http://www.lasuperiorcourt.org/jury/faq.htm[/url]and I came upon this on the FAQ page:


I believe that the 2nd ammendment is a "cherished constitutional right".  I bet that whomever wrote the above answer would probably think twice before substituting "firearm ownership" for "jury duty".  Think about it, firearm ownership being an obligation of citizship!

Just thinking out loud...

PS: I wasn't personally wondering why I need to serve.  I'm looking forward to it.

Sorta like the following?

(relax, I just made this up - too bad [:(] )

Q: Why do I have to own a firearm?
A: According to the Code of Civil Procedures (CCP)  it states “The Legislature recognizes that  firearm ownership is a cherished constitutional right, and that firearm ownership is an obligation of citizenship”. Firearm ownership  is a responsibility that all qualified citizens must share, and without support from individuals like yourself, we could not maintain our unorganized milita, and thus, maintain the high quality of our nations defense. [/quote]

I actually ignored a jury summons last October (not intentionally).  It would appear they care just as much for protecting jury trial, as they do protecting any other constitional right.

Ignoring a jury summons is a bad idea.  If the Court is in a ticked off mood, you can very easily spend some time in jail.  You can always get out of it, but you shouldn't.  My wife successfully begged off once, by observing that she was pregnant and due to deliver, suggesting that labor during deliberations might not be good.  

The truth is, we NEED good people on juries.  First thing you do, go to www.fija.org and learn about it.  The material put out by the Fully Informed Jury Association should be required on high school Government class.  

If you search for juror,jury and juries, you'll find lots more.  But the bottom line (and I wish I could quickly lay hands on L. Neil Smith's essay on the 1,000 year-old right and duty of a jury) is simply that you have a duty to judge the Accused AND the Law.  

Any time a judge tells you that "if the facts prove he did it, you must convict," the judge is lying and every attorney in the room knows it.  (This issue has gone all the way, and the Supreme Court took many words to say, essentially, that yes he's lying but he's a judge and he can do that.)  

I most strongly, STRONGLY urge you to study, starting at FIJA.org, learn what a juror should be, then SERVE on a jury if at all possible.  The jury is the final word on any law in this country, not the Supreme Court.  But it only works if we have informed jurors.  

Good Luck.

"In America we have three ways of changing things: the ballot box, the jury box; and if those don't work, the cartridge box."
--Former Idaho Rep. Steve Symms  

Being a part of a jury is a PRIVELEDGE that not everyone in the world enjoys. But that being said, know your rights. Go to [url]www.fija.org[/url] and find out why juries are our last bastion of freedom.

"Your Honor, I dont want to be here. I am angry about being here. If I have to serve on the jury, someone is going to jail. I dont care if they are guilty or innocent, I'm telling you right now, I will vote to convict."

I agree that jury duty is very time-consuming and often could be seen as a waste, especially for those of us who are self-employed (no work, no pay--and no, that won't get you out of jury duty; at least it didn't work for me).

Still, I'm always glad after it's over to have had the chance to see our system in action. It's not perfect, but it's better than anything any other country's come up with, I'd venture to say. [marines]

You should know...  BTW, how's your case coming?

I certainly hope that we get some good[i]thinking[/i] people to serve on jury duty.  I know when I went, they must have went through twenty people before I got interviewed and accepted to the first trial of the week.  Everybody else had a hearing problem, had been involved in a criminal case before, or just plain played dumb.

People did everything to try to get out of the trial.  Actually getting picked first turned out to be the best thing, as after my one day case was over, I didn't get called back all week (petit jury).

Serving shows you how incompetent some law officers and detectives are at getting the right evidence to the state's attorney's office for prosecution.  In seeing the case I had before me, and reading the newspapers, it seems like they don't even bother with fingerprint evidence anymore (too lazy).  It also shows you how pompous lawyers are on both sides.