Served on a jury yesterday.

[BLUNT]

So about 3 Mts. ago I got a summons to report for possible jury duty. I am in sales so needless to say I was p!ssed- (100% commission). I live in Canton, MI which is in Wayne county and as people who live in wayne county can tell you if you get called to serve it is almost always in Detroit. I get there at 7:45 and sit in the jury pool room praying they dont call me. Well I get called in the first group to go up to the court room....Fu@k!!!!! We go up and sure enough out of the 28 of us in our group I get called to serve....Fu@k. Detroit has a 1 day or 1 trial system. Since I got picked I figured I'd make the best of it. I've got to tell you.......Not bad. With all the negative press our court system in America gets, I can say from experience that I saw it work and am impressed. I guess bottom line is don't hide from your civic duty. When you think of all the men and women in uniform laying their LIVES down to serve our country, this is the very least we can do to serve our fellow citizens. I learned alot and will not cringe the next time I get the oppertunity to serve.

[Beta Man]

bravo. More people need that kind of commitment, whether the cause seems miniscule or not.

[MATTYBLU2]

i have served 2 times now. last time i was on a great case and i actually got to use the lawyer (awesome lawyer) that was in the case a year or so later in a car accident case i had, agina he was awsome and won the case for me. thing is he only charged me $250 for the whole case

[SDon1969]

I was supposed to go last year on the day after Thanksgiving! Man, forget that, I postponed it (you can postpone for up to a year) until this September. It'll be my second time.

[sssick]

I get paid from my company so I wouldn't mind to go, but I'm 26 and have never been called. I've filled out the questionairs they send you but they never say I have to go there. Very odd.

[Ferris]

5 times in 7 years, I was summonsed... Never served. The last two times, I got picked to be on the jury, and as soon as we sit down to start the case, the judge sends us out for 20 minutes. Then, we go back in, and he says "Case has been settled." Weird...

[danay82]

I only been served once. Went at 8am and sat in the room. The lady came in and said it'll be alittle while. Noon came, she said go to lunch and be back by 12:45. Came back in, sat down. She came back in at 2:30 saying the case was settled and that we could leave.

Later I got a check for $12 bucks and a letter saying saying I have a 3 year grace period.


That was a fun and exciting day.

[WickyWoo]

I've been called 3 times, out at lunchtime 3 times

They'll never have me serve, my father was an insurance investigator and also worked personal injury

That and I know how to fill out the form so no lawyer in his right mind wants me on a jury (mind you, I don't lie, I just make sure they're aware of the potential extremes of my personality)

[silversnake]

i've been called twice and was only able to do it once since i live in Canada now. The first time i went was a pretty good experience. I went there looking like the youngest guy in the whole room , everyone thought i was much older but i was only 22. It was a good time and definitely felt like i had done something right

[dk3dknight]

While im not paid in commission my boss was happy to learn that he did not have to pay me for the day.

I was the last person called to be a replacement juror should the need arise for that day.

I was told I could not leave the building until released, I sat from the morning to late evening between the huge room that they put all 100's of people they called and in the snack room.

It was a interesting 12 hour day, they did not need any of the 30 or so replacement juror so at the end of the 12 hours they gave us our check for 6 dollars.

I realized that I paid more towards there coffee and snack machines then what they gave me but I really did not care, I had actually wished I had been selected, In High school I took 2 courses in criminal justice and I had a want and hope that I could serve as a juror to serve my country in that said fashion but it did not happen sadly.

A long day, I was tired but it was over, they specifically reminded us not to leave the courthouse until released for the day, since we could be called at any moment.

I have to say that was a good idea to get us to use there snack/deli/coffee machines and I hope that money helps funds the justice system further for that is best for all.

[crackinhedz]

"You can't handle the truth!"

[BLUNT]

Originally Posted by crackinhedz

"You can't handle the truth!"

Mr. BLUNT goes to Washington.

[Bigdog]

Originally Posted by BLUNT

So about 3 Mts. ago I got a summons to report for possible jury duty. I am in sales so needless to say I was p!ssed- (100% commission). I live in Canton, MI which is in Wayne county and as people who live in wayne county can tell you if you get called to serve it is almost always in Detroit. I get there at 7:45 and sit in the jury pool room praying they dont call me. Well I get called in the first group to go up to the court room....Fu@k!!!!! We go up and sure enough out of the 28 of us in our group I get called to serve....Fu@k. Detroit has a 1 day or 1 trial system. Since I got picked I figured I'd make the best of it. I've got to tell you.......Not bad. With all the negative press our court system in America gets, I can say from experience that I saw it work and am impressed. I guess bottom line is don't hide from your civic duty. When you think of all the men and women in uniform laying their LIVES down to serve our country, this is the very least we can do to serve our fellow citizens. I learned alot and will not cringe the next time I get the oppertunity to serve.

You got lucky, my last day with jury duty went a little something like this.. They hand out numbers and i happen to have number 149, yes i said 149!!!

So i get told to make way to the court room and look at the clock it is 9:15am, once i get to the court room they start calling numbers to serve on a murder 1 trial and i proceed to hear them call number 1! Looking down at my number of 3219843109438 i knew i was going to have a fun day of sitting in a dark court room on a nice summer day and wont even get my damn number called.

At about 3:15 and them being on #70 i asked if i could leave since they had no chance within the next hour to call my name and they proceeded to tell me i would have to serve again if i left, now I'm pissed because it's clear these slow retards will not call my number but they could careless and made me sit around for absolutely nothing!

Long story short, jury duty is a waste of time and the next time they pull my number which better not be for another decade, I'm telling them I'm racist and would not make a fair jury and get excused right off the bat!Freakin complete waste of time for me and my employer!

[dk3dknight]

Originally Posted by Bigdog

You got lucky, my last day with jury duty went a little something like this.. They hand out numbers and i happen to have number 149, yes i said 149!!!

So i get told to make way to the court room and look at the clock it is 9:15am, once i get to the court room they start calling numbers to serve on a murder 1 trial and i proceed to hear them call number 1! Looking down at my number of 3219843109438 i knew i was going to have a fun day of sitting in a dark court room on a nice summer day and wont even get my damn number called.

At about 3:15 and them being on #70 i asked if i could leave since they had no chance within the next hour to call my name and they proceeded to tell me i would have to serve again if i left, now I'm pissed because it's clear these slow retards will not call my number but they could careless and made me sit around for absolutely nothing!

Long story short, jury duty is a waste of time and the next time they pull my number which better not be for another decade, I'm telling them I'm racist and would not make a fair jury and get excused right off the bat!Freakin complete waste of time for me and my employer!

I see so your complaining because they wasted your time huh... well how about this just for you we will abolish the criminal justice system and hang who ever the police says they think did it, because justice is just too inconvenient for you and we would not want to waste your time, or your employers..

[Bigdog]

Originally Posted by dk3dknight

I see so your complaining because they wasted your time huh... well how about this just for you we will abolish the criminal justice system and hang who ever the police says they think did it, because justice is just too inconvenient for you and we would not want to waste your time, or your employers..

How about using common damn sense and realizing that they had no chance at all to get to my number or anyone around my number and do the right thing and let those people go for the day!

[dk3dknight]

You did read what I had said before that, that I also like you waited the full day, for I was picked as the last possible replacement juror and they kept me till 7pm and informed I could not leave the building.

It matters not because its a honor, for a chance even if its extremely unlikely to have that privilege the power I could feel there it was spiritual in a sense.

But i'm guessing I am still full of youthful optimism but I was honored to wait the whole day, hoping that something would happen and somehow that they would need me.

I apologize if my statement had too many needles in it, but I admit I cannot see the world as you see it, perhaps its my youthful perspective and perhaps one day I will think like that, but I hope not.

[Musashi]

Funny you should post this, I go in for possible selection later this month. I don't expect to serve a trial; I work in insurance pricing and I used to work for a lawyer. A work comp. lawyer in fact.

We'll see.

[BLUNT]

Originally Posted by Musashi

Funny you should post this, I go in for possible selection later this month. I don't expect to serve a trial; I work in insurance pricing and I used to work for a lawyer. A work comp. lawyer in fact.

We'll see.

It's funny. Until the moment I walked into the court room, I was trying to think of a way out of serving. Before the jury selection started the judge read from a red binder that he said all judges in Michigan read to potential jurors before a case is to start. The jist of what he read to us was; Only about 10% of the worlds governments give their citizens the oppertunity to be judged by their peers, not a military or political figure.
He read to us the history behind how jurys started in Roman times, through Europe (mostly England and France) right to today......It was a real eye opener. The court system really has a way of making you feel like a special part of the judicial system. That you as a citizen along with 11 others sit in non-sympathitic and non-prejudicial judgment of facts concerning a fellow Citizen. It made me wish I had persued law. Unfortunately I've only ever had the law persue me.......