Jury Duty :(

[DarrenM]

12 hours ago, PurpleHays said:

I've been called once, for a two week trial. I was one of three nurses picked. Work paid for the first week, the second came out of my PTO bank. I think they only pay for a week because the docs can always get off.

 

It was an educational experience. I learned a lot, but have no desire to repeat it. DH, on the other hand, is dying to get called, but he's retired and has all the time in the world.

Sorry I may have understood here, but are you saying you had to do jury service and cost you money to do so?

 

Just out of curiosity, what would happen if you ended up on one of those crazy trials that last months? I would expect that your job would be protected and that you wouldnt lose a penny of pay. Is that not the case?

[navybankerteacher]

2 minutes ago, DarrenM said:

Sorry but it is forced. We have all been conditioned to just accept these things but it is most definitely forced.

 

Yes you can defer it, but you cant decline it. So its forced.

 

I have done it in The UK and had to swear on the bible. Which was also weird as I not religious in any way.

 

We have some very strange laws/rules when you think about it.

An essential aspect of civilized existence is civic duty.  When the early homo erecti left their individual caves and formed groups, one trade-off was the ceding of perfect individual freedom for the comfort of community support.  You cannot expect community support when you need it  if you do not willingly support the community when it needs you.

 

Perhaps we need more individual caves —-  for folks who do not want to “play well with others”. (Actually we have them - called prison cells for extreme cases.)

[Mangrove Snapper]

13 hours ago, Charles4515 said:

Sitting around while they choose from the pool the two times, the voir dire was boring part. The second time I thought my answer would keep me off but nope, that didn't work . It was in the days before smartphones. I did have a paperback to read. 

 

I was called to Federal jury duty a few years ago and you weren't allowed to have your phones while in the courtroom so bringing physical reading material is probably a great idea even today.   

[Charles4515]

51 minutes ago, DarrenM said:

Sorry I may have understood here, but are you saying you had to do jury service and cost you money to do so?

 

Just out of curiosity, what would happen if you ended up on one of those crazy trials that last months? I would expect that your job would be protected and that you wouldnt lose a penny of pay. Is that not the case?

You can be excused for economic reasons. Also because you are a caretaker. When I was working my employer paid me the days I was on jury duty. There was no limit. That possibly is not the case with every employer. It may depend on the state or county law. 
 

We were given a small stipend per day on the jury duties I reported to which was worded such a way it paid for lunch. If it had been pay I would have had to compensate my employer who was paying me. 

Edited March 1 by Charles4515

[Charles4515]

26 minutes ago, Mangrove Snapper said:

 

I was called to Federal jury duty a few years ago and you weren't allowed to have your phones while in the courtroom so bringing physical reading material is probably a great idea even today.   

The courthouse FAQ mentioned free WiF. I would guess the phone would  have to be off in courtrooms but not in the waiting area. The FAQ did not say no phones. It also had a dress code. 

[GeezerCouple]

58 minutes ago, DarrenM said:

Sorry but it is forced. We have all been conditioned to just accept these things but it is most definitely forced.

 

Yes you can defer it, but you cant decline it. So its forced.

 

I have done it in The UK and had to swear on the bible. Which was also weird as I not religious in any way.

 

We have some very strange laws/rules when you think about it.

 

Uh, right.

... just like the Police and Fire Departments are "forced' and we have been  "conditioned to just accept" these things.

Also, ambulance service, roads, coast guard.  Yep, "forced on us".  And YES, we've been "conditioned" to "accept" the police, fire, etc.... when needed...

😡

 

GC

[Charles4515]

47 minutes ago, navybankerteacher said:

An essential aspect of civilized existence is civic duty.  When the early homo erecti left their individual caves and formed groups, one trade-off was the ceding of perfect individual freedom for the comfort of community support.  You cannot expect community support when you need it  if you do not willingly support the community when it needs you.

 

Perhaps we need more individual caves —-  for folks who do not want to “play well with others”. (Actually we have them - called prison cells for extreme cases.)

I consider it a civic duty but also the right to a jury of one’s peers is a democratic right we have in the USA. So to me it is also support of  democracy.  

[Charles4515]

1 hour ago, DarrenM said:

I have done it in The UK and had to swear on the bible. Which was also weird as I not religious in any way.

If I recall correctly we did have to swear to tell the truth but I don’t recall a bible. 

[navybankerteacher]

59 minutes ago, Charles4515 said:

I consider it a civic duty but also the right to a jury of one’s peers is a democratic right we have in the USA. So to me it is also support of  democracy.  

Some folks are happy to accept the benefits of organized society without feeling an obligation to co-operate in providing those benefits to others.

[sparks1093]

2 hours ago, DarrenM said:

Sorry but it is forced. We have all been conditioned to just accept these things but it is most definitely forced.

 

Yes you can defer it, but you cant decline it. So its forced.

 

I have done it in The UK and had to swear on the bible. Which was also weird as I not religious in any way.

 

We have some very strange laws/rules when you think about it.

Living in a society means that we have laws and sometimes force needs to be used to enforce them. In my state the force applied for not answering a jury duty summons is a fine of up to $200.

[hallux]

On 2/28/2024 at 1:21 PM, mamafun said:

I have been eligible for jury duty for over 30 years.  I have never received a summons.

 

In (doing some math) 26 years of eligibility I haven't been called either.  

 

On 2/28/2024 at 2:39 PM, leaveitallbehind said:

Kind of odd in away in that you would think they would be the more older and wiser of the pool....

 

Except they're more susceptible to blood clotting or other issues that arise from sitting in one place too long. 

[leaveitallbehind]

1 minute ago, hallux said:

Except they're more susceptible to blood clotting or other issues that arise from sitting in one place too long. 

Yeah I can see that would be a huge concern and must be the primary reason why they can opt to be exempt! 🤪

[DarrenM]

5 hours ago, sparks1093 said:

Living in a society means that we have laws and sometimes force needs to be used to enforce them. In my state the force applied for not answering a jury duty summons is a fine of up to $200.

If you live somewhere that uses force to implement littlenthings like attending jury service, you are very close to living in a police state. 

 

I reiterate what I said previously.

 

I have suffered having to do  jury service, and no issue with it. Just the enforcing of it as a duty.

 

Imagine being tried for something and the jury was full of people who let's just say, like the colour orange.

 

Would you get a sensible fair trial?

 

I doubt it.

 

And would you want me on the jury if I had been forced to.miss a cruise? 😉

 

 

 

 

[GeezerCouple]

6 minutes ago, DarrenM said:

If you live somewhere that uses force to implement littlenthings like attending jury service, you are very close to living in a police state. 

 

I reiterate what I said previously.

 

I have suffered having to do  jury service, and no issue with it. Just the enforcing of it as a duty.

 

Imagine being tried for something and the jury was full of people who let's just say, like the colour orange.

 

Would you get a sensible fair trial?

 

I doubt it.

 

And would you want me on the jury if I had been forced to.miss a cruise? 😉

 

I guess if you don't like the civic responsibility that goes along with, well, civilization, you could try to find an island someplace and live like "Lord of the Flies" with some other similarly-minded people.

GC

[DarrenM]

Just out of interest.

 

Here's a scenario for you.

 

Hypothetical situation.( nearly really happened to.me)

 

I get called for jury service. Its a 2 week punishment in the UK.

 

After the 2nd Friday, I am due to go on a cruise the following Monday

 

When I did it the trial lasted till the Friday of the 2nd week. We couldn't come to a unanimous decision. The judge told us we had 45 minutes to come to a decision or we would be put into a hotel and forced back the following Monday.

 

This would have meant I missed my cruise.

 

Would i be recompensed? If the trial had gone into a third week?

 

Just curious.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[DarrenM]

Just now, GeezerCouple said:

 

I guess if you don't like the civic responsibility that goes along with, well, civilization, you could try to find an island someplace and live like "Lord of the Flies" with some other similarly-minded people.

GC

I have explained 3 times now that I have done Jury service and have no issue with it.

 

So not sure what you mean by your post.

 

There are many people that would volunteer for it. And many people that should be nowhere near a jury.

 

 

[Charles4515]

8 minutes ago, DarrenM said:

This would have meant I missed my cruise.

I buy travel insurance that covers jury duty. 

[DarrenM]

32 minutes ago, Charles4515 said:

I buy travel insurance that covers jury duty. 

Interesting.

 

Of all the things I could miss a cruise for I never had jury service on the list, until this thread.

[DarrenM]

34 minutes ago, Charles4515 said:

I buy travel insurance that covers jury duty. 

Although missing a holiday for this seems extreme. Especially as most have said it can just be moved.

 

So why would an insurer cover you for this?

 

 

[Charles4515]

2 hours ago, DarrenM said:

Although missing a holiday for this seems extreme. Especially as most have said it can just be moved.

 

So why would an insurer cover you for this?

 

 

I don’t know but insurance covers a lot of things. That is why it is insurance. They probably don’t have to cover jury duty very often but it could happen. Insurance also covers military duty. 

[sparks1093]

12 hours ago, DarrenM said:

If you live somewhere that uses force to implement littlenthings like attending jury service, you are very close to living in a police state. 

 

I reiterate what I said previously.

 

I have suffered having to do  jury service, and no issue with it. Just the enforcing of it as a duty.

 

Imagine being tried for something and the jury was full of people who let's just say, like the colour orange.

 

Would you get a sensible fair trial?

 

I doubt it.

 

And would you want me on the jury if I had been forced to.miss a cruise? 😉

 

 

 

 

Not sure how things are where you are, but there are laws about many other little things that we are expected to adhere to and if we don't they can be enforced (keeping our property presentable, obeying traffic rules, meeting vehicle inspection requirements, properly disposing of our trash the approved way, etc. etc.). It's the little things that count in society and we are all expected to comply. In a police state they throw you hindend in jail for non-compliance. Here, you may face a fine IF someone in authority decides to make an issue of it. Since I comply with the law I don't have to worry about whether you are on my jury or not. 😉 

[sparks1093]

12 hours ago, DarrenM said:

And many people that should be nowhere near a jury.

 

 

That's why we have voire dire, where the attorneys question each potential juror prior to trial to determine their fitness. I don't think anyone would claim that the jury system is a perfect one, too many examples of the flaws out there, but it is the best system we have. (As for the insurance angle, I've never even looked to see if jury service is a covered thing.) I know that in the two times I was called we were asked if we had any things coming up that would possibly interfere with a long trial, so the courts do take that into account. (And I wouldn't be surprised at all that somewhere someone was convicted because juror number 7 had a trip coming up and they only voted guilty so they could get end the process early and make their trip.)

[sparks1093]

Just looked and jury service is a reason for trip cancellation that may be covered under certain circumstances.

[ontheweb]

36 minutes ago, sparks1093 said:

Just looked and jury service is a reason for trip cancellation that may be covered under certain circumstances.

Thank you, but can that statement be made for all travel insurance policies, or just the one you checked? Maybe this is a better question for the insurance forum on these boards.

 

I have now posted the question there. We shall see if there are answers.

Edited March 2 by ontheweb
added second paragraph

[sparks1093]

58 minutes ago, ontheweb said:

Thank you, but can that statement be made for all travel insurance policies, or just the one you checked? Maybe this is a better question for the insurance forum on these boards.

 

I have now posted the question there. We shall see if there are answers.

That's exactly why I used "may", since I didn't check every single policy (and I'm not sure that is really possible). I only checked 2, both at the lower cost end of the spectrum. (I also added "under certain circumstances" because one of the policies specified it happening within a certain number of days and the other one didn't, but each policy could be different in what conditions apply.)

Edited March 2 by sparks1093