Topic: Jury Duty!

[ScaryTooth]

Weee!

Have Jury Duty tomorrow. I hate law, have no interest in it, and really hate the court house, and the bureaucracy down there...so..I'm not exactly looking forward to it.

Hopefully it's not to lame. At least I might get some studying done.

[Quemaqua]

There's little that I hate more than jury duty.  Our legal system is a joke.

[ScaryTooth]

Agreed, good sir.

I'm going to hate this...

[Quemaqua]

If it's a cool courthouse, they might have wifi available for you.  But a good book is your best friend.  Last time I went for jury duty, I read over half of Moby Dick.  No, I'm not kidding.

[ScaryTooth]

Oh, I was told by the lady that they have free wifi, and a coffee and tea cart. So yeah, just going to study some analytical trig, and maybe start on my last econ paper.

[idolminds]

Just tell them you will be a great on jury duty because you can spot guilty people *snap fingers* just like that.

[Pugnate]

Haha love George Carlin.

[gpw11]

You need to get out of that shit ASAP.  Aaaaaand if you're student you have an instant out pretty much right there...or at least here you do.

[Ace_O_Spades]

I'm actually not eligible for jury duty, because I know too much about the criminal justice system and the inner workings of courtroom bureaucracy. Yay me!

For instance, just knowing what a "voir dire" is will likely be enough to get you out of jury duty.

[iPPi]

Yea I believe I would not be eligible for jury duty either anymore. 

[Cobra951]

. . . just knowing what a "voir dire" is will likely be enough to get you out of jury duty.

Really?  Cool.  That year and a half of law school might be more useful than I thought.

[scottws]

I served on jury duty once.  The first day I had to sit in a room with other potential jurors doing nothing but reading magazines and watching network news.  I never got called.  After the first day I was given a number and I could call in or check the website to see if I was needed.  I was needed twice more.  The first of these days I sat in that godforsaken room again but the second time I actually got called into a jury.  However, I didn't pass muster for the lawyers and was kicked off.  Darn.

Thankfully my employer fully compensates you when you are on jury duty.  That $7/day would just have sucked.

[ScaryTooth]

Right now I'm sitting in a big room with about 25 potential jurors in a "quiet room" where I can study. There is another 120 jurors down stairs. I don't think they have called a single person yet...

[ScaryTooth]

They just announced that they might not start any cases this week, because it's a holiday week and all. So we all might get sent home and thats it. Honestly, it's kind of nice not having to get up at 5:30am to go to work at the hospital this week. It's like a little break. But it does suck just sitting around this stupid court house. The atmosphere is so "bleh".

[gpw11]

Shit, I just got called again...which is weird because it's been two years and I've been called twice.  Student excuse won't work anymore so I'm going to claim financial hardship. If they don't allow that, I'm rolling in there with ridiculous clothing on and saying whatever the fuck I have to say to get out of it.  Seriously, $20 a day?  Hahaha, fuck you. 


Anyone who says it's your civic duty can suck my dick.  It may be the civic duty for the unemployed or the elderly, but for me it's just slavery.

[iPPi]

I've never been called for jury duty and unfortunately no longer qualify for it.

[Pugnate]

Why not?

[PyroMenace]

Because he is studying law.

[Pugnate]

Oh I didn't know that. That's cool. I always wanted to be a lawyer.

[gpw11]

Yeah, there are a bunch of professions that make you ineligible.  Strangely enough, dentist is one of them.

[Xessive]

I don't have much to say about the topic but here's my contribution to the thread.

[gpw11]

HAha, I heard that on the radio.  I was excused.  Their website is bullshit, because when filing the reason they literally gave enough room for two sentences, but also said to make sure you were detailed enough to avoid them having to call you. I basically told the truth "Just got out of school....broke yo.  Rent going up.  I can't fucking pay my bills working full time".  Excused the next day via email.

Seriously, I don't have a problem with it in principle, but you can't force someone to make $20 a day for 20 days. You might as well throw me in prison for that time, I'll be just as fucked when I get out. If they're going to pay a pittance, they need to make it law that your employer has to cover you or something.  It's actually ridiculous here where you get $20 a day for the first 40 days, something like $60 a day from 41-60, and $100 a day after that.  That's below minimum wage.  I will never serve with shit like that unless I'm covered somehow. They might as well just award me bankruptcy when they send the letter out.

[Quemaqua]

Yeah, I think it's crap.

[Cobra951]

. . .

Seriously, I don't have a problem with it in principle, but you can't force someone to make $20 a day for 20 days. You might as well throw me in prison for that time, I'll be just as fucked when I get out. If they're going to pay a pittance, they need to make it law that your employer has to cover you or something.  It's actually ridiculous here where you get $20 a day for the first 40 days, something like $60 a day from 41-60, and $100 a day after that.  That's below minimum wage.  I will never serve with shit like that unless I'm covered somehow. They might as well just award me bankruptcy when they send the letter out.

Right.  If it's a civic duty, then it's a civic duty all around.  It includes the juror, anyone the juror depends on, and anyone who depends on the juror.  Otherwise, Que has exactly the right assessment.