I get the cynicism about the legal “system”.
I get the desire to not serve.
I get that the process is seriously flawed.
However, I also get that a significant part of folks’ lives are in the balance at a trial
And I get that participatory democracy is (especially these days) in peril.
So…seriously… is coming up with tricks to avoid Jury Duty really the message we want sent to the people trapped in that flawed “justice” system?
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I answered the questions in good conscience. It was their decision not to choose me 
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Pro tip: if you have to drive downtown (and in rush hour traffic!) and find parking for 8 am jury duty, and have no reliable public transportation system to get you there, Uber can save you a whole lot of stress! Figured that out for my final go-round. Better late than never.
As an uber driver (albeit currently on hiatus due to my continuing chronic pain), I wholeheartedly agree.
I’ve been called once, delayed my appearance once (allowed in MA), and then had to show up in Cambridge District Court (back when it used to be combined with the Cambridge City Jail! THAT was fun!). The case was a gun murder case in Charlestown, MA from (I think) 3 years prior to the date I was at court, and when I was called to the bench to speak with the judge about whether I would have any problem serving on the jury, I noted that I was for strict gun control (which I am). The judge eyeballed me, gave me a very small smile, but nodded and said “You’re dismissed.”
The age out request is 70 in Massachusetts, and I’ve never been called again.
(And I’d never heard of the phrase voir dire until I watched “My Cousin Vinny.” 
)
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I did my time with jury duty, both with Municipal court and Superior court in California. After that, I lost all confidence in the ‘jury of my peers’ concept. Plus, I had to miss a big chunk of a college quarter and that didn’t make the experience any better. I’ve had a permanent medical excuse for decades now, even tho every five years they have to ‘revisit’ my valid claim.
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I did jury duty once because I thought it would be interesting. What a farce. How they ever talked the DA into charging the guy was a mystery. It took us 15 minutes to find him not guilty, it was unanimous.
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I am always a grateful and courteous passenger. Mom raised me right.
Oh, I’ve been stricken for various reasons; knew the judge, knew the state’s attorney (who yelled out “Hi Meekah”when she saw me - that was useful because no one needed to use up a preemptory challenge on me, I had a medical condition, whatever. There was a guy once in my panel who was a solo practitioner veterinarian, and hadn’t shown up for a couple of summonses- and the judge was not amused and treated him accordingly. It’s tough for some folks - and that’s even after you get paid … it was $15 when I was going. And you had to provide your own lunch, of course, and pay for parking if you drove. The parking was $11 - special juror discount! The jury assembly rooms were overcrowded and uncomfortable (I once had a roach run across me) and you shared hallways with witnesses and the people on trial and their families. Not ideal, but not uncommon when there’s too much that needs to be done and no money to do it.
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Thank you. Unfortunately, that’s pretty much what I was trying to say. Without you, & others like you, that guy was probably toast.
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There was a guy who came in once in one of my jury panels wearing a T-shirt with a huge marijuana leaf on it. Judges usually don’t put up with much nonsense; I don’t know what happened with this guy. The one thing I’ve seen work is older women professing a devout religious belief.
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I have to first names . Confusing. Drivers license is different from voters registration. Ive been summoned double . Twice in a year .
I believe in a fair trial .
But im not one you want on a jury . 6 months ago the trial was going to be child molestation and rape . I do not want to be there .
What I end up saying is ." I am unable to make a fair judgment. " Gone .
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We had a juror candidate nixed because of her ‘I Found It’ button. Let’s see, mid 70’s?
Honesty…the best policy.
You know two people. I love jury duty. I am proud to be a part of it. I’ve been called three times, and served once. The second time, the jury was dismissed because the parties settled (this is a good outcome). The third time, I was unable to serve because I had to work. I would love to get called again. It’s an integral part of our legal system. I have seldom been as impressed with the seriousness of my fellow NYers as during the deliberations at that first trial.
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Sweet. Someone’s gotta do it. Even better that you love it.
No doubt jury duty’s a different animal in NYC than Central PA.
Ouch. I was called once while in law school and the judge didn’t want to release me from what was expected to be a 2 week criminal trial. I explained the ABA attendance rules and how I’d be forced to repeat the semester.
She was like, “Oh, I’ll write your dean a note excusing you”. Sorry ma’am my dean doesn’t have the authority to set aside the ABA rules.
I had 2 other quite valid reasons to be dismissed but she wouldn’t budge. The prosecutor did me a favor and used one of her preemptories and dismissed me.
I later learned that according to state law, full time students were to be automatically dismissed upon request. You’d think an experienced trial judge would know this.
The following summer my mom died unexpectedly on an early Sunday morning. I flew up to make arrangements, with my wife planning to drive up the next day, but had to report for jury duty. Same judge. Didn’t want to release her and actually said in open court that my wife should tell me to postpone the funeral a few weeks.
I don’t know if it was the same prosecutor but my wife said she snapped to her feet and glared at the judge, and said she was planning to dismiss her from service.
She (the judge) later that summer pulled some headline-worthy shenanigans and lost that fall’s election in a landslide. Went back to doing $300 divorces and was eventually disbarred for mishandling client monies.
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Sounds like that judge got what was coming to her eventually, but sometimes it takes a while for that bad karma to fully vest.
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Good on BOTH prosecutors doing the right thing for both you and your wife! And Karma decided to do her thing as well.
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Thanks for sharing!
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