Jury Duty questions

[yoda291]

Oy,

I completely forgot I postponed jury duty until today and I really am not feeling up for it. I know I have to be there at like 815AM and I have at least another 4-5 hours of work left to do and really I'm just under entirely too stressed to deal with something like this.

Questions considering I've never been:

How long is this thing going to run me? An hour or so?
Is it possible for me to sign something and leave?
What kind of penalty could I expect for not showing?
What is and is not a legitimate reason for leaving jury duty and, if I have one, when should I bring that up?
Is there anything I need to do that would require like conscious thought on my part because I will likely be tired.

oh, and b4 y'all tell me to google stuff, I asked about certain things I found online on my original date and the courthouse essentially told me I was wrong. For instance, apparently, Bergen county will not let you off on your jury duty date for illness, but they will postpone it unless you are terminal and you can only postpone your date once.

 

[Ryan]

Stop being a little bitch about it. If you don't intend on going, please go down to your local Voter Registration office and ask to be unregistered.

 

[yoda291]

Originally posted by: rbloedow
Stop being a little bitch about it.

bite me dirtbag

 

[Ryan]

Originally posted by: yoda291

Originally posted by: rbloedow
Stop being a little bitch about it.

bite me dirtbag

Yes, me, the dirtbag, who will fulfill the obligations I have as a US citizen. Jesus dude, look at all this country does for you - and all it asks in return is that you pay some taxes and serve jury duty.

 

[Conky]

Did they notify you by certified mail? You could always claim you never received the summons.

And the quickest way out of jury duty is to say something to the effect of "if he was charged then he must be guilty" or "he looks guilty". Dismissal will be quick.

 

[helpme]

In CA you can report up to 2 weeks before or after the date if it's more convenient for you.

Plan to be there for the whole time if you are unlucky, perhaps a short time if are lucky and get dismissed by a judge.

 

[IGBT]

..the few times I've done it..it was an all day affair..sometimes 2 weeks. Real pain in the arse sitting around with all that humanity..then marching off to court to listen to all the sob stories about why people can't serve. I've never gotten out with less then a day of sitting around.

 

[jadinolf]

I had a jury summons last month. 250 potential jurors sat on their cans for the entire day and no one got called.

It is close to impossible to get out of jury duty in my county.

 

[OverVolt]

42

 

[thawolfman]

Originally posted by: rbloedow
Stop being a little bitch about it. If you don't intend on going, please go down to your local Voter Registration office and ask to be unregistered.

Does that really get you out of Jury Duty?

 

[gwlam12]

Originally posted by: thawolfman

Originally posted by: rbloedow
Stop being a little bitch about it. If you don't intend on going, please go down to your local Voter Registration office and ask to be unregistered.

Does that really get you out of Jury Duty?

here in CA, if you have a drivers license, then you qualify for jury duty as well.

 

[Ryan]

Originally posted by: thawolfman

Originally posted by: rbloedow
Stop being a little bitch about it. If you don't intend on going, please go down to your local Voter Registration office and ask to be unregistered.

Does that really get you out of Jury Duty?

In most states, the selection of names is pulled directly from voter registration lists. Basically, if you want to vote, in return you do jury duty.

 

[thawolfman]

Bah, nevermind~

12. How was I selected?

* Your name was chosen at random from lists obtained from the Department of Motor Vehicles, Department of Revenue Services, Department of Labor and the Registrars of Voters for the state?s 169 towns.
* Names are randomly chosen every year. Every year your name has an equal chance of being selected and you could receive a jury summons every year. There are no permanent records of disqualification or hardship excuses granted, so you must ask to be disqualified each time you receive a summons.

 

[Lady In Red]

I was on jury duty a few months ago. They said they pull names from voter registration & DMV. Either way they got ya!

I made a big $12 a day for 4 days. It really wasn't that bad.

 

[yoda291]

Originally posted by: thawolfman
Bah, nevermind~

12. How was I selected?

* Your name was chosen at random from lists obtained from the Department of Motor Vehicles, Department of Revenue Services, Department of Labor and the Registrars of Voters for the state?s 169 towns.
* Names are randomly chosen every year. Every year your name has an equal chance of being selected and you could receive a jury summons every year. There are no permanent records of disqualification or hardship excuses granted, so you must ask to be disqualified each time you receive a summons.

In New Jersey, the lists are pulled from the DMV records as well. Friends of my parents have been called to jury duty, yet never registering to vote.

Is anyone here from New Jersey know if you can specify a time duration or like a case-type to qualify for. I can manage the selection process and a trial for a day or so without too much harm, but it is impossible for me to be called away for an extended period of time.

 

[KLin]

Originally posted by: yoda291

Originally posted by: thawolfman
Bah, nevermind~

12. How was I selected?

* Your name was chosen at random from lists obtained from the Department of Motor Vehicles, Department of Revenue Services, Department of Labor and the Registrars of Voters for the state?s 169 towns.
* Names are randomly chosen every year. Every year your name has an equal chance of being selected and you could receive a jury summons every year. There are no permanent records of disqualification or hardship excuses granted, so you must ask to be disqualified each time you receive a summons.

In New Jersey, the lists are pulled from the DMV records as well. Friends of my parents have been called to jury duty, yet never registering to vote.

Is anyone here from New Jersey know if you can specify a time duration or like a case-type to qualify for. I can manage the selection process and a trial for a day or so without too much harm, but it is impossible for me to be called away for an extended period of time.

Good luck if you get called to a jury. The judge is not going to accept "I don't feel like doing jury duty your honor, can you excuse me?" If he's in a pissy mood, he can find you in contempt and put you in jail and fine you.

 

[EyeMWing]

Yes, you support the death penalty.
Yes, you hate black people.
Yes, you hate women.
Yes, you hate cops.
Yes, you hate ANYTHING THEY ASK YOU ABOUT.

Quick and easy way to keep from getting picked for a jury.

 

[jst0ney]

could take you all day. Actually most likely will.

 

[yoda291]

Originally posted by: KLin

Originally posted by: yoda291

Originally posted by: thawolfman
Bah, nevermind~

12. How was I selected?

* Your name was chosen at random from lists obtained from the Department of Motor Vehicles, Department of Revenue Services, Department of Labor and the Registrars of Voters for the state?s 169 towns.
* Names are randomly chosen every year. Every year your name has an equal chance of being selected and you could receive a jury summons every year. There are no permanent records of disqualification or hardship excuses granted, so you must ask to be disqualified each time you receive a summons.

In New Jersey, the lists are pulled from the DMV records as well. Friends of my parents have been called to jury duty, yet never registering to vote.

Is anyone here from New Jersey know if you can specify a time duration or like a case-type to qualify for. I can manage the selection process and a trial for a day or so without too much harm, but it is impossible for me to be called away for an extended period of time.

Good luck if you get called to a jury. The judge is not going to accept "I don't feel like doing jury duty your honor, can you excuse me?" If he's in a pissy mood, he can find you in contempt and put you in jail and fine you.

well, I was thinking more in terms of other circumstances preventing me from actually serving jury duty. In my case, I have 2 critically ill family members who rely on me to translate doctors and handle their medical schedules. I know my employment is protected under jury duty, but if I was forced away from my family for an extended period of time, it would be...not good.

Originally posted by: EyeMWing
Yes, you support the death penalty.
Yes, you hate black people.
Yes, you hate women.
Yes, you hate cops.
Yes, you hate ANYTHING THEY ASK YOU ABOUT.

Quick and easy way to keep from getting picked for a jury.

I've heard things like this are just rumors and don't actually work.

 

[nageov3t]

Originally posted by: EyeMWing
Quick and easy way to keep from getting picked for a jury.

until the judge throws you in jail for contempt

 

[KLin]

well, I was thinking more in terms of other circumstances preventing me from actually serving jury duty. In my case, I have 2 critically ill family members who rely on me to translate doctors and handle their medical schedules. I know my employment is protected under jury duty, but if I was forced away from my family for an extended period of time, it would be...not good.

he'll no doubt ask you if there are any other family members that would be able to take your place while you're serving jury duty. Of course there's always the possibility that you never make it as far as jury selection and you're dismissed for a year.

 

[EpsiIon]

Originally posted by: loki8481

Originally posted by: EyeMWing
Quick and easy way to keep from getting picked for a jury.

until the judge throws you in jail for contempt

So, can a judge just charge anybody he wants with contempt whenever he wants? How does he know you aren't telling the truth?

 

[nageov3t]

Originally posted by: EpsiIon

Originally posted by: loki8481

Originally posted by: EyeMWing
Quick and easy way to keep from getting picked for a jury.

until the judge throws you in jail for contempt

So, can a judge just charge anybody he wants with contempt whenever he wants? How does he know you aren't telling the truth?

A person who makes a false claim for the purpose of getting excused or helping someone else get excused may be found in contempt of court and could be punished by the court.

how they'd prove it is another matter, but I'd imagine that judges have some leeway when deciding whether or not a potential juror is lying or not. and if you claim to hate everything the lawyers ask about, it'd be pretty obvious.

 

[yoda291]

Originally posted by: loki8481

Originally posted by: EpsiIon

Originally posted by: loki8481

Originally posted by: EyeMWing
Quick and easy way to keep from getting picked for a jury.

until the judge throws you in jail for contempt

So, can a judge just charge anybody he wants with contempt whenever he wants? How does he know you aren't telling the truth?

A person who makes a false claim for the purpose of getting excused or helping someone else get excused may be found in contempt of court and could be punished by the court.

how they'd prove it is another matter, but I'd imagine that judges have some leeway when deciding whether or not a potential juror is lying or not. and if you claim to hate everything the lawyers ask about, it'd be pretty obvious.

well, I'm kind of banking on the numbers here. I figure there will likely be 100 or so people there as prospective candidates and those aren't too bad odds for not getting selected. But the possibility exists and I'd like to know my options before going in.

 

[HardcoreRobot]

stop whining