Jury Duty Fail

[Dave1982]

http://failblog.org/2009/05/09/civic-duty-fail/

The classic EW mentality. I don't want to do it, therefore I don't HAVE to do it.

Now, I know this varies from state to state, but here in Mass, your employer is REQUIRED to pay you for the hours you would have worked had you not had jury duty, for up to three days. This is explained in the pamphlet that comes with your Jury Duty notice.

And just like pretty much everyone who thinks their situation is unique....it's not. No one wants to take time off from work for this. The one time I had to report for Jury Duty, some asshole bitched to the judge about having to be there, and the judge told him off in front of everyone.

Moreover, if this guy were ever arrested, you'd better believe he'd want to be tried by jury.

[Irving Patrick Freleigh]

Geez, he went to all that trouble and all he had to do was say he was prejudiced against all races.

/tongue firmly implanted in cheek

This would probably be a good time to whip out the fail button.

[edible_hat]

You turn up and call the judge "Darling".

[Bright_Star]

I had jury duty a long time ago & I actually liked it. I learned a lot. PLUS it got me off work for a week...lol. Yeah, the pay is nothing to write home about but they DO pay you for your time.

[tropicsgoddess]

Time to bring back the fail stamp on this one!

[Javarod]

http://failblog.org/2009/05/09/civic-duty-fail/

The classic EW mentality. I don't want to do it, therefore I don't HAVE to do it.

Now, I know this varies from state to state, but here in Mass, your employer is REQUIRED to pay you for the hours you would have worked had you not had jury duty, for up to three days. This is explained in the pamphlet that comes with your Jury Duty notice.

And just like pretty much everyone who thinks their situation is unique....it's not. No one wants to take time off from work for this. The one time I had to report for Jury Duty, some asshole bitched to the judge about having to be there, and the judge told him off in front of everyone.

Moreover, if this guy were ever arrested, you'd better believe he'd want to be tried by jury.

I saw this a few weeks ago, though i forget the site.

Hmmmmm, well, he could wind up like this guy: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/0..._n_201117.html

[AnaKhouri]

The store where I work does not pay you when you have jury duty. It's not required by the state and the owner is cheap bastard. Several of my co-workers have had to beg off citing financial hardship, so at least you can get out of it if you aren't getting paid here. One of my co-workers said he told the judge that and the judge said, "You must work at >bookstore<. Tell >owner's name< to quit being cheap and pay you guys for jury duty!"

[Hyndis]

Too many people forget that with rights come responsibilities.

Being an intelligent citizen and serving on a jury are such responsibilities.



I have absolutely no sympathy for those who try to duck being on a jury. I have myself served on a jury, and it was an extremely educational experience. I've actually been called twice, but only had to serve once. The other time I was called, the case was pled out before we got on with the trial.

Also, you can be fined or even jailed for contempt of court if you refuse to serve on the jury. This is entirely up to the discretion of the judge, but I do wish that more judges would actually enforce this bit of the law. They shouldn't have to, but people cannot simply enjoy the rights while ignoring the responsibilities of being a citizen. Its not a free lunch.

[Dreamstalker]

The first time I was called, I was still in school full-time and it was during midterms (I thought they couldn't summon high schoolers) so I was able to get an exemption.

I have to serve in July; originally the location was waytheHELLout (as in, I'd have to give my mom a hella good bribe to get me there and back), but I petitioned it on the basis that I can't drive and got it moved to somewhere reachable by T.

[BookstoreEscapee]

The first time I was called, I was still in school full-time and it was during midterms (I thought they couldn't summon high schoolers) so I was able to get an exemption.

Well, considering that they have been known to summon dead people, I wouldn't put it past them even if they're not supposed to.

I've only been called once; I spent the day in the basement of the courthouse, watching movies and reading a book. Went home for lunch (my parents live 10 minutes from the courthouse), then spent the afternoon reading some more. Got called with a group to go up for one case, and they picked their jury before they even got to my number. Went back downstairs, read some more, and then some guy came down and said "I have good news and bad news. The bad news is you didn't get picked for a case. The good news is you are done for the week." So I took the whole week off because they summons said it would be for a week, and they only kept me for one day. I ended up calling my manager and telling her to put me back on the schedule if she wanted to.

My mom was called a few times and always got out because she had young kids, and once because I was home sick from school (I was 16 at the time). She got called again around the same time I did and she ended up actually serving on a case.

[Dave1982]

I've been summoned twice. The first time, I reported to the courthouse in the middle of a major snowstorm only to be dismissed before noon because they only had 10 cases on the docket that day and settled all of them. Incidentally, I was in school out of state when the notice came in (though I was to appear on a day during winter break), and my mother had to forward the notice to me so I could sign it and send it back in time.

The second time, I got a follow up notice saying "the needs of the court for that day have changed; you don't need to show up."

[PepperElf]

i was called once and had to call them up ... "yeah i'm in the navy stationed in a different state... I kinda can't make it" they pulled me from the list

[HorrorFrogPrincess]

I was summmoned once. Got it bumped back since I was still in school and couldn't miss a day. I wasn't working on the new date, so went in. Almost got on a case, but they filled the seats without needing me. So once that was over, I was allowed to go home.

No jury duty for 2 years. ^^

[Cats]

Ah jury duty.

My first summons happened when I was in college, so I got it postponed to the summer. Ended up not having to go, but since I didn't show up and serve, get put right back into the pool.

Cut to a year and a half or so later, get summoned again. Have to show up this time. We ended up being dismissed (which still counts as served), but I had to bring a cell phone with me to arrange transportation home, so I had to leave it with security. When I got it back, they had obviously been playing with it, since the battery life had been drained and the screensaver was on (I had left the thing completely off; at the time, my house only had 2 cell phones for emergencies so they were never turned on unless we called FROM them). I'm in a house of justice, and my personal property is being tampered with >.<

Cut to about another year later. I get ANOTHER summons. But WTF? I just served and have a 3 year grace period before I can be summoned again! Turns out, this one is for FEDERAL, which having served for state does NOT exempt you from.

The pay is SO much better than state though. In Mass, while yes, your employer is required to pay you, the jury duty pay itself is crap and they don't pay you until after the 3rd day (and it's only like $40, most cases are 1 day). Federal paid I think $50 a day, PLUS mileage, regardless of how you traveled.

Since I got put on a shorter trail (4 days) and the judge only worked 9-1, I ended up getting a check for my time equal to about how much I get paid a week, even only after actually "working" less than 25 hours (most if it on my ass being bored), plus my regular check on top of that!

And because federal DOES exempt you from state, I can't be summoned again until 2011 :P

All that by the time I was 23! My mom is the only one in my immediate household who's actually had to serve on a jury before, so I guess I'm the "lucky" one.

[telecom_goddess]

I find this interesting.....I've been summoned for jury duty several times throughout the years but got out of it because of being pregnant, or work needing me or whatnot. Well on Tuesday I finally went in and it ended up being a waiting game all morning. I was part of a group that was to have people picked for a trial in the afternoon, and after waiting around for 3 hours they said the suspect pled guilty and to go home, we had fulfilled our obligation. I could have gone home 3 hours prior