Jury Duty

[Bob Green]

I received a summons for Jury Duty (Chesapeake District Court) in the mail so I am on call to serve from 7/7 to 8/1. Seeing as I've never served before, I'm asking for advice from this sage group. Any tricks to the trade I need to know? The way I see it:

1.) I served 30 years in the military so the defense attorneys will hate me.
2.) I have a Masters in Human Relations degree from the University of Oklahoma so the prosecutors will hate me.

My chances of actually being selected to serve on a trial are small. Right? Wrong? Indifferent?

[devildeac]

I can't wait to read how our CTN attorneys will respond to this .

[bjornolf]

All I can say is my dad had 25 years in the military and a psychology degree from LMU, as well as a masters, yet he ended up the foreman in a jury at age 65. The crusty old Colonel actually did pretty well.

My wife had jury duty too, but last year. She was put in a group that was one of 15. She was assigned to Mondays. Every Friday night for six weeks, she had to call in to see if she had to go in that Monday. She NEVER had to go in. Crazy, huh?

I had jury duty about 4 months after I graduated Duke in Fairfax County, VA, back in 1997. I had to go sit every day for two weeks in a big room with hundreds of people, reading a book and waiting for my group to be called. I only got called twice, and being a 22 year old male, they kicked me in the first round both times.

[lawgrad91]

Even with your Master's in Human Relations, I would love you. But you wouldn't make it long in a jury in Henry County, and (having grown up in Chesapeake) I don't see you making it long on a jury there.

My dad was foreman of a criminal jury when I was in high school, which was quite a surprise because his only brother was second in command of a police department in Central VA.

[CathyCA]

You have military service and a master's degree, so you don't appeal to either side. However, depending upon who else is called to serve that week, you may end up on a jury.

That being said, if you're dismissed from "the box," you still go back into "the pool" in North Carolina for the duration of your term of jury service. (I defer to my esteemed colleague, Madame LawGrad, to explain how the jury system operates in the Commonwealth.) Bring a good book to read. Make sure you charge your cell phone every night so that your charge will last all day. Be prepared to make lots of new friends in the jury pool.

It can be a fun experience to see the Sixth and Seventh Amendments in action.

[lawgrad91]

Unless they have changed it in Chesapeake, they will tell you what jury pool you are in, and give you a number to call every evening to see if you need to come in the next day. You can serve multiple times over that month, or no times over the month. In Henry County, we don't know what education a person has. The only info we have is address, occupation (or previous occupation if retired), marital status and spouse's occupation. Also, typically, jury selection is relatively quick. Unless it's the crime of the century, jury selection is normally done by lunchtime of the first day. Voir dire (the questioning of the jury pool) is normally done as a body, not individually. The typical questions to the jury pool is: do you know any of the parties or the witnesses or the attorneys? Do you know anything about the case? Is there any reason you could not make a determination on guilt or innocence or in a civil case, could not decide whether or not one side is liable? Most criminal jury trials in Virginia are litigated by two attorneys who have way too much to do to spend a lot of time doing more than a cursory examination of a jury pool. If you have a retained attorney (and jury trials are EXPENSIVE) they will spend a lot more time on picking a jury, but Commonwealth's Attorneys don't have much time to spend on it.

Take a good book; most courthouses in VA don't allow cell phones except for attorneys or officers.

Keep us posted on how things go, and consider it a chance to sleep in!

[chipslate]

LG's exactly right. I can't speak for Chesapeake but in my locality military would lump you in with law enforcement in the mind of the defense but it would largely depend on the case subject matter. There are some cases I would value your education as a juror. If I were repping a hard luck veteran for example or a charge that seemed overreaching or unfair. So I guess I am saying the subject matter would sway my opinion on your likelihood of being struck. Bring a book! Great advice. Jury selection can be tedious and boring.

--Chip

[Bob Green]

Thanks for all the advice. Cell phones are not allowed but I will definitely bring a book if I have to report. There is a number I call each night after 5 pm to see if my group is on tap to report in person the next day.

[DukePA]

Here's what you do if you don't want to be picked, tell the court that you, "can spot a guilty person from 50 paces."

[awhom111]

Bob, did you have to start this thread now as opposed to say Saturday? I feel reverse jinxed.

In San Francisco, we get called for a week and after completing a summons you cannot be called for at least another year, although I have only been called 3 times in 11 years. This is my week and I got assigned to the criminal courthouse and not the civil courthouse. All of the people on that week are split into groups, with 27 on criminal this week. Unfortunately it is a busy week as they tell you the night before whether you need to report and my group is 1 of 13 that have already been called in with any Friday groups still unknown.

Hopefully I get past tomorrow with minimal fuss. If I do not end up in a jury tomorrow, then I am in the free and clear. At some points in life, I would not have minded, but this is not a great work time. I am not shaving and wearing my ugliest shirt.

[ArkieDukie]

Thanks for all the advice. Cell phones are not allowed but I will definitely bring a book if I have to report. There is a number I call each night after 5 pm to see if my group is on tap to report in person the next day.

I've been called for jury duty twice, once in St. Louis and once in TX. I'd go a bit farther and say you should bring a Kindle, loaded with several books. In St. Louis I made it through at least 2 books while sitting in the large room, waiting to hear my name.

[DevilWearsPrada2.0]

Jury Duty......... ugh !!
Hope you get a pass!!!!

[bjornolf]

Thanks for all the advice. Cell phones are not allowed but I will definitely bring a book if I have to report. There is a number I call each night after 5 pm to see if my group is on tap to report in person the next day.

I've been called for jury duty twice, once in St. Louis and once in TX. I'd go a bit farther and say you should bring a Kindle, loaded with several books. In St. Louis I made it through at least 2 books while sitting in the large room, waiting to hear my name.

If they don't allow cell phones, will they allow kindles?

[windsor]

Thanks for all the advice. Cell phones are not allowed but I will definitely bring a book if I have to report. There is a number I call each night after 5 pm to see if my group is on tap to report in person the next day.

I've been called for jury duty twice, once in St. Louis and once in TX. I'd go a bit farther and say you should bring a Kindle, loaded with several books. In St. Louis I made it through at least 2 books while sitting in the large room, waiting to hear my name.

If they don't allow cell phones, will they allow kindles?

One of my friends was just called in here in Florida - she was told she could bring her laptop and wifi was available.

[lawgrad91]

In Virginia, it's all based on what Thomas Jefferson could do. If ol' TJ could bring a Kindle, then you can too.

No recording, audio, video or camera devices are currently allowed in Virginia courthouses. (She says as she sits in Circuit Court waiting for her next case to be called, typing on her iPad. Members of the bar and officers are exempt.) I wouldn't try a Kindle white or any sort of e-book because I don't know if a bailiff would know the difference.

When I had jury duty in Forsyth County, NC (defense didn't want me! Shocking!) I didn't take any device in and when I found out I could have my phone I went out at first break and got it.

[awhom111]

Wow, I lucked out today. The trial my group was selected for was an attempted murder that was scheduled to run through all of July.

I am not sure how generous the judge was with excuses, but my excuse was granted.

[Turk]

In Pennsylvania, they do their best to not waste people's time. It's been a few years for me or Mrs. Turk, so the details might be blurry or outdated. Typically in this corner of the Commonwealth, they send you a postcard and you have to call in the night before to see if you need to show up for the next day. (I think you might have to do that for two nights). If they don't need you, you're done. If they do need you, it's "one day or one trial". I got picked for a DUI trial (this was more than 15 yrs ago). Fascinating experience; I felt the responsibility (and pressure) to make the right call; it also reveals a lot about the human nature of your fellow jury members (even before anyone gets picked). A colleague of mine got picked for a federal FBI racketeering trial that went on for weeks; when she got back to work she couldn't talk about any of it.

[DukePA]

I was picked for criminal trial in Chicago a gazillion years ago. The defendant was a young man who was pulled over in a friend's car where a gun was found under the driver's seat. The defendant had a felony gang record and of course was not supposed to posses a gun. Bottom line was that he said he didn't know it was there, no finger prints were taken, we had reasonable doubt and found him not guilty. It is my hope that he was able to make something of his life because he had not been in trouble for years. I am glad I participated and I hope that justice prevailed.

[IowaDevil]

I found in the fine print of my summons that the "elderly" could be permanently excused from jury duty. Their understanding of "elderly" was most generous and I took full advantage considering my terribly advanced age!

[lawgrad91]

Mom got a juror questionnaire from the Eastern District of Virginia (federal) Court. They expect people to answer the questionnaire online.

I am going to try filling it out for her as her power of attorney.