Friday snark

southernbelle0915

I got called for jury duty while I was away for my freshman year in college. I was 19, the notice was sent to my parents house and I found it in a stack of mail 6 months later when I was home for summer. I'm 99% sure it's against the law not to respond, but nothing ever happened. 

OliveOilsMom

I was a seated juror for a murder case. But the day before it was supposed to start, the defendant made a deal with prosecutors, so I only had the 2 days of service since it took 2 days to find all the jurors. ____________________________________________________________________________________ I work for a law firm and we have complex litigation, so when we actually do go to trial it can last MONTHS! The longest one since I've been here was 7 months and it was a jury trial! I could not imagine being on of those people!

Inkdancer

The only time I got called for jury duty, I was in the juror pool for a case where a cop got stabbed. Since my grandfather was a cop, they really did not want me on the jury.

Maybe next time. I think it would be really interesting!

WinstonsGirl

I got my notice at the beginning of August for starting today, so almost 2 months notice.  When I saw the envelope, I was just hoping it wasn't for August and my summer vacation.  

We get paid $50 per day from the court system.  I'm also lucky that in my contract, I get my full pay, provided I give the $50 to my school board in exchange, so money won't play into consideration for me.  But 6 weeks of not seeing my students is ridiculous.  

@esstee23 - I just might PM you if this doesn't work out.  I've only even done simple patterns before.  I think a cable stitch was the hardest I've done, and changing colours.  PITA, but it worked at least.  

Sugargirl1019

Now I am frightened to go to jury duty. I hate all crime scene shows and really don't like to hear people crying or whining or sounding like idiots..

On the subject of knitting.. Here is what my little sister is knitting me for my dog! It's actually almost done. Look at all those colors!

WinstonsGirl

Sugargirl1019 said:

Now I am frightened to go to jury duty. I hate all crime scene shows and really don't like to hear people crying or whining or sounding like idiots.. On the subject of knitting.. Here is what my little sister is knitting me for my dog! It's actually almost done. Look at all those colors!

That is super cute, but so detailed!!  She must be an amazing knitter.  

slothiegal

When I worked at the courthouse, I would help facilitate jury selection and then once the panel was chosen, acted as their glorified babysitter for the duration of the trial.  Us clerks HATED juries.  HATED.  It was like herding motherfucking cats.  Half the people didn't want to be there (understandable) and would act like I personally sent them their summons; the other half thought it was an exciting crime TV show and acted a fool (and were very disappointed when they found out there's a lot less "YOU CAN'T HANDLE THE TRUTH" on the stand and a lot more talk of how drugs metabolize).

The largest/most well known case I got to work/sit in on was the Chandra Levy trial.  But I have so many great court stories.  

VulgarGirl

I've been in the jury pool twice but never actually had to serve.

The first time was a domestic violence case not longer after I had gotten out of my own abusive relationship, so I wouldn't have been objective.

The second time I knew both the defense attorney and the prosecution attorney through FI. And I liked the prosecutor better. The defense was a dick.

SmileDamnit

I've been called 3 times; first time I didn't even have to go in, second time I had to go in but I got dismissed before they even called my number, and third time, I got selected to serve. It was a one-day case for a traffic violation, and while quite interesting, it was a total and complete waste of time for everyone involved and even bigger waste of tax payer dollars. 

falsara

I've never been sent a summons for jury duty. I would totally serve if I did get a summons, but my dad is a cop, my uncle is a cop and a huge portion of my family is military. So they would probably never pick me. Plus right now I can't miss class for any extended length of time.

holyguacamole79

We got dismissed! There were several cases on the docket and they were still trying to reach a plea bargain. There was no point in keeping us there any longer, so we got sent home! Hooray!

esstee33

WinstonsGirl said:

@esstee23 - I just might PM you if this doesn't work out.  I've only even done simple patterns before.  I think a cable stitch was the hardest I've done, and changing colours.  PITA, but it worked at least.  

**SITB**

You may want to consider putting a zipline/lifeline in just in case! While you have the stitches on your needle, weave a spare piece of yarn through them. They're really, really helpful because if you make a mistake, you can just unravel it back to that lifeline and start again from there, instead of frogging the entire piece and starting all over. There's a good tutorial here: http://blog.berroco.com/2013/04/23/ask-amanda-how-do-i-rip-out-my-knitting/

 If you've done cable, though, I think you'll be fine. 

WinstonsGirl

Getting the hang of it. Thank you so much for the explanations

esstee33

@WinstonsGirl That's awesome!!! Yay!!!

CMGragain

I get called for jury duty, but I never get picked unless it is a civil case.  When I was 20, I worked as a secretary for the Iowa State Division of Narcotics and Drug Enforcement.  That eliminates me from criminal trials.  I have to go, anyway.  I take needlework with me, and I enjoy meeting other people.

steph861

I'm late to this thread. We're getting ready for a housewarming / open house tomorrow. Just finished baking pumpkin cupcakes.

I wanted to paint over some scuffs on the wall from moving in, only to find that the old owners had three very similar shades of green-grey paint. Not similar enough to be interchangeable, mind you. I think I put each one on the wall to test them. In some cases, the wall on one side on one side of the room (or on one side of the staircase, even) would be slightly different shades. I finally just said "fuck it" and decided it was good enough.

lovesclimbing

I have received notices two or three times. I got out the first time because I was in college and living about 2,000 miles from the court house.

This most recent time, it was this spring. I got excused because I was still in college and skipping class would be detrimental to my education.

So that one, it was deferred for awhile. Then, a few days ago, I got a call saying my notification for jury service got returned as undeliverable. And so I told them I moved and now, I'm about 1,500 miles from the court house!

So it's deferred again. I may get called again sometime this year. I think I may get excused if I get called because I'm a working journalist. Obviously, I would obey the rules and wouldn't be writing articles about the case or anything like that, but still, I feel like an attorney would not want me on the jury.

Would any of you attorneys want a member of the media?

Chipmunk415

I got a summons at my home 250 miles away when I was off at law school. Faxed some paperwork, never heard anything further....

During my prosecutor's externship, I selected 2 juries, both for DUI trials. In the second selection, a woman visibly flinched when we said it was a DUI case. When we asked her about her thoughts on drinking and driving, we found out her son had been killed by a drunk driver 10 years prior. Defense and I conferred, and we got the judge to dismiss her as a juror out of compassion. Another guy I got thrown off because he sat thru the selection process and the general statements from each side reading his kindle...obvious lack of respect and interest will get you booted.

My externship instructor had worked both as prosecution and defense, with 20 years experience in practice. He is also one of the state experts on ethics and work balance in criminal practice. He got picked for a jury after telling the court all of this, and was blown away that they would go with him. Another one of my professors gets thrown out immediately every time, but he's the one who literally wrote the Florida Evidence Code (nope, I'm not kidding, I took his class on Evidence, and he literally wrote the Florida Statutes), so no one wants him in there in case they screw up.

I'm dying to be selected for jury duty here for a criminal case, since a quarter of the lawyers in the prosecution's office, I went to law school with or knew during my externship. I also went up against a number of the top crim defense attorneys in my area, and I've a feeling one or two of them might actually have to change their pants after seeing me in the pool :-D