O J Simpson.

[barfle]

Selma, about all I have to say about jury duty is that I was treated with more respect when I was in Army basic training.

[dkm32]

I've never ducked Jury Duty...and, I've enjoyed every one! Only once have I made it to an actual trial. And, in Vista, Ca, they even have a computer room that is separate from the regular waiting area...All so you could listen to Beethoven Radio, I would imagine

The one trail I did serve: Then, you had to go to the Court House for 10 days (now, after the first day, you get to call in to find out if you're needed) or until the trail you were on was completed. Where I worked, four of us got the call at the same time. My first day, I got a trail, it lasted four days..I was done! The other three people spent all ten days ducking a trail. One gal got a 15-day trail on her last day! On top of this, they pay milage from your home to the Court House. I took the bus. AND, the local (Escondido) bus service was running a special...anywhere for a nickle, including transfers. It cost me a nickle to go down to the Court House and I think about $2 to come home. $2.05 round trip for four days. Milage they paid: $92.00!

[jmfryar]

Sigh...feel the need to make a comment or two...



Jury Duty - I worked as a judicial clerk in state court. I was the one who would go up and collect the jurors to bing them down to the courtroom Now, Connecticut does the voir dire process a little differently - each juror is interviewed individually. It's kinda like a job interview, where the attorneys get a chance to question the person as to how impartial they'd be with regards to that particular case.

If you were one of the potentials in the pool, you could find yourself being brought downstairs hang out in a little room, read or chat for the day, and then go home without haveing met anyone but me. If you were lucky, you got called in and got to chat about your life.

There were different cycles...we got a TON of peole between the ages of 18 and 22 in June - all the deferals for people in college, for instance. But for the most part, you get a good spread. Most trials are fairly simple and take a few days. The reason you see so many elderly, retired and unemployed people is because others have decided that their lives are FAR too important to be bothered with such a petty thing as a civic duty (intense sarcasm) and come up with elaborate excuses for why they can't be bothered to spend one or two days listening to a case, deliberating and deciding.

I appreciate and applaud dkm for her participation, and feel bad that barfle had a bad experience, but keep in mind that you want to do this. If, lord forbid, you were ever in a court, wouldn't you want you on the jury panel?

Education - I spent 6 years as a teacher. What amazes me is the fact that every parent out there understands that there is such a thing as an average child, they just know that it's not theirs.

A school building is a monster when it comes to cost (electricity for the middle school alone ran $30K plus a month - don't ask about the phones, I think that was another 5K)but don't take my word for it, your local board of education has a line by line budget availiable to members of the town.

Public education is a melting pot - but there's only so much you can do in one hour with 30 kids...especially when you are required to fulfill accomodations (had one for a kid that incessently mastrubated in class...that was an interesting one), deal with issues (the noisy, outspoken kid that everyone thinks is cute? Yea...real cute until you realize how much dealing with him is detracting from the lesson time) and the simple fact that if parents don't read, their children are not going to either...no matter how much fun you make it...

It's a massive, massive headache that cannot be reduced to a simple equation...I feel for teachers everyday...but I'll tell ya, having been there, a major element is that parents are destroying the very system that they think they're encouraging. With unreasonable demands, bizarre fears and requests, and daily interaction with teachers, there's gonna come a time when the system will no longer be able to function with that kind of burden.

[barfle]

I recognize the need for jurors, and realize that it is truly a civic duty.

However, I feel that it should be a requirement of the courts to also understand that people have lives that need to be lead, and that they are sacrificing part of those lives when they are on jury duty. I object to being treated as a resource that may or may not have value. I have a toolbox, and sometimes I need the hammer and sometimes I don't. When I don't, the hammer sits idly in the toolbox. But it's not like the hammer has something better to do than to be stuck in a room rereading "What Every Teenage Girl Wants To Know About Sex" as published by either Reader's Digest or the Mormon Church (they didn't seem to think there was much teenage girls were interested in, except to be told "don't"). Then, after waiting the entire day for something, ANYTHING to happen, five minutes before you get to go, they call a bunch of you and tell you to come back tomorrow.

I couldn't leave, I couldn't call in to see if I'd be needed, I just had to sit there and wait. And wait. And wait. And wait. You get the picture.

The compensation the courts provided for jurors was about what I made in basic training. But the Army also gave me three hot meals. It was not an attempt to compensate me for my time. It was an insult.

I wouldn't have wanted ANYONE in the jury pool I was in on my jury. All of us felt used and abused by the court, and some had already made up their minds to hang any jury that they might have been called for.

I don't know much about how trials are scheduled, except in my experience, they are not scheduled by people using both digits of their IQs. They have no reason to believe that they have human beings in their charge, and they treated me and my fellow jury members as though we were no more valuable than hammers. Contempt of court? Yep, I sure had plenty of that!


<small>[ 06-30-2003, 02:15 PM: Message edited by: barfle ]</small>

[jmfryar]

only about 5% of cases actually go to trial. In the rest deals are struck in order to avoid the cost and issues that come with a trial. So the court does not always know what trials will go forward on what day, simply because there are a good number of very valid reasons for continuations.

If you think it's weird on the outside, try being in the middle of the chaos.

One of the issues I have with some court systems (some do an awesome job at it) is informing and educating potential jurors as to the process, so you feel part of it rather than at its whim.

Chances are that you were in line for the voir dire process, there was a case or two that settled...and another that was supposed to settle, but a party backed out...

Or, you were just on the short end of the stick and had to come back the next day...there are hundreds of things that could have happened...but be happy that you participated. Connecticut used to be that you went every day for a MONTH until you were either on a jury or you completed the 30 days. That was not pleasant, and a lot of sole business owners and contractors could not participate as a result.

There are towns where, when they don't have enough jurors, they go to the local Wal-Mart...no lie...and round them up.

Ah...the stories I could tell...

But be more than happy to propose a hike in your taxes to increase the amenities in your local jury pool room - that latte machine is just in reach for a few cents a day!


<small>[ 06-30-2003, 02:42 PM: Message edited by: jmfryar ]</small>

[barfle]

I'd rather be told what's going on than to be kept handy just in case I'm needed. That's not fair to the potential juror, and when someone is treated like crap, they are bound to let that affect their attitude.

I'd also rather they simply say that it's your duty to serve, and not insult you by giving you $5 for using up a day of your time.

I'd also rather be told ahead of time that there may be long periods when you are simply on call, and must be available, so bring something to kill the idle time (I realized this by the second day). I'm not saying I need to be waited on hand and foot, but signing in, waiting until noon for a half hour to get lunch, then signing back in, then going home at 5PM doesn't exactly give you the feeling that you're doing something worthwhile.

If they had told us something like "We have the potential of five cases to start today. Three of them should be done in one day, one will probably take two weeks, and one will probably take a month. It's normal for four out of five cases to be settled before we call a jury, but we don't know that until it happens," it would have made all the difference in the world. I can't see how telling us that would have increased our taxes, but it might have made for jurors who actually gave a rat's RE about the case at hand, instead of a bunch of people who were on the verge of revolt.

[jmfryar]

You are absolutely correct - a little communication makes people feel like human beings and not cattle being shuffled from place to place.

And always bring a good book and figure you're gonna be there for a good 8 hours. As you're shuffled form one place to the next...

And you may end up on a good case in the end...something interesting...

I was doing trial transcript summaries and the jury in that trial sent daily notes to the judge, to the effect of "if this takes any longer, it's gonna effect our ability to be impartial." Three week trial, deliberations were an hour and a half...some attorneys just don't get it...

[Parrothead]

Not to change the subject, but...

Great signature block (I recommend you try a little mental floss). There are so many great lyrics to choose from.

Phins up!!!