Dammit, Federal Jury Duty

I have been called for the local court twice. The first time I went I was not called in the first day and only had to check the phone message line the rest of the week. Never had to report that week.

The second time I was called in to the courtroom for the selection process in a drug case. When the judge introduced all the people involved and asked if any of us knew any of them, I raised my hand. The judge had me come up to the bench and asked who I knew. When I said that I had taught the arresting officer and the defense attorney in school he dismissed me. Never quite understood that since the two of them had been classmates all the way thru middle and high school.

In reply to Basil Exposition:

I think they still do it from voter registration/drivers licenses, just selected from all the counties that district court covers.

Hal wrote: I have been called for the local court twice. The first time I went I was not called in the first day and only had to check the phone message line the rest of the week. Never had to report that week. The second time I was called in to the courtroom for the selection process in a drug case. When the judge introduced all the people involved and asked if any of us knew any of them, I raised my hand. The judge had me come up to the bench and asked who I knew. When I said that I had taught the arresting officer and the defense attorney in school he dismissed me. Never quite understood that since the two of them had been classmates all the way thru middle and high school.

well, they would have been antagonists in that particular case (and with respect to their jobs, maybe antagonists in life) and you may have had a built in prejudice for or against one or the other

wbjones wrote:

Hal wrote: I have been called for the local court twice. The first time I went I was not called in the first day and only had to check the phone message line the rest of the week. Never had to report that week. The second time I was called in to the courtroom for the selection process in a drug case. When the judge introduced all the people involved and asked if any of us knew any of them, I raised my hand. The judge had me come up to the bench and asked who I knew. When I said that I had taught the arresting officer and the defense attorney in school he dismissed me. Never quite understood that since the two of them had been classmates all the way thru middle and high school.

well, they would have been antagonists in that particular case (and with respect to their jobs, maybe antagonists in life) and you may have had a built in prejudice for or against one or the other

On that case, Yes. But not in real life. They were good friends in school and neighbors today (one house apart, about 2 blocks from me).

Probably best I was dismissed because I would have sided with the prosecution because of my feelings about drugs.

3 days down, 2 to go, still haven't been told to go in.

I was called twice and made it into the court room once.

The only irritating part for me was how the locality I was called for treated us like we were subhuman. I guess they have to cater to the lowest common denominator but I haven't had to ask an authority figure to use the rest room in decades.

I was called in once about 15 years ago. One of my close friended from school was also called in. The prosecution nor the defense objected that we knew each other. It was a cut and dry DUI case, but the guy had a really slick defense attorney who confused most of the other jurors and convinced them that his character was on trial. 9 of the jurors voted for an acquittal, but I wouldn't back down and neither would my friend, whose father had routinely waltzed his way out of numerous DUI charges. I presented a much clearer case than the prosecution and an hour later I read the verdict before the court.

Several weeks later the judge saw me and told me he heard what happened in the juror's room. He went on to explain that the man that we convicted was a habitual offender whose license had been revoked and he had nearly killed someone in his last wreck, of course this was inadmissible in court. He thanked us for doing the right thing and told me that we probably saved a life by putting him in jail.