"These are the people I have to deal with!" Topic

Today a friend sent me a juror request to be excused from jury duty and this is what he said:

I, ERIK ANTHONY SLYE, being first duly sworn upon oath, depose and say that jury service would entail undue hardship on me and that I request to be excused from jury service for the following reasons:

Apparently you morons didn't understand me the first time. I CANNOT take time off from work. I'm not putting my family's well-being at stake to participate in this crap. I don't believe in our "justice" system, and I don't want to have a goddam thing to do with it. Jury duty is a complete waste of time. I would rather count the wrinkles on my dogs balls than sit on a jury. Get it through your thick skulls. Leave me the F_ _ k alone.

Signed by Erik Slye and notarized!!!

Yep – he sounds like just the type of person I want living in my country – someone who is ignorant of the law, the legal tradition, the true foundation of our country as developed by our founding fathers. Perhaps it is people like this who NEED to be deported to some other country which doesn't require any jury service – like Sudan or Iran or North Korea or China – and then after they have experienced what it means to live in a society without the fundamental fairness of our system of justice they might (but only might) appreciate how good we have it here in the great nation that is the United States of America.

And as Murphy would say – I adopt his disclaimer – as for using the persons real name – I am quoting him directly off of the official court records – which are public so he can be publicly shamed for failed to uphold his civic duties to this country.

I bet the JUDGE found that humorous. What is the standard for Contempt of Court these days?

Throw "jury of your peers" at him, he's PERFECT FOR THE JOB.

What's scarier is that these people often vote.

Well at least he's intellectually honest. I often get these types (at least one in every pool) who go through comical contortions to avoid jury service.

But they lack any brains at all. I don't want them on my juries any way and try to get them excused for cause. Do you think they might catch a softball when it is thrown their way? OH NOOOO. They take it as a personal insult that they could not be impartial and swear up and down they could and would be fair. Then they go back to whining about having to be there!

mjc

I was quite amused at the contortions people would go through to get out of jury duty. I've been called to serve three times and empaneled twice. All three times I've heard the lamest excuses from people trying to get out of jury duty. It was clear that the judge and lawyers had heard it all before.

For example:

Juror: I can't serve on this jury because it's against my religion to judge people.

Judge: What is your religion?

Juror: It's not a mainstream religion. It doesn't have a name.

Judge: Yet this religion forbids you from sitting on a jury?

Juror: Yes. Absolutely.

Judge: Juror #7 is dismissed.

I really, really hope I don't need a jury some day….

As George Carlin would say, "Do you *really* want to get judged by 12 people who weren't smart enough to get out of jury duty?"

But seriously, after seeing the short film at the Consitution Center in Philly, I was all pumped up at my moral and ethical obligation to serve.

I've only been called once in 25+ years of being eleigible, but never had to serve.

And now we all know his name.

They usually don't like lawyers, so I never get chosen. I served on one jury once. It was certainly eye opening to see the small sliver of justice that exists in the world. Imagine the following conversation (my words):

"So, you don't think he's guilty of assault because when he hit the lady in the face with the but of the pistol, he didn't have an intention to harm her?"

"He just wanted to scare her, not hurt her." He said.

Then, you will be happy to know I only intend to scare you. Now hold still, damn it.

I figure in general, one side or the other figures to win it needs to BS. So, at least one side is looking to torpedo as many bright people as possible.

I never get to serve. Do you think maybe they think I'm too eager?

I suspect that Mr. Slye is the type who'd be first in line to clamour for police protection if he was the victim of a crime…

Argh…

Seems like another person who needs a lecture on "Rights come balanced with responsibilities", or maybe the social contract…

I did a couple of months on a Federal Grand Jury wich was fairly cool – soured me on all hte police procedural shows though.

My only complaint about the jury system is that while I was chosen twice to serve on a jury, they settled both before I could hear a word of testimony.

The first one settled right in front of us. Good thing too, because the snotty little thug showed up in court wearing a wife-beater shirt, shorts and sandals. Yes, I was prejudiced.
The second required me to call in once a day for 3 weeks to see when we were to sit for the trial. Those thoughtless swine settled.

I have only been called once, to a civil lawsuit. Around 200 of us had to fill out a card stating if there was a reason we should not be chosen. I put down a reason that I thought was sure to get me kicked out. Lo and behold not only did I not get kicked off panel, I was the third one chosen! So they lead about 20 of us into another room where we were before the judge, and the two lawyers. The judge then proceeds to ask again if any of us had a reason we should not be on the jury. I am the only one who raises his hand. The judge is rather skeptical when he asks why I think I should not be on the panel. I simply point to one of the lawyers and say because the guy that that lawyer represents is my boss. Needless to say I got off and the judge's clerk got a stern looking at.

On the other hand, I can see his point of view – what recompense is there if you get stuck on a long, boring fraud trial and can't work for weeks? Do you have immunity to being fired? Does the government pay your wages for you? If so, then he's being an arse. If not, then he's quite correct.

Your job status is protected by the system.
They pay some pittance.

Yep – he sounds like just the type of person I want living in my country

On the bright side, aren't you glad he won't be on a jury?

I've only been called once, and never chosen. Too bad, I think it'd be cool.
-Kle.

Your job status is protected by the system

only in the respect that they can't directly dismiss you because of Jury Duty. However the "gee why didn't you try to get out of it" and so forth can make the retention decision "interesting"

"gee why didn't you try to get out of it"

I'll take that case any day.

mjc

Yep Mike – I'd take that case any day too – those are just TOO GOOD to pass up. If it was the right company I might even quit my day job to go private for a while!

However the "gee why didn't you try to get out of it" and so forth can make the retention decision "interesting"

In Oregon (and from things I have read some other states), it is no longer possible to get out of Jury Duty if you are eligible – the most you can hope for it to not get stuck on a long trial. They will let you postpone your service up to a year, but when that later date comes up nothing short of a life threatening illness or being out of the state on active military duty is getting you out of it.

That Erik Slye is "ignorant of the law, the legal tradition, the true foundation of our country" is simply your assumption. Perhaps he is well aware of those things and doesn't share your view of how the US justice system applies or relates to them. Just because there are far (far, Far, FAR) worse systems out there doesn't mean we should close our eyes to the shortcomings of our own.

Too bad, I think it'd be cool.

except when you get a rape and murder case, and you have to see pictures of a young girl naked and tied, lying in a shallow creek with stab woulds all over her body.

I was on a jury in the late 80s and I can still see that picture as clear as day.

It was supposed to be a 2 week case. I lasted one. I became really sick. I still think my mind said "I can't handle this" and my body said "ok, I'll help".

Called twice,served once.

@E Murray: If you can't sit on a jury because you think the system is broken, or that you don't want a part of it – even if you understand it – then you don't deserve it. No one – no country – has found a better system of justice. If they had, I am sure that it would be studied, emulated, and implemented by others. So why is our system – which itself emulated the British system – emulated, and implemented by other countries? Because it is fair, impartial as can be given the proclivities of mankind, and it works better than anything else.

@ Mrs Pumblechook: I am sorry that you got ill during your service – it is a terrible thing to have to look at those photographs, it is more difficult still to have to work with victims and survivors of those types of traumas. The only solace in this job is the satisfaction of justice being done.

I've been called three times – and released all three times, twice because I was a prosecutor or special assistant attorney general and it was a criminal case, and the third time because I was not chosen to be on the panel when voir dire ended.

Called three time, never served; first time was military examption, other two times would have required taking days off w/o pay (the pittance was $5.00 USD a day + bus voucher for public transportation.)

If there was a county or local tax specifically earmarked ONLY for reasonable compensation for Jury Duty (like, whatever the median income is for the whole county at the age of the juror), I would be the first one championing it.

Saw this on the Fail blog and I thought that it looked familiar: link

I did jury duty once. I wont do it again.

A friend of mine gets out of jury duty by a kind of cool trick… When asked by the judge if she had ever served on a jury, she answers, "yes." The judge will not/cannot ask you what kind of trial it was. The judge will ask if the jury in that case reached a verdict. My friend again answers, "yes, in all three phases." -Once for guilt or innocence, once for sanity, and once for sentencing. It is a rather underhanded way of telling the judge and both lawyers that she served on a Capital Murder trial, that they found the defendant guilty and that they found the person to be sane. Defense counsel gives her the boot every time.