Jury Duty

Farkel

Yep. I got called. The better side of my nature says, "I want to be judged by an impartial jury of my peers and not by some career Judge. I trust my fellow citizens to render a fair and impartial verdict for my past serial killing stuff. And I trust them to grant clemency since I haven't done that stuff in nearly two weeks. I'm a changed man. Besides that, I found JESUS! " (Jesus was lost before I found him, you know.) The selfish side of my nature says, "Hey, you are self--employed and recently, always broke, SCREW THEM and get your exemption, becuase you can get one since you are the sole support for your sorry ass and you are self-employed, you LOSER." I'm in a dilemma.

So I was all set to report tomorrow morning, but I checked the paperwork and went to the website and my jury "group" is supposed to check back on Tuesday AFTER 5:00 pm (which means another day to think things out), not Monday which is tomorrow in my little place on the planet.

I think about my options: Be a good boy and serve as required? Say you hate everyone who is under 6 feet tall, and/or who has blue eyes? Claim to be gay and say that any defendent who is not gay is obviously guilty? Say I cannot sit through a trial without consuming at the minimum, fifty beers during the trial and at the breaks? Shoot the Baliff and hope that will get me out of it? Claim insantity, or even worse, claim to be JS Elder?

Being a serial killer as I do, is tough work, but being a JW Elder is worse and more damaging work according to the victims who are willing to talk about it.

All that being said, I think I will do my jury duty as a good American Citizen(tm). I couldn't do it as a dub. I can do it now. Perhaps I will sit on a shoplifting case and nothing more. WAIT! This is Sacramento, California. They don't even prosecute anything less than Murder One here because of all the crime! Murder TWO is a fifty dollar fine, paid in installments.

What should I do?

Farkel

anewme

You know what Farkel? If I were on trial for my freedom I would certainly be grateful if your keen mind was on the jury team. So I vote you go.

zeroday

I'm up for Jury Duty next month in Federal Court. My employer pays me regular pay all the time I'm out I hope it lasts a month...

Warlock

So you bring your "what-me-worry" sorry ass here when you need help!!!????

Alright, I help you. If you report and you are not called the first day, you will be dismissed. That's what happened to me.

If you are called for the French name for picking a juror (voir dire), you can always tell them you believe in the Law, "eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth", you can tell them you feel that anyone who is going to trial MUST have done something wrong, or they wouldn't be on trial (which is what my daughter REALLY believes), or you can tell them the police are not honest and they could have set the defendant up, or you can tell them the prosecutor just wants a notch on their belt, hence they are interested in conviction, and not "truth".

You can think of all kinds of things to get you off, or you can serve honestly.

Warlock

franzy

no brainer.

just get back to the cereal killing.

it's way more fun.

WTWizard

Personally, it makes the most sense to cooperate with it. If you have a legitimate hardship, then be upfront with it. That way, you will not have to make up another story when the first one falls through. This also applies to cases where it's against your religion, but I don't think it's against the Watchtower Society (at least not since 1973--I have seen other Witlesses who had to sit in on jury duty during the 1990s. That could have changed again without my knowing, and certain hounder-hounders are still against it and make rules against it.)

If you do not have a legitimate hardship and wish not to go, what you do is go out of town and tell them ahead of time that you are going to be away. You will get a postponement, and there is a chance that your name will get lost in the paperwork. Be warned that this only works so many times before you have to show up. If you do show up and want to get out of sitting in on a trial, then being upfront and telling the judge that you don't think you could give them a fair trial is the best policy since, if you are then selected and flub up the trial, they will have a mistrial and have to do another one (and they do not like that).

If you get off work, I think jury duty can be a break. True, you are often wasting time waiting for your name to come up. But, you can read any book including apostate literature while waiting. You can do work on a laptop computer, but you usually have to check those in before going in the building. It is no worse than those a$$emblies that you had to sit through, plus it does not tie up a whole weekend (they are during the week). Often you get seated on a trial that lasts two or three days, since many are simple lawsuits that are going to settle themselves quickly. Then you might get lucky and get seated on The Trial of the Century: one that will open the floodgates of embarrassment for the Watchtower Society and bring their demise down on them. For sure, I would rather be on a jury to ruin the Watchtower Society than at one of their a$$emblies or out in field circus.

John Doe

How lucky are you to get called for jury duty! A lot of people never have the honor--being a front seat observer and active participant in the workings of our justice system. I'd love to be called!

DocBob

I was called to Federal Grand Jury duty a few years ago. It went on for 13 months, twice a month, one or two days per session. Being a grand jury we did not decide the guilt or innocence of the accused, but decided whether or not to indict the person. We did a lot of drug cases - I never knew what a problem crack cocaine was here in Maine - and a lot of felon in possession of firearms.

Fortunately, my employer paid me for the difference between the $40 a day that the Feds paid and my usual salary. It was, at the same time, very difficult and very rewarding. I went into it with low expectation, but came away with great respect for the way that the federal prosecutors do their job.

snowbird

I was sent a Federal Grand Jury qualifying questionnaire once. A lot of the questions had to do with my reading habits.

I mentioned that I ALWAYS read the Watchtower and Awake magazines plus numerous other publications of the WBTS - thinking to impress them, of course.

After I mailed in my completed questionnaire, I received notice that I was NOT selected. Wonder what made them reject me?

Sylvia

Blueblades

Farkel when the lawyers question you be forth-right. The lawyers decide who is accepted or rejected. I use to work in a law library so they rejected me. The second time I was called on a civil case invoving a fall I had a fall and hurt my leg, they rejected me. Both times I wanted the experience of sitting on a jury Perry Mason style. It was not to be. Go ahead you can use the experience and tell us all about it here on JWD after it's over.

Blueblades

Jury Duty

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