primitives discuss jury duty, counting wrinkles on a canine's testicles

[franksolich]

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x5573750

Oh my.

I hate to suggest it, but one should really go to the link above, to see the statement in its original; I can't bring it over here.

Jackeens  (1000+ posts)        Fri May-01-09 08:55 AM
Original message
 
Jury duty - "I would rather count the wrinkles on my dog's balls" 

In no uncertain terms, a Montana man tells judge why he won't serve

APRIL 30--There are probably better ways to avoid jury duty than the approach recently taken by a Montana man. After Erik Slye, 36, received a jury notice earlier this year, he filed a notarized affidavit seeking to be excused from serving on a District Court panel in Gallatin County. Slye's caustic affidavit, which he prepared with help from his wife Jennifer, can be found below. The document, of course, did not sit well with court officials and led a judge to threaten to jail Slye. But after being summoned to court, Slye apologized for the affidavit and avoided being cited on a criminal failure to appear rap. And he also was excused from serving on a jury.

after which photograph of the original

In case you can't make out the writing: "Apparently you morons didn't understand me the first time. I CANNOT take time off from work. I'm not putting my family's well being at stake to participate in this crap. I don't believe in our "justice" system and I don't want to have a ******* thing to do with it. Jury duty is a complete waste of time. I would rather count the wrinkles on my dog's balls than sit on a jury. Get it through your thick skulls. Leave me the f--k alone."

http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/years/2009/0430091...

The pious mountain man primitive:

ThomWV  (1000+ posts)      Fri May-01-09 09:00 AM
Response to Original message

2. I would have thrown that asshat in jail had I been the judge

Jury duty is a civic responsibility, no one should ever be exempt except for illness.

Well, I dunno.

franksolich was once invited to serve on a jury, and franksolich wanted to.

However, since franksolich can't hear, he was rejected.

No hard feelings, though; it was probably best that justice be judged by jurors who know what's going on.

izquierdista (1000+ posts)        Fri May-01-09 09:12 AM
Response to Reply #2
 
8. So is providing for your family

There are far, far too many people who are struggling to make ends meet and cannot get time off from their employers. Oh yes, the law says that jury duty is a valid excuse to miss work, but when you can easily be replaced by one from the throng of unemployed, it rings hollow. Now if jury duty paid the same hourly rate as lawyers get, instead of sub-minimum wage plus mileage, you might get a few more takers. 

Inspired  (1000+ posts)      Fri May-01-09 09:06 AM
Response to Original message
 
4. Am I the only one who thought this was funny?

Bandit (1000+ posts)      Fri May-01-09 09:10 AM
Response to Original message
 
6. A true Patriot that guy, I would bet much that he is a Bush* supporter.

America is only there to serve this guy. He has no obligation to serve his country.

Republican through and through..

mirrors, mirrors, on the wall......mirrors, mirrors, everywhere.....

shadowknows69  (1000+ posts)        Fri May-01-09 09:10 AM
Response to Original message
 
7. My wife has to do some soon. I was sent a "questionaire" which I've yet to fill out. I'd actually love to do it but my various health probs wouldn't allow me to stay in a jury box for maybe hours on end. That, and I doubt bi-polar jurors are in high demand these days.

[USA4ME]

I applaud the guy.  I probably wouldn't have worded it that way, but if he doesn't want on the jury then you really don't want him there.

There's so many ways to get out of jury duty it'd be hard to count them all.  This was one of the best, though.

.

[Wineslob]

I agree with the "Mountain Man Primitive". It's a civic duty, and one that I was proud to serve.

[The Village Idiot]

I was called to the courthouse once for jury selection, there were thousands there for the same case. It was a big multiple murder case. Hundreds did not show and the Constables were making a show of rounding them up.

There was a very long questionnaire and something on the back asking if there was any reason they might NOT want to pick you, and gave you most of the page to explain.

I wrote that since my mother had been murdered when I was a kid I had always wanted criminals of many stripes to be executed, from jaywalking to mass murder to raising taxes.

I have never been called back.

[BannedFromDU]

I applaud the guy.  I probably wouldn't have worded it that way, but if he doesn't want on the jury then you really don't want him there.

There's so many ways to get out of jury duty it'd be hard to count them all.  This was one of the best, though.

.

     If they're so sure the guy's a Bush* supporter, what if the case is about some treehugger accused of monkeywrenching a logging effort? You think they'd want him in the jury box THEN?

[The Village Idiot]

I agree with the "Mountain Man Primitive". It's a civic duty, and one that I was proud to serve.

We are not the servants of the government. Its supposed to be the other way around. Jury duty should be voluntary. asnd we should also have a shot at being a judge here and there too. =o)

[BannedFromDU]

Check out this breathtakingly ironic exchange:

izquierdista  (1000+ posts) 
Response to Reply #2
8. So is providing for your family
   
There are far, far too many people who are struggling to make ends meet and cannot get time off from their employers. Oh yes, the law says that jury duty is a valid excuse to miss work, but when you can easily be replaced by one from the throng of unemployed, it rings hollow. Now if jury duty paid the same hourly rate as lawyers get, instead of sub-minimum wage plus mileage, you might get a few more takers.
 
 
WeDidIt  Fri May-01-09 01:14 PM
Response to Reply #8
10. Contempt of Court gets you thrown in jail
   
He could have signed an affadavit explaining the situation and caused no harm

The affadavit, as filed, is contempt of court and is deserving of jail time.
 
izquierdista (1000+ posts)      Fri May-01-09 01:19 PM
Response to Reply #10
13. So much for "freedom of speech"
   
So much about America's "freedoms" rings hollow.
 
 
MadHound (1000+ posts) Fri May-01-09 01:42 PM
Response to Reply #13
22. Sorry, but you don't have the freedom to insult the court, and by extension all of us.
   
And frankly being a citizen of this country entails some responsibilities, the minimum of which are to vote and to serve on a jury. Preferably you are also active politically, sadly too many people are apathetic.

As far as the hardship of serving on a jury, I'm sorry, but I don't want a jury composed entirely of the leisure class which has the time and money to serve on juries, and our government is wise to require jury service from all citizens for this very reason. You cannot be fired or replaced, and if you are, well gee, you just hit that big lawsuit jackpot in the sky, so it's a win-win for all of us.

Frankly a few weeks of sub normal pay isn't going to adversely effect the vast majority of people, and there are plenty of hardship provisions to excuse those who it will. But this notion that as citizens we don't owe something to this country is one that has sadly become quite prevalent in our country over the past few decades, and this is one more manifestation of it. This guy lives in what is still one of the best countries in the world and rather than giving back to it, he decides to take a dump on it instead. I would have thrown the guy in jail myself if I were the judge.

Sorry, but your bullshit excuses don't fly, and neither does your reference of free speech.
 
 
izquierdista (1000+ posts)       Fri May-01-09 02:07 PM
Response to Reply #22
37. Hollow, hollow, hollow
   
If it was "still one of the best countries in the world", it would not engender this type of animosity.

Many Americans don't vote because they are cynical and know that their vote will be caged or otherwise Diebolded. Many Americans don't want to serve on juries because it goes beyond civic duty and becomes an ordeal. And how much should you give back to a country that won't even take care of you when you get sick?
 

 
MadHound (1000+ posts)    Fri May-01-09 03:40 PM
Response to Reply #37
49. Fine, if you don't like it, then leave
   
If you don't like our governing system, our justice system, our voting system, you have two choices, either stay and try and fix these problems or leave. If you stay, you do indeed owe this country something in the terms of civic duty, namely to vote and to serve on juries. However it would be much better if you went beyond the bare minimum and actually went out and tried to bring about the change that you wish for.

But simply sitting behind your computer and complaining about the terrible "burden" of jury duty, or whining about the problems in this country isn't going to change a damn thing. So either get up off your ass and do something, become a contributing member of this country, or get the **** out and take your whining somewhere else. Of course the trouble is, if you're a citizen of another country, they generally have requirements for civic duty, some of which include military service. And you think jury duty is a pain :eyes:
 

 
izquierdista (1000+ posts)      Fri May-01-09 04:18 PM
Response to Reply #49
63. Didn't take long
   
For you to turn into a "love it or leave it" reactionary.

 
MadHound (1000+ posts)     Fri May-01-09 04:25 PM
Response to Reply #63
67. A lot longer than it took you to turn into a whiner
   
"Oh poor me, the government actually wants me to do something, to be responsible." Again, if you don't like what's going on in this country, do something to change it. But no, you choose to sit on your ass whining on a chat board. Worthless, utterly worthless.

So like I said earlier, either get out and do something to change what you don't like, or get the **** out of this country. That you choose to side with a foul mouthed, ignorant fool as the fellow in the OP says a lot about you, none of it good.

Congratulations, your in that group of people who are part of the problem, not part of the solution.
 
Romulox (1000+ posts)       Fri May-01-09 04:31 PM
Response to Reply #67
73. Wow. You really are starting to sound like an authoritarian.
   
"get the **** out of this country."

Doesn't it just gut you that you don't have the power to dictate what other people think, or where they live? :hi:
 
 
MadHound (1000+ posts)  Fri May-01-09 04:37 PM
Response to Reply #73
79. No, not at all
   
Because unlike you, I actually go out and work to change things in this government I don't like. What the **** have you done lately? Oh, yeah, whine and bitch on an anonymous internet chat board.

I'm hardly authoritarian, I just have little tolerance for people like the guy in the OP who decide to take a dump all over the justice system, and by extension the rest of us. I also have little tolerance for assholes who whine and moan, yet don't do anything about the situation except whine and moan. If you don't like what's going on in this country, go out and do something about it. Oh, right, that would take actual effort, something that you are running low on.
 
Romulox (1000+ posts)     Fri May-01-09 04:42 PM
Response to Reply #79
83. LOL. Extra points for complaining about others "whining on a message board"...on a message board.
   
You seem to have a laser like precision in identifying others' fault, but a massive blindspot as to your own. :silly:
 
MadHound (1000+ posts)    Fri May-01-09 04:51 PM
Response to Reply #83
88. Nice sidestep there,
   
I noticed you didn't answer my question, namely what have you gone out and done lately to change things in this country. Since you gave a non-answer, I'm forced to the conclusion that the answer is "not a damn thing."
 
 
Romulox (1000+ posts)   Fri May-01-09 04:54 PM
Response to Reply #88
90. I don't answer to you, Ms. Authoritarian. Anyhow, I'm making plans to "get the **** out
   
of the country," per your previous command.

"Since you gave a non-answer, I'm forced to the conclusion that the answer is 'not a damn thing.'"

Add basic logic to the list of things that elude you then, I guess. :hi:

     America: Love it or Leave it. But only when my guy is in charge, and YOU'RE the one doing the leaving. Otherwise I take offense at you telling me to leave. I reserve the right to tell YOU to leave, however.

[Wineslob]

We are not the servants of the government. Its supposed to be the other way around. Jury duty should be voluntary. asnd we should also have a shot at being a judge here and there too. =o)

The problem with that is the "work of the people" would never get done. If that was implemented, pray to God that you would never have to deal with the justice system.

[The Village Idiot]

The problem with that is the "work of the people" would never get done. If that was implemented, pray to God that you would never have to deal with the justice system.

Nah, just pay people to show up. You'll have a big pool of volunteers to choose from.

The work of the people? yesh, what a tired outdated phrase... the new phrase is YER PAPERZ PLEEZE!

[Mike220]

I kind of enjoyed jury duty. It was a civil case over a horse (only in Texas...  ) 2 days, $80. That was damn near a weeks pay at my on campus job.

[rich_t]

Both times that I was on a jury I was a salaried employee and got full pay from my employer while on jury duty.

But if I was an hourly employee and it was costing me money from my pay check to serve, you bet I'd be mega-pissed off about it and I'd make that very obvious to the court.

Edit to add:  I enjoyed jury duty both times.  One was a civil case that took 3 days.  One was a criminal case involving 11 felony counts.  That one lasted 2 weeks.  The judges in both cases were great about explaining things and in the criminal case the jury was allowed to submit questions to the witnesses (after they were screened by the judge of course).

[AllosaursRus]

As I'm a bondsman, I don't seem to get any requests. That and the last time I got a questionare, I told them to hang the guy! I had no idea what the offense was.

[BlueStateSaint]

As I'm a bondsman, I don't seem to get any requests. That and the last time I got a questionare, I told them to hang the guy! I had no idea what the offense was.

Ya know, I love your subtle way of things!