jury duty question

I'm 34, and I've never been called for jury duty. Ever.

No complaints at all! Is that unusual, though?

 

I bet you've jinxed yourself!

I just got called for the first time this year (at 28). Paul has been called FOUR TIMES. He always sends a letter and gets out of it, but that (per the DA at my jury duty) keeps your name in the hat for the next three years. I went ahead to mine and was out by noon. The case was settled at the very last second. Now I cannot be recalled for three years, I think?

 

I have been called twice in the last 4 years and just recently got another jury questionaire, so I am guessing the 3rd time will be coming soon. My husband has never been called.

 

Neither DH nor I have ever been called either. My mom has been called several times as has his mom and sister. My dad, never. A few years ago my 86-year old aunt with dementia was called for jury duty. Of course, her daughter was able to get her excused but still.

 

I think I have been sent one once or twice but when I call I don't have to go in. My dh has also been sent the notice a few times and usually they tell him too that he is not needed. This last time he was called he did have to go in and got picked on the jury. It was almost two months of jury duty three days a week. He was unemployed at the time so it was no big deal for him but a lot of those people lost wages for that case since they got paid hourly and if they didn't show up to work they didn't get paid. I am expecting to be called this year or next year and my dh is hoping I have to go in for a case and get picked (oh I am 33 and dh is 35).

 

I've never been called, although I would like to do it. If you get called, don't try to get out of it. It's a big deal. Those trials mean an enormous amount to the litigants or criminal defendants and it's incredibly frustrating to watch your nice clients pay a half million in fees and years of sleepless nights to get stuck with a bunch of people who don't want to be there and can't be bothered to take their time to make a good decision. People deserve better, and you would want better if you were ever in that situation. Not that anyone here is suggesting doing that, but it frustrates me to hear about people trying to get out of jury duty.

 

I'm 32 and haven't been called.....DH is 39 and hasn't been called. I keep waiting for one of us to get called, though. I'm surprised because we've lived in the same place for 9 years. I'm sure now that I've said this, I'll get called!

 

I've been called twice. The first time I received the slip when I was 28 weeks pregnant and I was excused because I was already on bedrest. The second time was actually Obama's inauguration day and they just closed the courthouse for the day. So that counted as an attendance since I didn't try to get out of it, they cancelled on me. My husband has never been called.

 

I got called one time. I was registered in my 'hometown,' but lived elsewhere so I was waived! I don't know what I'd do if I was called since I am a SAHM.

 

The DA made this plea to those of us who came to jury selection. A shocking number of people still appealed to leave and were dismissed. If I were on trial, I wouldn't want them sitting in my jury.

I don't know if my boss would have paid me for an extended trial, but I intended to serve if selected. I agree that it is a very important part of our judicial process and I would have been proud to serve. To me it is honorable and necessary and vitally important.

 

I was called once.. It was for a child abuse case. I made it into the box, where the attorneys started questioning us. We broke for lunch, and I ran into a very distant cousin in the hallway of the courthouse. I just thought she was there for jury duty, too. We came back from lunch, and I noticed her sitting behind the defendant, talking to the attorney. That's when I realized it was her husband on trial. I disclosed that fact when they started questioning me, and I was excused.

 

I've been called a few times as has Tony - he's gone and been dismissed without being picked - I've actually been waived because of childcare issues - and then I've been called for the prior county I lived in but since we moved out of the county I didn't have to serve either...

 

I've been called 3 times and did serve on a jury once. It was *almost* a great experience- I've always wanted to be on jury duty and was soooo excited to get called. I got picked and settled in for a trial. It was a horrible case of a girl who was raped repeatedly. It was graphic. The hardest part for me was actually waiting until all the evidence was presented and making sure that we were convicting a man with enough proof. Overall it was interesting and I'd do it again. My only difficulty was 2 weeks later I discovered I was pregnant and was dismayed to think that I'd been sitting in that courthouse hearing those very graphic details and being upset for a week as I try to limit my exposure to upsetting things when I'm pregnant.

I would totally serve again, though, although it's completely inconvenient being a SAHM currently so far away from family who could help watch the boys.

FWIW- I completely agree with Rachael that people deserve a good, thoughtful jury when they are up on trial.

 

I was just called for the first time a year and a half ago. I wrote a letter and thankfully got out of it.

 

I've been getting them since I was 16. I would say I get one every three years or so. Dh and I both get them. We have never sat on a jury, we are always excused by 1pm. And I've done it as a sahm, my dh took the day off. If it happened during tax season, I would not be able to go though.

 

are you registered to vote? This could be your issue. I believe if you are not registered to vote you are not on the list to be called for jury duty. I could be wrong but for some reason this popped in my head when you shared that you have never been called.

 

Dh has been called 3-4 x and always been dismissed before trial- he would have been OK with sitting. They did pay him (a small amount- for gas??) and once he got a lunch allowance. His work was always nice about it all and he found it interesting. He is 33.


I got called once-- I was freshly post op from C-section and had babies in NICU. I got excused. Have not been called up since.( that was 5 yrs ago)- but would go if I was. I am 32.


I would second not 'trying' to get out of it. If you have a logical reason, fine. But to just try anything-- -not so much. Dh had a coworker that made all sorts of untrue statements to get out of sitting when he got called and that just made me MAD.

If you had family/friends/coworkers on trial- you would not want people that have nothing better to do, couldnt get a reason, tried to get excused and couldnt, or dont want to be there. You would your friend/family/coworker to have the nice mix of people that they try to get for a fair trial.

 

I'm pretty sure that is dependent on the state. I know in FL they added you to the jury pool if you received/renewed a driver's license, not if you were registered to vote.

 

I'm 41, have been a registered voter since the day I turned 18 and except for 2 years have lived in the same county since I was 18. I have never been called. I really want to have the opportunity to serve, or at the very least go through the process. I do get frustrated listening to people complain about being called, or even being selected to serve on a jury when I really want to and haven't been able to.

It's the same situation for my husband and he feels the same about all of it as me.

 

I've been called for jury duty 3 times (I am 34) twice when I called in per instructions my group was not needed.
This last time I was actually selected and served for a malpractice lawsuit. It was pretty interesting.
Although I was 7 months pregnant with the twins and it did get a bit uncomfortable at times.
It was funny because I was asked if I was about to give birth and I had to explain I was still a few months out.
Ha!!
I would gladly serve again anytime I am called.

 

I was pregnant with my triplets and had 1 year old twins when I was called once. I wrote that I was available to go but once I got there and they read my children's birth days and saw me I was let go.

My most recent calling was not all that long ago. I was ready to serve and sat with everyone for several hours only to hear they settled and we could all go home. I spoke with a few women there and a man and all said I should have tried to get out of it. I did not want to. I would really like the opportunity to serve on a jury.

 

I've only been called once, right after I got married and had moved. It was for the county I used to live in and since I was no longer a resident there they let me go.

I wouldn't mind doing it if I were called, but I can understand the stress of deciding whether or not to convict somebody.

 

I would love to be called but never have been. My mom hates getting called and has gotten called several times. She actually gets physically sick to her stomach when she has to call she is so nervous. Not really your ideal juror either. But I agree. Many people want to get out of jury duty because of the inconvenience of it.

 

I'm 35 and have only been called once (right after I got married so 12 years ago), which I ended up on the Grand Jury, which was kind of neat. I don't think it is unusual at all. I know a couple of people our age that has never been called, it's just the luck of the draw.My husband has only been called once in those 12 years as well and he got to serve on a double murder case that was pretty big news that happened in our little county (two people found burned to death in a vehicle in a secluded woods). He was asked every night if he wanted a police escort home because of the people involved (some kind of corn bread mafia group--no lie). It was scary!

 

I am not a register voter but have gotten the letter 2 times (I think) but never had to show.

This is what I am worried about. I get sick to my stomach also when I have to do things out of my comfort zone. It is horrible, just to make a phone call I have to go through what I am going to say several times and then breathe a little bit before making it. I even get anxious even though I know it's a recording.

Even though my dh had two months of jury duty he enjoyed it. He said he would've enjoyed it more if his dad didn't just have a stroke (that's what his case was about in the ER). So somethings came close to home for him but he thought the whole thing was interesting on how they do things and some of the Doctor testimonials we interesting too.

 

I've been called 3 times and am only 28. Unfortunately, I've never actually gotten to serve. I've always wanted to! Twice when I called the night before, they said I was no longer needed and the other time, I was called the week before I moved 3 states away. My theory is that I am called a lot because I move a lot. Not sure what adds you to the jury pool (registering to vote, driver's license renewal, etc), but you do all of them every time you move.

 

I've been called twice and I'm 22, but didn't get selected either time! I would love to actually serve on a jury! I think it would be difficult no matter the case, but I would feel like I was positively contributing to "the system".

 

I have been called several times. I have served once when I was like 20. I really thought it was so interesting. I have had to get out of it 3 times. Which I hated but all 3 times were just unavoidable.

 

I'm 36 and have never been called. Neither has Connie and I can't remember my parents ever going. No one I know though work has ever gone either.

 

That's because there's no crime in Canada (except Vancouver houligans.)

 

I've been called 3 times, but always when I had a small nursing baby. So it was always waived. I think it would be interesting, but I would hate it if it were for some graphic case. I have a friend who is a psychologist for the state and one of the things she does is to help jurors who are a little scarred after sitting through one of those really bad ones.

My dad just got called up for a Federal trial, which I thought was interesting. I never heard of that, but of course it makes sense that someone has to sit on those cases.

 

That's not true, we are just communists who don't believe in fair trials. Just send people out on ice floes instead, much simpler. :blbl:

Kris got called for jury duty last year. He didn't end up on the jury. I can't think of anyone else I know who has ever got called.

 

How you get picked does depend on where you live. In VA, it's up to each locality to decide for themselves. They used to do registered voters in my area, but they felt they didn't have enough of a pool to pull from, so they also added in registered drivers.

 

I would find it interesting. My hubby got called once when he was unemployed so he was waived due to that fact but then was told he had to serve again a year later, which he did and was picked. It was a minor case where they got to decide whether or not someone was creating a dangerous situation with fridges lining the sides of his driveway. Yep. I had a friend who served a murder case and out of the 12 jurors, he was convicted much to my friends' frustration. She was the only one who saw the 'good' side of him. She had gotten fired from a previous job of a jailer for having contact with prisoners.

 

I am 30, have been registered to vote (in my state, that's where they pull names from) since I was 18 and I've never been picked. I've always wanted to do it, but now it would be a major inconvenience simply because I don't live where I vote. Gotta love the military!

However, my husband was called last summer for jury duty in our home state's federal court. He's active duty and at the time was in career course in Quantico. It was the biggest pain in the you-know-what trying to get him out of it. I tried to handle it as much as I could, cause gee whiz, he was a little busy! And the jury duty office personnel was not very happy to deal with me over him. I had to send them copies of his orders to where we are currently stationed, plus orders for his career course, which was not easy or quick to get considering the red tape that confounds everything military related. I even had a lady tell me "He's only three hours away, he could still come." Yeah, cause I'm sure the Commandant of the Marine Corps will just let him make up his duties on the weekends, sure lady. Plus they kept sending all their correspondence to his address on record (his parents' house) after I repeatedly told them that he doesn't live there and it would expedite matters if they sent the papers to me. He ended up being excused, but it was just a pain in the arse and really stressful. These things never happen when he's home!! :lol:

My step-mom is one of those that gets called every 3 years like clock-work.