Jury duty question

[Barb51850]

I'm on jury duty. I had to go to the court last Friday. They explained the case to us and dismissed us at 1:00 p.m. They told us to come back on Tuesday at 9:00 a.m. I went on Tuesday and the case began and lasted until 3:00 p.m. We were told to come back Thursday at 10:00 a.m. So I went today at 10:00 a.m. we listened to some additional testimony, then we were dismissed at 11:00 a.m. and told to return again on Monday at 10:00 a.m. People I have discussed this with are surprised with at one- day-on, one-day-off. They have never heard of this. It's a civil case, so maybe that has something to do with it? Anyone else ever go on jury duty and have a similar experience? Not that I'm complaining since we get $40/day for jury duty in Queens County. Also, the court is a 10 minute bus ride from my house, and all the other jurors are very nice. The judge is nice and so are the lawyers.

[CallOfTheCrow]

I was on a criminal case before getting dismissed by the defense attorney & this happened to us. We'd be on, off, on, off like you were.

[xenadanielle]

I've heard this is common.

I have received many jury summons but have never actually had to go to the courthouse. Is that weird? Every time I've been summoned either I had moved out of the county or state (one time), and since I've been in the same place for awhile the two times I received a notice I was not in the pool of numbers that had to go. I almost "want" to go at least once just to see what goes on since I am sort of obssessed with "Law & Order."

[Barb51850]

I forgot to add - We were told that this on-again, off-again schedule was a possibility, so we were not surprised.

This is the courthouse -

http://www.bridgeandtunnelclub.com/b...ouse/index.htm

Isn't it beautiful?

[RhodeyYankee2638]

I will never have to serve on jury duty, thank god

[4bronxbombers]

I forgot to add - We were told that this on-again, off-again schedule was a possibility, so we were not surprised.

This is the courthouse -

http://www.bridgeandtunnelclub.com/b...ouse/index.htm

Isn't it beautiful?

What a gorgeous building. They sure don't make em' like that anymore.

Love your sig Barb.

[xenadanielle]

I forgot to add - We were told that this on-again, off-again schedule was a possibility, so we were not surprised.

This is the courthouse -

http://www.bridgeandtunnelclub.com/b...ouse/index.htm

Isn't it beautiful?

Oh, that is nice! It's good that you like everyone you are "stuck" with too.

[Barb51850]

I've heard this is common.

I have received many jury summons but have never actually had to go to the courthouse. Is that weird? Every time I've been summoned either I had moved out of the county or state (one time), and since I've been in the same place for awhile the two times I received a notice I was not in the pool of numbers that had to go. I almost "want" to go at least once just to see what goes on since I am sort of obssessed with "Law & Order."

If you get on a case it's very interesting. Otherwise it's a lot of sitting around and waiting, but it's a good opportunity to get some reading done plus I've always met nice people. I've heard of so many people who met their future spouse while on jury duty.

[Barb51850]

Love your sig Barb.

Thanks! I think that's one of the funniest things anyone ever said.

[Barb51850]

It's good that you like everyone you are "stuck" with too.

They gave us a 2 hour lunch break on Tuesday and 5 of the women jurors had lunch together. Even though we had all basically just met, we had a great time and so many laughs. I think we may stay friends after this.

[4bronxbombers]

Thanks! I think that's one of the funniest things anyone ever said.

It's awesome.

[NYYDragoon]

I almost "want" to go at least once just to see what goes on since I am sort of obssessed with "Law & Order."

Heh. Last time I got called to jury duty, the court clerk opened by clearly stating that real life is not like L&O, and anyone who didn't understand that would be removed from the courtroom. Oops .

(Of course, my last time performing my "civic duty" worked out amazingly well. After sitting around for an hour, the judge came in and said that a plea had been reached, so there would be no trial. Yet we still got credit for serving, so we're all off the hook for 7 years. Wahoo!)

I will never have to serve on jury duty, thank god

Explain. (And aren't you a law student?)

[RhodeyYankee2638]

Explain. (And aren't you a law student?)

I get exemption as a student, and once i pass the bar, in RI its against the law for a lawyer to be a member of a jury

[Barb51850]

Yet we still got credit for serving, so we're all off the hook for 7 years. Wahoo!)

In my county it's 6 years, however, if you serve on a case (like me) it's 8 years.

[DrNick]

Only got jury duty one time....grand jury, 7 months

[Steve Dalkowski]

I will never have to serve on jury duty, thank god

Neither will I, because I use the Larry David method.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=94zkBGm1IoU

[NYYDragoon]

I get exemption as a student, and once i pass the bar, in RI its against the law for a lawyer to be a member of a jury

See, NY is lame because students aren't exempt--you can only postpone indefinitely (actually, you can only do it twice, but no one keeps track). I postponed three times before I finally sucked it up and went.

In my county it's 6 years, however, if you serve on a case (like me) it's 8 years.

6, 7, 8...it's all far enough away to not worry about anytime soon .

[Yankeeah]

Neither will I, because I use the Larry David method.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=94zkBGm1IoU

The famous Malcolm X defense.

What was the quote from "Let's Go To Prison," "The only put people on a jury are the ones dumb enough not to think of a way out." No offense to those served

[CallOfTheCrow]

I deliberately got myself kicked out for fooling around. The judge was cool & cracking jokes all the time so he didn't care, the prosecutor & defense attorney sure did though.

Whenever they called a random number & the juror assigned to that number had to join the jury, I would go "now coming in from the bullpen........"

After a while, I was dismissed for not taking the case seriously.

[nhyankeefan]

I evaded jury duty for many years until I moved up here. A few years ago I was picked and in NH you serve four consecutive weeks -- meaning you have to show up each Monday and see if you get selected to a jury. With my luck I was picked each week.

The first week was a civil suit between two brothers who had gotten in a bad fight. It was a tough case to hear because they descrbed in great detail how close they once were, how their relationship deteriorated and the how whole family was torn apart as a result. the mother was called to testify and she broke down on the stand several times. The trial lasted a week and we found the defendant not guilty.

The second week I was selected to be on a jury of a drunk driving trial. We waited in the bullpen for the entire morning and then we were told that the case had been plea bargained. We found out later that the state's main witness showed up for the trial drunk (at 10 AM on a Monday) and the state had to go for a plea bargain otherwise they would have lost the case.

The third week I was selected again but the prosecutor from the first case had this trial and kicked me off the jury.

The fourth week was for a murder trial where the defendant was pleading insanity. We ended up waiting around for a day and a half and never made it to the court room as they also plea bargained.

All in all it wasn't that bad an experience although it did take up a lot of my time.

[jlw1980]

I deliberately got myself kicked out for fooling around. The judge was cool & cracking jokes all the time so he didn't care, the prosecutor & defense attorney sure did though.

Whenever they called a random number & the juror assigned to that number had to join the jury, I would go "now coming in from the bullpen........"

After a while, I was dismissed for not taking the case seriously.

That's awesome.

[Gringaloca]

I've been called for jury duty 3 times in the last 12 years. Not sure what the rotation is, but prior to 1996 I had lived in Broward County for 20 years and never once was called..altho' I was a registered voter and held a valid FL drivers license.

First time chosen as an 'alternate' in an armed robbery case. Had to sit thru 2 days of testimony, only to be 'dismissed' before deliberation. Never did find out the verdict, but that bastard was 'guilty as hell'..

Second was a drug possession case. State's evidence was so shaky..a small bag with cocaine residue that the 'detail cop' found on the mens room floor..next to the suspects foot?..Please..the guy was 60 years old and didn't look like a drug dealer or user. We agreed it was a case of overhyped rookie getting some free OT on the detail looking to 'clean up' this particular nightclub.. It did have a pretty bad rep for fights/disturbances, etc..

Third was a DUI case where the whole jury was dismissed after the Prosecutor & Defendants' attorney mutually agreed that this wasn't the group they wanted. After some very revealing comments in the Q&A polling of the jurors. The defense has that option in Broward. Not sure if that is the norm in other jurisdictions.

I'm probably due for another one. It's been a little over 3 years since my last 'call'.

[yankeesAZ]

I just say he looks "guilty" and I'm outta there in 5 mins!

[4bronxbombers]

I deliberately got myself kicked out for fooling around. The judge was cool & cracking jokes all the time so he didn't care, the prosecutor & defense attorney sure did though.

Whenever they called a random number & the juror assigned to that number had to join the jury, I would go "now coming in from the bullpen........"

After a while, I was dismissed for not taking the case seriously.

[4bronxbombers]

I postpone it as many times as you can (I think it's 3). Then I pray to God that the next time they'll dismiss me. It usually works. Then I get 3 years off.

[-tz]

This is the courthouse -

http://www.bridgeandtunnelclub.com/b...ouse/index.htm

Isn't it beautiful?

Does that bring back memories!

I'm a librarian. About a year ago I had a poem to catalog by one Bloodgood H. Cutter, known as the "Long Island farmer poet." The title was The Long Island Farmer Poet on Tobacco Smoking in Queens Co. Court House; it was dated at the end: "Queens County Court House, Jan. 24, 1877."

I spent several hours digging around in the Internet trying to determine whether it was the courthouse you're presently attending, or its predecessor (the Queens County Court House in North Hempstead, N.Y., in what is now Nassau County) where the poem was composed. I finally came to the conclusion that it had to be the older building when I found a pamphlet in our collections titled Recollections of the Queens County Court House and of the Queens County Bar (1877). It mentioned an occasion on Mar. 5, 1877, when the author, Judge John J. Armstrong, addressed the "last Grand Jury that will assemble at this place under the present organization of this county."

The old Queens County Court House was built in 1786 and demolished about a century ago. You can read about it and the debates that raged about building a new one and the broader political future of what was then Queens County, now divided into Queens County and Nassau County, on the Newsday site, here:

http://www.newsday.com/community/gui...986,full.story

[Barb51850]

Does that bring back memories!

I'm a librarian. About a year ago I had a poem to catalog by one Bloodgood H. Cutter, known as the "Long Island farmer poet." The title was The Long Island Farmer Poet on Tobacco Smoking in Queens Co. Court House; it was dated at the end: "Queens County Court House, Jan. 24, 1877."

I spent several hours digging around in the Internet trying to determine whether it was the courthouse you're presently attending, or its predecessor (the Queens County Court House in North Hempstead, N.Y., in what is now Nassau County) where the poem was composed. I finally came to the conclusion that it had to be the older building when I found a pamphlet in our collections titled Recollections of the Queens County Court House and of the Queens County Bar (1877). It mentioned an occasion on Mar. 5, 1877, when the author, Judge John J. Armstrong, addressed the "last Grand Jury that will assemble at this place under the present organization of this county."

The old Queens County Court House was built in 1786 and demolished about a century ago. You can read about it and the debates that raged about building a new one and the broader political future of what was then Queens County, now divided into Queens County and Nassau County, on the Newsday site, here:

http://www.newsday.com/community/gui...986,full.story

Very interesting! Thanks!

[Pinstripedbass]

I served jury duty at the Long Island City courthouse in the early 1990s. At that time that court was only getting drug trials and it was closed during the summer due to no air conditioning. The court clerk in the central jury room was terriffic. Very knowledegable about the history of the courthouse.

My last stint on jury duty was in 2006. Grand Jury for one month at Kew Gardens. It was largely uneventful but the hours were soft. 10AM-4PM. 2 hour lunches most of the time. We had a lot of fun and I ended up serving with two of my co-workers.

We never indicted a ham sandwich much to my dismay.

[jlw1980]

I got called once in Tucson, years ago. I went for the day, was out by 3pm. They had the jury (DUI case) selected before they got to interviewing me. I was called here in October, 2 days before my wedding, and of course requested the one-time extension. I was called back in January, called the number the night before to see if my group had to go. It didn't, so I was out.

I've been told that if I tell them my dad is a retired corrections officer and my bro-in-law is a Highway Patrol (DPS) officer, they'll dismiss me. I don't know if that's true.

[yankeesAZ]

This is one reason why some do not vote as that is where they get the jury pool from (voter registrations).

[jlw1980]

This is one reason why some do not vote as that is where they get the jury pool from (voter registrations).

Actually I heard in many places that's not true any more, precisely because so many people were not registering for that reason. They can also get your name from the DMV.

[gdn]

You shouldn't be talking about it to anyone.

[keg411]

Sounds like a nice time, Barb. $40 a day isn't bad. In Jersey it's $5 (and that's a DAY and not an hour)! Also there's no "no lawyers can serve" rule because like 15 years ago my dad was called in and had to serve -- though I think they settled the case after about a week or so (it was a criminal case).

I'm still off the hook for another 3 years or so before I can be called again. Got called for "Grand Jury", which is horrible because it's like once a week for 4 months. Luckily when they were selecting for the Jury, they never called my name so I got to go home .

[Barb51850]

This is one reason why some do not vote as that is where they get the jury pool from (voter registrations).

Is that true? I know someone who got a jury duty notice a few years ago. Not only had she never voted, but she was not even a citizen at the time.

[Barb51850]

I served jury duty at the Long Island City courthouse in the early 1990s. At that time that court was only getting drug trials and it was closed during the summer due to no air conditioning. The court clerk in the central jury room was terriffic. Very knowledegable about the history of the courthouse.

My last stint on jury duty was in 2006. Grand Jury for one month at Kew Gardens. It was largely uneventful but the hours were soft. 10AM-4PM. 2 hour lunches most of the time. We had a lot of fun and I ended up serving with two of my co-workers.

We never indicted a ham sandwich much to my dismay.

There are only civil cases at the LIC courthouse now.

I served at Kew Gardens about 10 years ago.

[__starr69]

I will never have to serve on jury duty, thank god

Convicted felon?

[__starr69]

This is one reason why some do not vote as that is where they get the jury pool from (voter registrations).

I got a jury duty summons from Nassau County after I moved (to the next town over), but never changed my voter registration, but they found me at my new address anyway. They must've found me either through the DMV (which I was a bit ticked off about because I don't even have a driver's license) or my job for the County (the $5.15/hr work study job I had). I served a day and still have yet to be paid. But that's okay because I wasn't expecting Nassau County to pay me anyway.

[shotz]

is this a murder case just asking........

[RhodeyYankee2638]

Convicted felon?

I don't think i'm any relation to you

[Nome]

About thirty years ago I had Jury Duty (I have had it several times since) but at the time Jury Duty was for three weeks. We mostly sat around the court house playing cards. Most of the cases settled out of court while we were sitting around. I got called several times to be evaluated by the prosecutor and Defense Attorney. I got dismissed from all of them. Then on Thursday of the last week I was called to be evaluated for a case that would last three weeks or more. I wanted none of it.
The case involved testamony of a Police Officer. When it came to be my time to be evaluated, I was asked a question about how I felt about police officers in general. I answered that my Brother In Law was a cop and I can't stand him and thus I am somewhat prejudiced against police in general. The Judge snickered. I was dismissed and allowed to go home.

Man I didn't want to be on that trial.

Andy

[26 and counting]

I had jury duty a couple of months ago. Everybody was really nice who worked in the courthouse was really nice, including the lawyers, the judge, the court marshalls, and the lady in charge of the jury pool. I was questioned by the lawyers, but was dismissed from the case for whatever reason. I guess I wasn't what they were looking for in a juror, who knows? It was a good chance to catch up on my reading, and we even got to watch the beginning of "Pursuit of Happyness", which is an excellent movie by the way.

The case that I was on the jury pool for was a murder trial. It had something to do with a 42-year old woman running out of cocaine at a party, then driving to some guy's house and killing him in an effort to get more. I read about the trial two weeks later, and she was found guilty after the jury deliberated for only three hours.

All in all, it was a positive experience, and I actually wouldn't mind serving jury duty again.

[__starr69]

I don't think i'm any relation to you

We're having a family reunion at the Clinton Correctional Facility in upstate NY this summer. You're invited!

[TheDynasty26]

I'm on jury duty. I had to go to the court last Friday. They explained the case to us and dismissed us at 1:00 p.m. They told us to come back on Tuesday at 9:00 a.m. I went on Tuesday and the case began and lasted until 3:00 p.m. We were told to come back Thursday at 10:00 a.m. So I went today at 10:00 a.m. we listened to some additional testimony, then we were dismissed at 11:00 a.m. and told to return again on Monday at 10:00 a.m. People I have discussed this with are surprised with at one- day-on, one-day-off. They have never heard of this. It's a civil case, so maybe that has something to do with it? Anyone else ever go on jury duty and have a similar experience? Not that I'm complaining since we get $40/day for jury duty in Queens County. Also, the court is a 10 minute bus ride from my house, and all the other jurors are very nice. The judge is nice and so are the lawyers.

you should give us the details of the case....then take a poll on whether we think the defendant is guilty or not, and vote based on that!

[Barb51850]

you should give us the details of the case....then take a poll on whether we think the defendant is guilty or not, and vote based on that!

This process is so slow I don't even KNOW all the details yet.

[4bronxbombers]

you should give us the details of the case....then take a poll on whether we think the defendant is guilty or not, and vote based on that!

[stephsamps]

I got called once in Tucson, years ago. I went for the day, was out by 3pm. They had the jury (DUI case) selected before they got to interviewing me. I was called here in October, 2 days before my wedding, and of course requested the one-time extension. I was called back in January, called the number the night before to see if my group had to go. It didn't, so I was out.

I've been told that if I tell them my dad is a retired corrections officer and my bro-in-law is a Highway Patrol (DPS) officer, they'll dismiss me. I don't know if that's true.

Well I dated a cop for a short while and mentioned it in jury duty (they asked) and forget it, I was blacklisted from the jury. Not that I minded

[RYMASTER or Ryan_Yankees]

My Chemistry teacher was on a big double murder case a few years ago. A man killed two gay men and dumped their bodies in my town. Crazy stuff. The trial lasted a few weeks, and the day she got back to school she broke down in tears.

I wouldn't mind getting jury duty, TBH.

[Octoberbaby]

This is one reason why some do not vote as that is where they get the jury pool from (voter registrations).

They also get their info from the DMV.

[Jersey Yankee]

Sounds like a nice time, Barb. $40 a day isn't bad. In Jersey it's $5 (and that's a DAY and not an hour)! Also there's no "no lawyers can serve" rule because like 15 years ago my dad was called in and had to serve -- though I think they settled the case after about a week or so (it was a criminal case).

I'm still off the hook for another 3 years or so before I can be called again. Got called for "Grand Jury", which is horrible because it's like once a week for 4 months. Luckily when they were selecting for the Jury, they never called my name so I got to go home .

Which county in NJ were you in? I got paid $21/day. If you were a city employee of one of the counties, then you didn't get paid, since you were already entitled to get paid for jury duty anyway. That and free lunch worth about $8 (regular sandwich, beverage and fries).

I remember in Brooklyn Heights, the court officer took the jurors to a nice Italian restaurant there, so it was a little better. The Jewish juror was taken to a Kosher restaurant, eating that take-out food there with the others at the Italian restaurant.

The only thing I don't like is their mentioning your real name and occupation. I didn't like my name being given, since some of these guys are out on bail. I definitely said something about "some company in Manhattan" as to my occupation, but someone else mentioned being an editor at a newsweekly, so she was easy to pinpoint if someone wanted to later pay a visit.

[Jersey Yankee]

Well I dated a cop for a short while and mentioned it in jury duty (they asked) and forget it, I was blacklisted from the jury. Not that I minded

I've never dated any law enforcement officers, but during a criminal trial (narcotics sale), I did mention that I was quite friendly with a few cops in my town. Both prosecutor and defense attorneys rolled their eyes, asking me directly, "Can you make a fair and impartial judgment?" and "Have you ever known Sgt ____?"

I said, "Yes" to the first and "No" to the second, and since I'd been at the end of the jury pool, I was brought in, since so many others were excused and they still needed another 2 jurors.