http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=439x2026925K8-EEE (1000+ posts) Thu Sep-29-11 11:15 PM
Original message
Glad that I didn't succeed in getting out of jury duty
WHY was I dreading this so much? I met 13 new friends (12 on the jury and 2 alternates including me) and if I ever am involved in a trial I would love to have the jury I was just part of, whether I was the plaintiff or the defendant.
Everybody really tried hard to hash out every single point to make sure the damages awarded were fair, but not excessive. Everybody listened to each other respectfully; nobody was dominating the conversation. People made excellent points that I hadn't thought of on my own. Someone corrected a false impression about something I misunderstood. We all were really trying to be fair and disregard our personal opinions of the people involved, and just focus on the facts as presented and how the law applied to the situation.
All around, it was a great experience. So not to sound corny but Justice itself depends on citizens doing their jury service, so if you can do it without a lot of hardship, DO IT!
Regular experiences. I was waiting to read something out of the ordinary or someone doing a bouncy of Law and Order but no, all normal for once. But then again, the night is young.
TwilightGardener (1000+ posts) Fri Sep-30-11 02:45 AM
Response to Original message
21. I wouldn't mind jury duty, but never get called (we move a lot).
Is there a dress code, though?
Oddly, that's my big concern--having to show up everyday in something nice. My last two jobs involved scrubs, and then jeans and work boots, so I have NO business-wear clothing that still fits.
There is a dress code for Federal jury duty. Men have to wear ties and coats, ladies have to wear dresses or pant suits. Unless it's changed since. My husband served on one. No jeans. Pay was $52 a day for however long it took. Lunch is provided.
Regular jury duty, you cannot wear slippers, curlers in your hair or sweat pants. Don't laugh, I showed up for jury duty and heard the judge say this to the room. Yes I laughed to myself. There were people there dressed like that.
I served on a Grand Jury for 6 months. Casual wear, no shorts. Sad you have to tell that to people. Pay was .33 a mile, about $30 - $35 a day depending on how far you drove from home, one day a week every week for 6 months. After that you're excused from any jury duty for a year unless you want to serve again.
It's from 9 am until you're through with the cases you're given that day. Usually over around 5 pm.
A Federal Grand jury is for a year, once a month, all day, usually takes place at your state capitol. That's one I'd like to get on.
I was called for jury duty 5 times. It seemed like every few months my name got picked. I sat on 2, one I lied to get out of, I was afraid of where the courthouse was. There was criminal activity there so I didn't want to serve. One I sat in for half a day and was let go.
It was an experience but unless it's Federal, I really would rather not do anymore duty. You see some terrible things and hear terrible things. Some you never forget.
