Jury duty for the truly bored

Thoughts about jury duty.

There are a lot more kinds of cases that just criminal. Lots of kinds of civil cases, from personal injury to child custody.

Around here they send you a jury qualification form.
It does not include enough information to really tell you how best to respond.

If you have any pressing scheduling/financial issues, this is the time to ask to be excused for the term, which is only 1-3 months. Best to ask now, rather than later.

The online jury info might claim 1-2 day trials, but that doesn't mean it won't be 3 weeks or longer.

Everyone and their dog is going to give you advice on how to get out of jury duty, and they will all say the same things which boil down to 1-be prejudiced, 2-be pathetic.

My sister did give me alternate advice "solve the crime" which I thought fabulous. However a juror is not allowed to do any independent research of any kind, not news, or internet or blogs, or visiting the scene. Verboten.. all of it.

Some trials use open jury questioning, but many use a long questionnaire. This gives you lots of opportunity to follow the previous advice.

Jury are supposed to be "impartial" so they are not to be familiar with anything to do with the trial.
Anyone who is will be removed by "challenged for cause" by the lawyers

In this hospital malpractice suit partiality meant:

Any experience with: the hospital, personal injury, any one with disabilities, any of the material witnesses, having ever been depressed, or knowing anyone with depression or any mental disorder, providing care for the disabled, or knowing anyone that has ever worked for any of the hospitals in the state, or the people or lawyers involved, just to name a few.

There were so many ways that I was disqualified for this kind of case. I don't think I could have been selected if I had tried vigorously.
Which is too bad in many ways. I know rehab and hospitals and therapy and disabilities.

But they don't want people who know. They want people who don't and who have to go on only what the lawyer tell them.

I think there is something wrong with this system, but I'm not the first to say so.

Mark Twain blogged about it WAY before I did.

I have my own biases about jury service since my personal injury lawsuit. The jury did not seem to grasp that I was not suing the kid who hit me, but his insurance which refused to pay my medical bills (they can't use the word "insurance" in a trial) Nor did they recognize that rear ending someone is the definition of negligence. I could go on about them believing the bag of lies the kid told that contradicted the police officer's story, but I'll just stop now.