Jury Duty

The process.

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The other day I received a letter in the mail from the Superior Court in my county. I”m thinking, WHAT THE! Why is the Superior court in this county contacting me? I haven’t been living here that long. My getting in trouble days has been over for decades.

Upon opening the letter and reading it, I see they want me for jury duty. My first thought was, Oh no, not again! I did jury duty a very long time ago. I was actually on a trial.

I am sure there are a lot of people out there who have been called for jury duty. I have read stories on Medium about how they were called on a trial and what the trial was about. I found the stories to be very interesting.

What I have found more interesting when I attended my first day of jury duty, was the jury duty process. And, how it has changed over the years.

Every state is different. The jury duty process in your state may not be the same in my state.

These steps may not be in the correct order never the less they are the steps. In case you are ever called keep this in mind.

1. You must be a United States citizen.
2. You have to be at least 18 years old.
3. You have to speak English.
4. You can not be a felon or be on probation
5. If you have ever voted, you are subject to be called for jury duty.
6. If you are 72 years old or older you have the option to opt-out of jury duty.
7. If you can’t make it to serve on jury duty. You can fill out a form where they will ask you to explain your reasons for not wanting to attend. This to will be presented to the judge.
8. If you are granted with the opportunity to come at a later date, you might have to sit on a trial, whereas if you would have stayed and completed your first week of sitting through the process you will not be called for 2 years.
9. There is a possibility that you might not be called as a jury, you still have to appear for service. When called it is imperative that you show up. If not, you will not get arrested.

But!

A sheriff will come knocking at your door handing you a letter/summons informing you that you need to come in front of a judge.

My first day was about 2 hours long. After the judge came in and she explained to everyone her position and informed us that this was going to be a criminal trial. We were asked to leave the courtroom for about 15 minutes while the lawyers and the judge discussed the up-and-coming case.

After sitting in another room making a new friend. About 30 minutes later we were asked to return. Upon our return, the judge politely stated that the person had pleaded guilty to the charge and our service was no longer needed. There is a possibility that we would not be called for another 2 years.

“You would have thought we won the lottery”.

I realize some people love serving on jury duty. They feel it’s their civic duty. In all honesty the first time I served on a trial as a jury. When it was over I wanted to be a lawyer. Watching the defense lawyers and the prosecutors going back in fourth was very fascinating. Nothing like what you see on television. A lot more intense, because you as a jury are a very important part of the case. Your “FACTUAL” opinion can make or break a person’s life. I don’t like being responsible for another person’s life in that type of setting. That is serious business!

Lucky for me, I don’t have to think about that for a couple of years!