An Idea

[blas87]

In my own scuffle right now having to deal with jury duty in two weeks, I was bitching about it to a coworker, and she actually thought of something that sparked off a light bulb atop my empty blonde head.

She said "There's so many unemployed people right now, why not use unemployed people for jury duty?"

What do you guys think? I think it may even be a good idea for people who are part timers as well. It's not good money by any means, but it'd be a way to get out of the house and make a quick buck, if you're picked to actually serve on the trial(s).

[Sarah Valentine]

It sounds like a good idea, but they would have to pay those people more than $5 a day.

[blas87]

In my letter I got advising me of being in the initial pool of prospective panel members, I was informed it was $25 a day and mileage.

[radiocerk]

But to truly have a "jury of your peers" you need a cross-section of society. Wouldn't a jury of just unemployed people possibly have a different point of view on, say corporations, than a jury of just businessmen? The current system is to attempt to get a wide variety of ideals, education levels, histories, and personal experiences. I don't think limiting jury pools would actually help in the long run.

[blas87]

They certainly made a huge mistake picking me. I'm an overly upset over-worked and conservative no-nonsense no-excuse stick to your principles, mixed with just enough young adult angst. I'm very biased against a whole range of people and situations.

[Hobbs]

I'm very biased

Then they probably won't pick you.

[radiocerk]

Well, that's why they question people before they actually serve on a jury. Maybe, a case needs someone like you. If not, you'll be dismissed. Yes, it's a pain, but it's part of society. You can stay off the juror databases, just don't drive and don't vote.

[Greenday]

This could be one of the best ideas I've heard in a long time.

Too tired to elaborate tonight. 3 mile march in the pouring rain and spending the rest of the day at the hospital drained me.

[blas87]

Well, it's not that easy to get out of it, because it's for a solid period of time that you have to check every day to see if your number is on the panel for the trials for certain days. Can't get out of them all, I bet.

Fortunately, these are small trials that are scheduled for only 1 or 2 days. No big high profile several week sequestering trials.

[telecom_goddess]

Well, that's why they question people before they actually serve on a jury. Maybe, a case needs someone like you. If not, you'll be dismissed. Yes, it's a pain, but it's part of society. You can stay off the juror databases, just don't drive and don't vote.

Actually that doesn't help. I wasn't registered to vote for quite a while, and don't drive myself but still have a state id thru the dmv anyway, per law. So they get you. They got me last year. So I went ahead and registered to vote since it didn't seem to matter anyway.

[Cats]

My state, unless the trial goes over 3 days, you don't get paid...AT ALL. Considering its generally a 1 day, 1 trial deal 99% of the time, you're not making anything. Heck, a fair amount of times, you either not called in on your day, or you go in and no one gets put on a jury. In my family of 5, only 3 of us have served on a Jury, and only once each (though mine was Federal, not State).

Federal does pay though, from the get-go (base pay a day plus mileage, regardless of how you travel). I made about my normal paycheck in a week, plus my normal paycheck they had to pay me at work anyway, so I lucked out.

But to truly have a "jury of your peers" you need a cross-section of society. Wouldn't a jury of just unemployed people possibly have a different point of view on, say corporations, than a jury of just businessmen? The current system is to attempt to get a wide variety of ideals, education levels, histories, and personal experiences. I don't think limiting jury pools would actually help in the long run.

While that is a good point, on the other hand, unemployed people don't all come a single group either. Lacking a current job is the only thing they're guaranteed to have in common. They could be just as diverse as a group of employed people. They could be unemployed from a big corporation, or from Taco Bell. Considering how high the unemployment rate is nowadays, you can still get a wide variety of people.


I don't understand why people are always trying to get out of Jury Duty. While it can be boring, it is an interesting experience. If you have never served on one, ignore EVERYTHING you've seen in a TV show involving courts; it's not like that. I wouldn't mind serving again.

[linguist]

I don't understand why people are always trying to get out of Jury Duty. While it can be boring, it is an interesting experience. If you have never served on one, ignore EVERYTHING you've seen in a TV show involving courts; it's not like that. I wouldn't mind serving again.

count me in as another who doesn't understand. i've been called 6 times, picked 3, and i loved every trial i was a part of. i've only ever once asked to be relieved of the duty, because my grandmother had just died and the trial was set to start on the day of her funeral. it's interesting seeing the justice system at work up close and personal. plus, i was raised to believe that when called, serving was my duty as a responsible citizen. to not do so is an insult to the system and to those who do serve as asked, regardless of what hardships they may face.

[guywithashovel]

By the time I was 24, I had served jury duty three times. Everyone I talked to thought that was neat. I guess my town just thought I was a really good citizen.

And yes, unless serving the jury duty would cause serious disruption to your life, don't try to get out of it. Most of the time, it's actually pretty fun. I enjoyed the three times I served. The first two times I served, it was grand jury. It was just us (the jury), the prosecuting attorney, and the witnesses called in for each case (usually the arresting officer). Most of the cases we heard were really petty, and we all had fun hearing about all the stupid stuff people around town do. We heard at least three cases about people stealing four-wheelers and dirt bikes. Way to stereotype Southern Ohio! The one trial I served on was for a guy charged with a DUI. Color me ignorant, but until then, I didn't know you could have a jury trial for offenses like that.

As for the OT, it would probably be a good idea to call unemployed people for jury duty, or at least give them top consideration. Now, it is possible that there unemployment status might cause them to be biased on some cases, but that could be determined on a case by case basis.

[Bright Star]

It doesn't pay enough for someone to pay basic expenses with.

[Lace Neil Singer]

I've been called up once, but wasn't picked for the first trial and the second two were thrown out, so I never got to serve which was a shame. I'm very interested in true crime and it would have been an experience worth having.

My dad was never called up, interestingly; but my mum was once. She bowed out of it cuz she had four children to look after and no-one to mind them.