Jury Duty??

I got a notice in the mail yesterday that I might be called for jury duty (federal court) in June......I have 2 appt's scheduled during that time, plus I wasn't sure when we were going to get back from a trip......called the courthouse and after asking me for the dates, the gal said "oh yea you're on the top of my list.......if there's a trial during those weeks, you're probably going to get called". Well, crud. Ok, I know this is my civic duty and all that. And truthfully there is no time that would probably be good for it.........there's always something on the calendar, right?!? But what gets me is.......I'm supposed to call after noon the Fri before to find out if I have to be there the following Mon morning. Then I'm on call for the following two weeks........the gal said I'm supposed to check in every day, and they try to call and give you 2 days notice before you have to appear. The courthouse is in downtown Orlando and I'd have to be there at 8:00 a.m. (if you knew the traffic around here, you'd know why that doesn't make me happy) but mostly it's the not knowing that I hate. How can you plan anything?!? I've received jury duty notifications in the mail before, but haven't had to appear for years (I would call as instructed and be informed that I wasn't needed)-- I think I was in college the last time and that was a smaller local court thing. Anybody done jury duty for federal court?
I called my doc's office and rescheduled the appt's....if I do get selected for jury duty I don't want to wait and cancel the appt's at the last minute,decided it would be easier to just reschedule now. As for the trip, we'll be going up to Alabama with a group of friends the week before, and I can call that Fri afternoon from there.......and if I have to report that Mon, we'll come home the day before. It's kind of like.......I don't mind doing the jury duty thing but I don't want to change everyone's plans and then not get selected. I guess I'm just supposed to put my life on hold for those 2 weeks? I'm such a planner, I HATE not knowing what my schedule's going to be.

Dear Cross,
Went through something similar a year ago. It wasn't for the Federal Court is was local, county stuff. But I called for a week and then they didn't need me after all. I hope I never get selected to decide on a life/death decision.
I'm a horrible judge of character. People I think are good are bad. Those I think are bad, are good. I pray I never get put on a jury. Good luck to you, Cross.
Ciao for now,
b. rose

Crosstitch, I did that last year for civil court. Thought of asking for an extension for the next term, yet wanted to get it over with. Reported and the judge followed script and interviewed all (about 40) and then let us all go b/c the "criminals" had all plead the previous week. Was paid $15 plus mileage and had to report on and pay taxes for that visit that took over 1/2 day!

I agree, its our civic duty, but it can sure be a pain in the keester!

Bonnierose, I can relate with you. I have quit trying to 'read' my customers. I never can figure what they are thinking. Most people are excellent actors.

On one hand I think it is quite an honour to be selected for Jury duty, but I can understand it being cumbersome. Let us know what happens Crossstich.

Ann, I have always thought there has to be a better way to schedule jury duty. Now that you've changed things around, I hope you get in on an interesting case.

The best way is NOT to judge the person sitting there at the defendants table. Try not to even look their way, try to remember that ugly or hagard looking does not mean guilty. Just judge the EVIDENCE presented. Listen closely, take notes and if need be ask to review the evidence once you are in the deliberation room. Take your time, do not let anyone bully you into their way of thinking and pay attention to the EVIDENCE if they even have any. That is what you are really judgeing...Have fun, I hate jury duty.

I got called several years ago for jury duty and it was a triple murder trial. My book was just being released so I had to explain to the judge how my publisher would take a bite out of the corner of her desk if I had to cancel all the promo dates that had been set up. He even asked for the title of my book! I really wanted to serve too but the timing was bad.

Chatty,
I'm sure what you say is true. These days, with DNA available, I don't think it's as easy to taint evidence as it once was. I hope I get through the nightmare I'm going through, before I have to report again. It's already been a full two years, since this thing with my friend surfaced.
I'm praying God lets the truth rise to the top and pubicly exposes the evildoers, SOON. I've been called a couple times for Jury Duty but had high numbers and was dismissed.
Thank God!!!
Ciao for now,
b. rose

Wanted to let you all know that I did get selected for jury duty and it turned out to be a very boring tax fraud case that was finished in court in 3 days. I had to report to the courthouse for the first time on Mon, in the morning the jury was selected and the trial started that afternoon, continued thru Tues, we heard closing arguements on Wed morning and reached our verdict Wed afternoon. It was a case of the United States vs. an individual that decided several years ago he did not have to pay income tax even though he was receiving a substantial income thru his employment plus other income. This person had done everything you could imagine over the past several years to stall this issue from coming to trial -- including firing his lawyer two weeks before the trial in the hopes that the judge would grant a continuance, which she refused to do. Also he felt that the court had no jurisdiction over him and even though he was doing his own defense at the trial, refused to speak a word in the courtroom as he felt this would be admitting that he fell under the court's jurisdiction. So even though the U.S. presented many witnesses (former employer, bank employees, IRS people) and went over mountains of documentation to prove their case, the defendant never cross-examined, which really sped things up.
Interesting group of people on the jury and that helped to pass the time whenever we were sent on a break. This was my first time actually serving on a jury (I've been called to jury duty before but never actually selected) and it was definitely a learning experience. I hope I never get selected for a lengthy trial..........just sitting there for most of 3 days was enough for me.
Even though we found this guy guilty, he won't get sentenced til Sept...........and of course he's going to file appeals......will probably never end up serving any jail time or paying his fines........kind of made me feel like what's the point, in this particular case, but who knows.

What a weirdo. People like that drive me nuts.

Yup, our tax dollars are wasted for things like that. So frustrating, but I guess that's our "system" and some people just know how to abuse it.

At least he didn't talk - you could have been there three times as long if he decided to cross examine everyone!

Kathy

Crossstich,your report was interesting. Never have been on a jury and never will be...they don't have that in Germany.

I don't think I'd be any good for jury duty. I'd probably analyse the crap out of a case and research it to death. Thanks for updating us.

Hannalore - I'm curious -- how do they handle it in Germany when someone is accused of a crime?

I'd be trying to figure out a way to write an article about it....probably during the trial.

Crossstitch, I was mistaken, they do have juries here. Only I'd never be called on because I'm an American. But there are differences. People volunteer here for jury duty. No one is just randomly picked out. These volunteers recieve their full missed salary. I don't know how that is in the US.
I think they only have juries for really complicated cases. Otherwise only the judge decides.

Don't know if this is always the case, but we got paid $40 per day, plus milage, tolls and parking. But you don't get it right away.......they mail it to you in 4 to 6 weeks.

There was an author on the jury. He told us during the time we were discussing and trying to reach our verdict that he had approached it in the same way he does when he figures a plot for one of his novels. At that point we didn't know why the defendant wasn't speaking up for himself or having his lawyer speak for him and the author came up with several good points during the discussion. (I looked for his book on Amazon.......it's called Dead Man's Hand and the author's last name was Goulding-- it's a murder mystery).

Dead man's hand. I know that. It's Aces and Eights in Poker. The story is from the wild west. The origin of the name, legend has it, is the five-card-draw hand held by Wild Bill Hickok at the time of his murder (August 2, 1876), which is accepted to have included the aces and eights of both of the black suits.

Hey, I'll check out that book.

Thought I'd report in and tell y'all that the check arrived paying me for my jury duty days and I got more than I expected............but I'm not complaining!!!

Count on chhick for card trivia. You go girl!

Crossstitch, glad to hear your money arrived. How are you going to spend it?

No special plans for the money. I guess basically it's already been spent......my husband was gone for a few days so I went shopping and picked up some new jeans, tops,bras, shoes.........then I flew up to Kentucky to join him at a fishing tournament and that alone pretty much took care of the amount I rec'd for jury duty!!

I know this topic is a little old, but timely. My husband has been called for jury duty, next week. Guess that won't be a problem for him as he lost his job last week. Crosstitch, I know the traffic in Orlando! I have a sister there that I visit very frequently. Is the quote "hate to wait on the 528" right, I remember hearing that alot down there. The traffic there can be a nightmare...and people in Jacksonville think it's bad, maybe a few hours out of the day, but it's always heavy in Orlando. I was just there this past weekend for some R&R with my sis, just me and the hubby.

Okay, I really came here to whine about something. It's August in Florida......
It is so hoooooot! I mean it's hair drooping, makeup melting, bra sticking to me hot! Someone said on the radio this morning, it's Africa hot. It's like Joe Scarborough said recently on his morning show, showing the weather map which was all red with red arrows showing the hot southwesterly winds, it's hot as h..., we're in he....you know. OK, I'm done now, just had to get that out of my system.

Hi Gerri! Do you know these? I added a few of my own at the bottom...Actually you could send some of that heat over here...we are having a nasty rainy spell.

• It's so hot the birds have to use potholders to pull worms out of the ground.

• It's hotter than two bears fighting in a forest fire.

• It's so hot I saw two trees fighting over a dog.

• It was so hot today I saw a dog chasing a cat and they were both walking.

• It's hotter than a firecracker lit at both ends.

• It's hotter than a $2 pistol on the Fourth of July.

• It's hotter than a June bride in a feather bed.

• It's hotter than high noon in Death Valley.

• It's hotter than a steel playground at noon.

• It is hot enough to cure tobacco.

• It's hotter than Paris Hilton's underpants.

• It's another one of those aluminum foil sweater days.

• It's so hot that it makes me want to take off my skin and sit in my bones.

• It's so hot that I could enter a wet t-shirt contest without getting soaked.

• Its so hot that my head has turned into a water fountain.

• It's so hot that my feet crave barbeque sauce when walking barefoot.

• It's so hot that my dog's tongue looks like bacon.

Wow, now thats something I would love to do. Hate Jury duty but Grand Jury sounds amazing and fun.

I always wondered how they picked people for a grand jury. Now I know. Sounds interesting!

Apparently not Anne, my sister got one a year or so ago ans she passed away in 1995. I wrote deceased on it in big red letters and sent it back. Our tax dollars in action, NOT!!!

When I started this thread my husband kinda thought it was amusing that I was going to have to serve jury duty......kind of like a glad it's you and not me attitude. Well guess what arrived in the mail for him yesterday -- a questionaire he's supposed to fill out which can put him on the list to be called for jury duty any time in the next two years. The form he got is totally different than what I got.........mine had definite dates (a 6 weeks period) during which I could be called. His is just a general questionaire but says you can be called anytime in the next two years. He's going to fill it out and mail it,but he's going to call first - he's in a wheelchair and the jury room (at the trial I was on the jury for, anyway) was not accessible and there's no way he'd be able to get around in it. He served jury duty locally a few years ago (here in our town, not in Orlando) and he called first and was told no problem, it was accessible.......then got selected for jury duty and they couldn't get him into the jury box and he had to sit in front of it seperate from all the other jurors.......not a big deal, but wouldn't you think they'd think of these things ahead of time?!?