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Related: Culture Forums, Support ForumsI got a jury summons.
Last edited Thu Dec 12, 2024, 02:53 PM - Edit history (2)
I got it on October 26. I have not answered it. I have not even opened the envelope. A follow-up summons came in the mail two days ago, on Friday. I haven't opened it either. I am like the proverbial ostrich with its head stuck in the sand. I dread what's in those envelopes so much that I just cannot bring myself to open them.
Why do I dread jury service so much? Several reasons. This will be a long post because I want to explain thoroughly how I feel about this subject.
First is the pay. The judge gets $180 grand a year, with benefits. Some of the lawyers get hundreds of dollars an hour. The court reporter and bailiff get solid middle-class salaries, with benefits. What do the jurors get? Six dollars a day. Not six dollars an hour, which also would be a pathetically sub-standard wage, but six dollars a DAY. That "wage" is a profound insult. I want very badly to simply refuse to respond to the summons because I refuse to work for six dollars a day, but if I do that, will the judge cite me for contempt of court? If this happens, the contempt will be coming from the court and judge, because what could be more contemptuous than requiring somebody to work for six dollars a DAY under threat of legal penalties if you refuse? I claim autonomy over my body, over my time, and over the fruits of my labors. What jurors do in a courtroom is just as important as what the judge and lawyers and court reporter and bailiff do, so why aren't jurors paid a decent salary? I don't expect to get hundreds of dollars an hour like some of the lawyers do, but I do expect a reasonable wage, 150 percent of minimum wage, let's say. I think minimum wage here in Missouri is about $12 an hour, so I would expect $18 an hour. That would be a reasonable rate of pay for what amounts to a part-time temporary job. Please don't say "Jury duty is not a job, but a civic duty." It is a civic duty, but it is also a job, and they shouldn't be able to get away with paying chickenshit wages by just calling the job something else. While I'm sitting in that juror box for $6 a DAY and listening to that slick lawyer giving me his smarmy spiel in his $2,000 suit and perfect hair and being paid $450 an HOUR, my resentment of that pay differential will make me very much inclined not to believe a word he says. I suspect those rates were set way back when six dollars a day was a reasonable wage. How long ago was that? I RESENT being expected to do this job for $6 a DAY. I resent it BITTERLY.
Second is that oath they make you take. I would have no objection to the oath if it weren't for the last four words, "... so help you God". Those words SHOULD NOT be a part of that oath. What the hell do they even mean? Whose god is being invoked? Hindu? Muslim? Jewish? Catholic? Protestant? Old Testament? New Testament? And what role is that god being expected to play in those proceedings? Doesn't God give us all free will to decide for ourselves whether we're going to tell the truth? And didn't Jesus tell us to render unto Caesar that which is Caesar's, and unto God that which is God's? Those four words tacked unnecessarily onto the end of that oath are an attempt to render unto God that which is Caesar's. If I object to that oath because of those last four words, will I get cited for contempt because I refuse to take the oath? If they have an alternate oath they give to non-believers, I still will be calling attention to my religious beliefs by objecting and other people in the courtroom will start wondering if I'm an atheist or something. Some of them might even ask me about it. Which shows why those four words should not be a part of that oath. If I have to swear to that oath, I will resent it. I will resent it BITTERLY.
Third is having to get up so early in the morning. I AM NOT a day person. They will require jurors to be there at 8 a.m. Keeping those hours will make me MISERABLE. I never was able to get my parents to admit it, but I've always thought that I must be descended from vampires. Go to bed earlier and get up earlier? That won't work because I won't be able to sleep going to bed that early, and also just because it will just feel WRONG being in bed at 9 p.m. or being up before 8 a.m. I worked for 45 years for a morning newspaper (retired now), which means I worked nights, which was perfect for my night-owl disposition. If I have to go and sit in that jury box at 8 a.m. and stay there for several hours, I won't be able to stay awake, and it might even make me physically ill. And I will resent being forced to keep those hours.
Fourth is my awareness that judges and lawyers keep a lot of information away from juries. There was a case in February 2003 involving a man named Ed Rosenthal who was growing medicinal marijuana under the auspices of the Oakland, California, city government. He was convicted in a federal courthouse in Oakland, after the judge would not let Mr. Rosenthal's defense attorneys tell the jury why he was growing that marijuana, or that it was in cooperation with the city of Oakland. After Mr. Rosenthal was convicted, five members of the jury were very angry when they learned those facts that had been kept carefully hidden from them. Those jurors petitioned the judge to be able to change their verdict. They demonstrated at the courthouse and attended subsequent court appearances with Mr. Rosenthal, offering him support. I have heard of other cases in which jurors regretted their verdict when they learned after the trial of information that had been kept from them. I decided when I heard about Mr. Rosenthal's case, and other similar cases since then, that if I ever sit on a jury, I WILL NOT be in the position that those regretful jurors were in. So during the trial, I will be aware that there is information that is being kept from me, that I am not being allowed to consider or even to be aware of, and that that hidden information very likely will have an effect on the verdict I will render. And that uncertainty about that "known unknown" (to borrow a phrase from Donald Rumsfeld) will constitute a reasonable doubt in my mind. And that reasonable doubt will be a reason for me to render a verdict of "not guilty". I will, in fact, render a "not guilty" verdict in almost any trial in which I am a juror. There are a few exceptions. I would have convicted O.J. Simpson, for example. I would have convicted Kyle Rittenhouse. I would have convicted George Zimmerman. There was a guy in Wisconsin some years back whose defense at his rape trial was that the victim asked him to use a condom, and that constituted consent. I thought when I heard that lame excuse that if this is the best defense this guy can come up with, he really IS guilty. But in almost any case, I would be a really hard sell for any prosecutor. Defense attorneys would love to have me in their jury, but prosecutors would move heaven to keep me off the jury.
I'm not going to include a link to the Ed Rosenthal case, but if y'all want to read about it, Google Rosenthal Oakland marijuana trial and I'm sure it will come up.
For now, though, I'm really worried that some cops are going to show up at my door to haul me off to court to face a contempt citation because I haven't responded to those summonses, and I'm soliciting y'all's suggestions, especially from those of you who are lawyers or judges. Or have some other courtroom experience, because I have none.
-- Ron
Ocelot II
(121,473 posts)In my state it can be as much as $1,000. Better to show up and explain why you can't serve. You will almost certainly be excused; lawyers don't want jurors with your attitude toward the process.
Response to Jeebo (Original post)
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JoseBalow
(5,630 posts)Luciferous
(6,299 posts)Response to Luciferous (Reply #20)
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Luciferous
(6,299 posts)Response to Luciferous (Reply #22)
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Blues Heron
(6,228 posts)Response to Blues Heron (Reply #27)
ItsjustMe This message was self-deleted by its author.
You may not even be picked to sit on the jury , so
✌🏻
elleng
(136,833 posts)That's my strong preference.
Acknowledge that the cost to pay jurors is beyond the means of many if not most U.S. jurisdictions.
*A three-judge panel of the Ninth US Circuit Court of Appeals ruled yesterday to overturn three felony marijuana cultivation convictions for noted author and cannabis advocate Ed Rosenthal. Rosenthal was convicted in federal court in 2003 for growing cannabis for local medical dispensaries, but was sentenced to only one day in prison because Judge Charles Breyer determined that the defendant did not believe he was violating federal law. Rosenthal had been deputized by the City of Oakland to provide medicinal cannabis to state qualified patients.
The Ninth Circuit ruled 3-0 that Rosenthal should be granted a new trial because a juror contacted outside legal counsel during deliberations. Jurors were instructed to uphold federal law not state law in the case, and were not allowed to consider evidence that the marijuana grown by Rosenthal was for medicinal purposes. Although jurors found Rosenthal guilty, they later denounced their verdict, saying that they were deceived by government prosecutors as to the true nature of Rosenthals actions.
The US Attorneys office has not commented on whether they will appeal the Ninth Circuits ruling or retry Rosenthal.
The appeals court indicated that if Rosenthal is retried and again found guilty, they would likely let the one-day sentence stand, noting that they would not be inclined to disturb the courts reasoned analysis underlying its sentencing determination.'
https://norml.org/news/2006/04/27/ninth-circuit-overturns-rosenthal-conviction/
Welcome to the real world.
ProfessorGAC
(70,599 posts)...I recited no oath. The bailiff said it, and I said yes. I never actually had to say the words. Just agree to them.
elleng
(136,833 posts)Skittles
(160,304 posts)don't invite LEO to show up at your door, that is crazy
plead some kind of hardship to get out of jury duty
msongs
(70,275 posts)Skittles
(160,304 posts)have some imagination already!
Hope22
(3,101 posts)But I do understand your feelings regarding this request. More than likely responding sooner rather than later will save you some hardship. Its surreal that for four years we have had justice denied to the American people by a person who has no regard for the law and seemingly pays no price. I think it presents a psychological barrier to showing up and doing what they are demanding of us. Rip the bandage off and send the letter back. Do your best to wrap up the interaction. We still have the right to say that we dont feel like we can be an impartial jurist after what you have witnessed. My best to you with this. It will feel great to have this all behind you! Take care!
GReedDiamond
(5,379 posts)...I went to the courthouse, and told the judge that I could not absorb the financial hit an extended trial would cost me.
I also explained that my job was critical to everybody else's jobs at the factory, as they could not work without what I did to prepare each job for production. I explained that my absence could result in production stopping, idling the factory and causing additional harm to our clients if their jobs were delayed or cancelled.
The judge was not moved one bit, refused to dismiss me.
But when I stated that I had little faith in the police, because I had been beaten by the cops years earlier, I was practically thrown out of the courthouse.
More recently - maybe a couple of years ago - I received two jury notices, which I ignored. Upon receiving a third notice, I was informed that if I ignored that one, there would be a $1000 penalty.
The third one never arrived.
This New Year's Day, I will turn 70.
Apparently at 70 or older, you may serve if called, but do not have to if you don't want to.
Which I don't.
Also, it is my understanding that the court pulls potential juror's names from the Dept. of Motor Vehicle registrations, and since I no longer have a vehicle registered with the DMV, for several years now, that should mean that they cannot find my name there.
On Ed Rosentahl, back in the early 80s, I teamed up with Ed - who was known for publishing manuals on how to grow weed - to try and organize a cannabis rally in Venice CA.
We called it the "Festival of Life," and modeled it after the July 4th Yippie! smoke-ins that used to be held in Washington DC (I attended the one held on 7/4/1978, where I met Aron Kay, "The Pieman" ).
We were unable to get the permits we needed by the local authorities, so we ended up holding two rallies on the big lawn at the U.S. Federal Building on Wilshire Blvd. in Los Angeles, July 3-4 1982, which we were able to get the permits for after getting help from CMI (California Marijuana Initiative).
Basically, a bunch of bands played, and in-between the bands, there were speeches from pot activists, including the actor who played "Bud" on Father Knows Best, Billy Gray.
The bands included Black Flag and my band at the time, The Hundredth Monkey. I don't remember what the other bands were now.
Good Times!
Edited twice to remove the annoying smilie face that was not supposed to be there.
LoisB
(9,023 posts)JoseBalow
(5,630 posts)Tell them you could not be impartial because you are biased against law enforcement, and would vote not-guilty on principle regardless the evidence.
Excused.
Response to JoseBalow (Reply #11)
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JoseBalow
(5,630 posts)Response to JoseBalow (Reply #29)
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fierywoman
(8,131 posts)(which I made notes on all day long.) They didn't pick me.
RainCaster
(11,648 posts)Never been picked
PJMcK
(23,008 posts)So you reject the entire legal system.
Curious.
Or do you just not want to serve?
Response to PJMcK (Reply #19)
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RainCaster
(11,648 posts)I have direct experience with FBI lying to me, and prosecutors repeating those same lies. For me, it's very real.
PJMcK
(23,008 posts)Your experience must have been dangerous and traumatic.
In my reply, I was assuming the discussion was what would be said under oath in the courtroom. Obviously, people still lie.
Peace.
C Moon
(12,604 posts)The strange thing is that my wife got a notice, and then 2 days later, I got a notice.
Do they choose names in alphabetical order?
emulatorloo
(45,591 posts)Wonder Why
(4,718 posts)"Hang 'em high" festival.
PJMcK
(23,008 posts)Jury duty is an important part of citizenship. It is the bulwark of our legal system (such as it is).
If you dont want to serve, its your responsibility and duty to explain your reasons to the judge. Posting on DU doesnt mean a thing.
Ive served on four juries and Id do it again if called. It is the most affirming action a citizen can take, even more than voting.
Please reconsider your recalcitrance. If you dont want to serve they wont make you do it. But you have to respond or itll be your ass in the well of the court.
ProfessorGAC
(70,599 posts)Been summoned 4 times, served on one jury.
I didn't go for the pay!
I went because we all should do our piece.
10 Turtle Day
(510 posts)Pay is lousy, no doubt about it. Here we have to park downtown. We were paid more than $6, but after paying for parking there wasnt much money left. If its a financial hardship, they will let you off.
And I agree with the ridiculousness of swearing to a god I dont believe in. So the oath means nothing to me. But I would still give it my best effort because of the stakes.
A jury term here is 2 weeks. You may or may not get called to actually serve. Some counties here have you call in once a day and theyll tell you whether a jury is needed that day and if not you stay home. My county isnt one so you show up each day for two weeks and hang out. You meet a lot of interesting people from all walk of life. If they need a jury, they have maybe forty or so potential jurors go into the courtroom and then the prosecutor and defense attorney start weeding them out to get down to 12 and maybe some alternates.
I found the whole process fascinating. On the morning of the first day, one of the judges came into the jury room to talk to us. Tell us how important we are to the process and how appreciative of us and our time they are. Answered questions. They are very respectful and treat you like you are a rock star. They are concerned for your comfort. In the jury pool room they have games, books, newspapers, and puzzles to pass the time. A lot of cases may be slated for a jury trial each day, but are postponed, the defendant takes a plea deal, or the case is tossed on some technicality. So some days wed be released early. Once youre picked to be on a juror on a trial, your time is determined by the judge. It may go well beyond 5 pm for whatever reason. There are a lot of breaks because they dont want us to hear potentially thorny issues so were in the jury room hanging out. Or the judge is trying to cram in other cases that just need a trial date or a plea or something quick and the judge wants to clear his/her docket each day. We called it court time vs. real time. A 15 minute break in court time could in reality be two hours real time.
Jury duty is part of our civic duty to live in a civil society vs. having mobs with torches and pitchforks screaming string em up.
Jeebo
(2,315 posts)When that judge told y'all that your service was important and appreciated, I would have laughed and responded that the ridiculous pay profoundly DISRESPECTED what we were doing. What could possibly be more insulting and disrespectful than paying y'all next to nothing when that judge was getting $180 grand a year, and some of those lawyers were getting hundreds of dollars an hour, and the court reporter and bailiff were getting solid middle-class salaries and benefits? How could anything be more disrespectful than that?
-- Ron
Elessar Zappa
(16,077 posts)Your reasons arent an excuse.
MichMan
(13,553 posts)Kali
(55,876 posts)and it is highly unlikely you would be chosen.
Beachnutt
(8,178 posts)as the elected president just got away with treason, 34 counts of fraud and pardoning insurrectionist who shit in the halls of congress.
And you have no faith in the American justice system therefore the accused is innocent.
FSogol
(46,726 posts)That's a big part of the problems in this country, but the right wingers in the country are usually the better example of this.
PS. Your excuses are extra lame.
Easterncedar
(3,647 posts)Go in. Of course its best if we all step up to support the legal system, such as it is, but if you cant be an honest, engaged juror, or cant afford the time, talk your way out of it.
Ignoring the summons can bring you big trouble you dont need. I strongly advise you to deal with it before you get hit with fines or worse.
nuxvomica
(13,011 posts)I filled it out immediately. A short while later, I got the summons. I had to check a website or call a number the Friday before the Monday I was to appear. The trial was cancelled (they often are) and I won't be called again for 6 years. I've been through this three times before and only the first time did I actually have to show at the courthouse, decades ago. I was picked for the jury but was rejected during voir dire because the case involved child abuse and I was asked if I knew anyone who had experienced abuse as a child. Seriously, who hasn't? I was glad I didn't have to hear the evidence because it was a case of horrible sexual abuse of a young child but it was also a landmark decision because the perp was successfully convicted of kidnapping, among other charges, even though he allowed the victim to attend school every day. I felt enormous respect for that jury in returning that verdict.
So I say, go along with it. You are not likely to actually have to serve but if you do, maybe you will be part of something bigger, either keeping a monster off the streets or freeing an innocent person. There are so few opportunities to bring justice in this world and while the whole system is shabby and imperfect, you should give it a chance.
Midnight Writer
(23,126 posts)They expect us to do it for free to put someone into a position in which they may be paid more than I make.
And politicians lie all the time to get into office.
Plus, my voting location is nearly 3 miles away from my home, and sometimes I have to wait in line for this "privilege". I don't have time for this shit.
Also, the candidates we are offered as choices will, if elected, regardless of party or ideology, keep secrets. They won't release classified material and when they make a speech, they often only present one side of the issue.
I voted once, and my candidate won, but then they didn't get everything accomplished that I had hoped they would, so fuck them all. No one will ever get my vote again.
So I don't vote. It's not as if it will do me any good.
sinkingfeeling
(53,247 posts)Ocelot II
(121,473 posts)In fact, it's a pretty deft comparison of voting to jury duty.
Kaleva
(38,541 posts)Response to Midnight Writer (Reply #38)
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yardwork
(64,735 posts)Skittles
(160,304 posts)you are one heck of a writer
10 Turtle Day
(510 posts)Your post and your user name, Midnight Writer, tells me you are good at your craft.
doesn't arrive certified.
Response to Jeebo (Original post)
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Dulcinea
(7,603 posts)In most states there are penalties for not answering or not showing up. I understand your reticence on this, but you may not be chosen anyway. Of course, you may be tired or sick on selection day.
Jeebo
(2,315 posts)Paraphrasing what y'all said, some of you said that jury duty is a noble civic duty and that I should do it and not resent it because it is an exercise in participatory democracy and an interesting and educational lifetime experience. One of you remarked that the judge actually came into the jury room and talked to the prospective jurors about how much what they were doing was valued and appreciated. I laughed when I read that. If jury duty is appreciated, why aren't they paid decently for it? How can that pathetic level of pay show any kind of appreciation for jurors' service? In fact, I can't think of anything that more profoundly DISRESPECTS what they do.
That said, I do often think that it is something I should not resent, that it is a civic duty and will be an interesting life experience that I should have some time in my life, and that it is the one time when you have the power and you should appreciate the opportunity to wield that power ... I have all kinds of thoughts like that, and then, moments later, I think about that ridiculous, profoundly insulting pay of SIX DOLLARS A DAY, and those last four words in that oath, and how thoroughly MISERABLE having to be a day person will be for me, and the relevant facts that were kept from the jurors in Ed Rosenthal's case, I think about all of that, and steam starts rising off the top of my head again. No, if I have to do it, I will resent it BITTERLY. But I suppose I'll have to anyway ...
So, today, I'm going to open those envelopes, fill out and sign the forms, and mail them in. But I'm going to hold my nose while I do that, and I'm also going to print out the original post in this thread and include it in the envelope.
-- Ron
Prairie_Seagull
(3,817 posts)in getting your 'want' met.
hunter
(39,056 posts)They used to call me up, ask me a few questions which I'd answer truthfully, and then they'd send me home.
Now they just send me home.
I don't let this bother me and it's a fun excuse to go shopping downtown, knowing I've done my duty.
coprolite
(312 posts)even if you don't want to get up early, get paid insignificant sums, take an oath you dont agree with, or drive long miles in the snow and dark.
I recieved a summons last year and was selected to serve on the jury. I did it because I was asked by my state to participate in being a productive member of society and to judge fellow citizens based on the facts.
It is difficult to sit and listen to horrible actions taken by people, it's terrible to imagine you could be breaking up a family, sending the bread winner to jail. A child could be without a parent for a significant time. You question yourself if you are making the right or wrong decision and it makes you uncomfortable.
I do know that 100 people were summoned for that trial and 30 showed up. We were further told by the judge that those seventy that didn't show would recieve a visit from the county sheriff and questioned about their lack of attendance.
Many were dismissed because of conflicts with work or vacation, some were dismissed because of recent prior jury duty, and others because of their relationship with officers, defendants, lawyers or professional background.
I have responded to a number of summons over the years and been selected to serve on three cases, one of which was dismissed before trial.
Go and stand proudly as an American citizen when you are asked to do jury duty.
Skittles
(160,304 posts)it's how our justice system works
soldierant
(8,003 posts)Nothing for travel, but if you live more than 50 miles from the courthouse and choose to stay in a hotel rather than commute, they'll pay for the hotel.
But Colorado is a blue state, and Missouri a red one.
jimfields33
(19,314 posts)The 6 bucks a day.
ProfessorGAC
(70,599 posts)I only served on one jury, but I was retired. So I got the small remuneration. It was 4 days, but I don't remember what I received.
The other 3 times I got summoned & had to appear, I didn't end up on a jury. But, I never saw the stipend. I assume the company got it.
One extra thing we got, is that there is a separate juror lot near the courthouse & they gave each of us a mirror hanger to put up when in the lot. So, we paid nothing for parking.
Think. Again.
(19,041 posts)Kaleva
(38,541 posts)Some may want to reap the benefits of living in a democracy but leave the work for others
Hope22
(3,101 posts)Stress and anxiety show no boundaries. People give back in many ways. Its OK to speak up if the job is not for them. No judgements necessary.
MiHale
(10,891 posts)Ive been atheist my entire adult life. I took the oath and ended it with..so help me, something I dont believe in.
Hovered over the bible..never touching it.
Asked to please leave.
XanaDUer2
(14,602 posts)Had a horrible JD exp yrs ago.
beaglelover
(4,111 posts)With the recent outcomes of our judicial system, I doubt I'll ever respond to a jury summons again.
ForgedCrank
(2,381 posts)isn't a job, it's a duty as a citizen. Court employees and lawyers get called too do jury duty with the same guidelines.
If everyone viewed it like you do, our legal system would collapse, and we would be dependent on appointed judges making all decisions.
Few people enjoy jury duty, but we do it anyway because of the the "duty" part.
And yes, you could end up getting a warrant issued and being charged for ignoring it. says it all right on the letter you refused to read.
Jeebo
(2,315 posts)It's a civic duty, but it's also a job. Calling it something else is one of the ways they can get away with not paying jurors a decent wage for doing that job. I said that in my original post. I guess you missed it.
-- Ron
were a job, they would be required to pay you at least minimum wage and issue you a W2. It's not a job.
But hey, you do you. Let us know how that works out for ya.
Jeebo
(2,315 posts)It's something you do with your mind, your body and your time, to accomplish an objective. That could even serve as a definition of the word "job". They get away with NOT paying minimum wage or issuing W2s by attaching a different label to the activity, by just calling it something else. They should not be allowed to get away with that. But now we're arguing about semantics. Those other people in the courtroom, the judge, the lawyers, the court reporter, the bailiff, are all cooperating along with the jurors to accomplish the same objective. Why can't you understand that I resent being paid $6 a DAY for doing different components of the same job that some of those lawyers get paid hundreds of dollars per HOUR for? That compensation differential is obscene, I tell you. And I resent the hell out of that. Please try to understand that. I have to go to Kinko's now to print the original post in this thread. My printer toner cartridges are out of ink.
-- Ron
ForgedCrank
(2,381 posts)Tell it to the judge.
Good luck