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Post by Anne, Old S'cubie Cat on May 22, 2012 11:10:45 GMT -5
I know it's my duty and I'll do my duty, but I already have more responsibilities than I can manage, thank you very much Aged Mum. Well, if somebody needs to be driven somewhere, or AM demands my attendance (I still jump every time the phone rings), and I can't go, I guess the Husband will have to take vacation time and fill in for me. Unless he's out of town on business. Gah.Not thinking about it until it's time to call in, not thinking about it, not thinking about it Jurors here get six dollars a day, working or not. Guess how much parking is? And yes, jury duty IS just that, a duty. I think everyone should serve on a jury at least once. Mine was a murder trial and a most unusual one at that. AM, ED, YD, Spouse and cats will have to muddle through. I think that if you can move past your fears of the unknown that you'll find the inner workings of your court system a very educational experience. You may even enjoy it. I did and do. If it wasn't for Aged Mum hissy-fits, I'd be almost looking forward to trying it - the girls can do without me, mostly, especially in the summer, but my mother is another matter. I expect her to get even more demanding in the next month or so, just because I might not be there when she calls at 4PM some day because I'm on jury duty. Basically, she'd consider it a dereliction of my assigned duties, and make me pay for it, like the time I had to drive Kitty to the ER, and the time I had to take her to a specialist after the trip to the ER and said specialist was only available in the afternoon... Remember, this is the woman who, just last year, on hearing that I was sick in bed, had lost my voice and COULD NOT TALK TO HER, called not once, but twice that day demanding that I talk to her.
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Post by Anne, Old S'cubie Cat on May 22, 2012 11:13:25 GMT -5
Enough of all this, I don't have to call the court system until Friday the 13 of July, so I'm not going to think about it. Except to get appointments out of the way in June, just in case. What's up, S'cubies? What are you all doing today, anything fun? I walked to the market, I am doing laundry, assisted by the Daughters, and I'm about to depart on a quest for some sequins for the UnFinished Object. Because the vintage ones I was thinking about using, it turns out, were breaking down and should not be used on anything, and besides, they smelt like vinegar and felt weird and oily. So I tossed them.
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Post by Queen E on May 22, 2012 11:29:37 GMT -5
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Post by Queen E on May 22, 2012 11:37:22 GMT -5
I don't know, Anne. I worked hard to get out of jury duty when I was working full-time, because so much of my work was time-sensitive, so I can't really take the high road on that.
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Post by Julia, wrought iron-y on May 22, 2012 12:15:30 GMT -5
Oh, , I got a jury duty summons in the mail. I've never been able to serve on a jury; the first time I ever got one was right after I quit my paying job to stay home with the baby. No child care, still breastfeeding. The last few years, it's been minor child/ren plus needing to be there for Aged Mum on a minute's notice, but the children aren't children anymore, so I don't think I can use that as an excuse. I wouldn't so much mind giving it a try, but it's not even to the local court in Fullerton, it's to the one way the hell down in Santa Ana. Also, I have no idea what to wear, and probably don't own proper clothes anyway, and can't afford a new wardrobe. And to the first person who says "oh, just wear the nice long dark skirt you wear to church on Sunday" (Younger Daughter got that from an idiot teacher once), , and by the way, I'm an Atheist. We don't do church. So I'll have to fill out the questionnaire and send it back, and then wait until mid-July and call and find out if they actually want me. One more worry I didn't need. Gah.Eh. Wear your most colorful hippie clothing and you'll get dismissed on voir dire and save the inconvenience. There isn't a dress code; Margo wore her good jeans, Franklin his usual work clothing when they sat on actual criminal cases. Julia, life is rich and full and I have a permanent excuse from my doc for reasons of teh crazy and teh diabetes
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Post by Julia, wrought iron-y on May 22, 2012 12:17:39 GMT -5
Oh, gorgeous! Julia, and again I am et up with envy
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Post by Anne, Old S'cubie Cat on May 22, 2012 13:19:50 GMT -5
Sequins! I haz sequins! Michael's, one package of jewel-toned, assorted colors, sizes and shapes, Joann's, five yards (it was cheap and I had a coupon) of teal sequin trim and a package of jewel-toned standard sequins (including copper!), all neatly sorted by color. Such shiny! Such riches! Such fun! I am still going to wait until after dinner to get back to beading, because my right wrist feels like and my whole lower back is threatening spasms. My fault, I think I stayed too long in the comfy chair last night with the 11° seed beads and the Nymo and the blanket stitching in said beads. Also, I swung by TJs for more canned salmon, as the Elder Daughter ate half a can for lunch and the other half for dinner yesterday. She does love salmon, canned, grilled, cooked any other way she can get, or raw.
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Post by Onjel on May 22, 2012 15:22:48 GMT -5
Anne, FWIW, don't fret too much about jury duty. You might not even be selected to sit as an actual juror. If you get chosen for voir dire (when they ask you questions about yourself and your perceptions of the case thus far) you can always tell them you couldn't possibly be fair given whatever predilection you can come up with. Do that and after some additional questioning by the judge to make sure you can't be fair (stick to your guns on that if you don't want to sit) you'll probably be excused for cause. Otherwise, you could be excused on a peremptory challenge for no reason at all. In short, you don't have a 100% chance of sitting as a juror just because you're summoned for duty.
On the other hand, if you think the case is interesting, make sure you let them know you can be fair and unbiased.
I usually ask the panel if there is anyone who does not want to sit as a juror for any reason (they don't have to articulate the reason) and I tell them that, while I can't promise they won't get seated, it's good they let the court know how they feel. At that point, I usually ask that they be dismissed on a peremptory, assuming I don't have cause for the dismissal.
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Post by Onjel on May 22, 2012 15:23:20 GMT -5
Hey, pretty picture, Lola! I love purple flowering plants.
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Post by Onjel on May 22, 2012 15:24:14 GMT -5
No time for anymore. I'm up to my ears in divorce statutes.
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Post by Queen E on May 22, 2012 15:55:47 GMT -5
Anne, FWIW, don't fret too much about jury duty. You might not even be selected to sit as an actual juror. If you get chosen for voir dire (when they ask you questions about yourself and your perceptions of the case thus far) you can always tell them you couldn't possibly be fair given whatever predilection you can come up with. Do that and after some additional questioning by the judge to make sure you can't be fair (stick to your guns on that if you don't want to sit) you'll probably be excused for cause. Otherwise, you could be excused on a peremptory challenge for no reason at all. In short, you don't have a 100% chance of sitting as a juror just because you're summoned for duty. On the other hand, if you think the case is interesting, make sure you let them know you can be fair and unbiased. I usually ask the panel if there is anyone who does not want to sit as a juror for any reason (they don't have to articulate the reason) and I tell them that, while I can't promise they won't get seated, it's good they let the court know how they feel. At that point, I usually ask that they be dismissed on a peremptory, assuming I don't have cause for the dismissal. Heh; that's what I did. They voir-dired the HELL out of me, actually. It was a case against a dentist, and when they asked me if I could be impartial, I said, "Probably not, since both my uncles are dentists." The defense attorney said something like: "You're worried you'd be biased because of the family connection?" To which I answered yes and he basically asked whether it would be for or against, and I said: "Oh, against. My uncles are douchebags." After people stopped laughing, I was excused.
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Post by Onjel on May 22, 2012 15:58:10 GMT -5
Anne, FWIW, don't fret too much about jury duty. You might not even be selected to sit as an actual juror. If you get chosen for voir dire (when they ask you questions about yourself and your perceptions of the case thus far) you can always tell them you couldn't possibly be fair given whatever predilection you can come up with. Do that and after some additional questioning by the judge to make sure you can't be fair (stick to your guns on that if you don't want to sit) you'll probably be excused for cause. Otherwise, you could be excused on a peremptory challenge for no reason at all. In short, you don't have a 100% chance of sitting as a juror just because you're summoned for duty. On the other hand, if you think the case is interesting, make sure you let them know you can be fair and unbiased. I usually ask the panel if there is anyone who does not want to sit as a juror for any reason (they don't have to articulate the reason) and I tell them that, while I can't promise they won't get seated, it's good they let the court know how they feel. At that point, I usually ask that they be dismissed on a peremptory, assuming I don't have cause for the dismissal. Heh; that's what I did. They voir-dired the HELL out of me, actually. It was a case against a dentist, and when they asked me if I could be impartial, I said, "Probably not, since both my uncles are dentists." The defense attorney said something like: "You're worried you'd be biased because of the family connection?" To which I answered yes and he basically asked whether it would be for or against, and I said: "Oh, against. My uncles are douchebags." After people stopped laughing, I was excused. O.M.G. That is hilarious! I wish I had potential jurors like you when I was in trial. It sure would have been more fun. ;D
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Post by Queen E on May 22, 2012 17:39:56 GMT -5
Heh; that's what I did. They voir-dired the HELL out of me, actually. It was a case against a dentist, and when they asked me if I could be impartial, I said, "Probably not, since both my uncles are dentists." The defense attorney said something like: "You're worried you'd be biased because of the family connection?" To which I answered yes and he basically asked whether it would be for or against, and I said: "Oh, against. My uncles are douchebags." After people stopped laughing, I was excused. O.M.G. That is hilarious! I wish I had potential jurors like you when I was in trial. It sure would have been more fun. ;D What can I say? I take my civic duty seriously.
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Post by S'ewing S'cubie on May 22, 2012 18:18:34 GMT -5
Anne, FWIW, don't fret too much about jury duty. You might not even be selected to sit as an actual juror. If you get chosen for voir dire (when they ask you questions about yourself and your perceptions of the case thus far) you can always tell them you couldn't possibly be fair given whatever predilection you can come up with. Do that and after some additional questioning by the judge to make sure you can't be fair (stick to your guns on that if you don't want to sit) you'll probably be excused for cause. Otherwise, you could be excused on a peremptory challenge for no reason at all. In short, you don't have a 100% chance of sitting as a juror just because you're summoned for duty. On the other hand, if you think the case is interesting, make sure you let them know you can be fair and unbiased. I usually ask the panel if there is anyone who does not want to sit as a juror for any reason (they don't have to articulate the reason) and I tell them that, while I can't promise they won't get seated, it's good they let the court know how they feel. At that point, I usually ask that they be dismissed on a peremptory, assuming I don't have cause for the dismissal. Heh; that's what I did. They voir-dired the HELL out of me, actually. It was a case against a dentist, and when they asked me if I could be impartial, I said, "Probably not, since both my uncles are dentists." The defense attorney said something like: "You're worried you'd be biased because of the family connection?" To which I answered yes and he basically asked whether it would be for or against, and I said: "Oh, against. My uncles are douchebags." After people stopped laughing, I was excused. On one particularly stupid case I glanced and the defendant and upon voir dire annouced there was no way I could be fair since he was a ringer for my ex and I knew what a snake HE was. I was released as soon as the court, judge, prosecution, defense and defenant finally stopped laughing.
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Post by Spaced Out Looney on May 22, 2012 18:27:25 GMT -5
Heh; that's what I did. They voir-dired the HELL out of me, actually. It was a case against a dentist, and when they asked me if I could be impartial, I said, "Probably not, since both my uncles are dentists." The defense attorney said something like: "You're worried you'd be biased because of the family connection?" To which I answered yes and he basically asked whether it would be for or against, and I said: "Oh, against. My uncles are douchebags." After people stopped laughing, I was excused. O.M.G. That is hilarious! I wish I had potential jurors like you when I was in trial. It sure would have been more fun. ;D I heart that if you are or act like a professional you're more likely to be excused. The idea being that a professional supposedly will be more likely to lead the other jurors. Is that true? I think it would be interesting to do jury duty. I haven't done jury duty yet, and if I got summoned now or in residency I would get deferred. I don't know whether I wold get deferral when I set up a practice. I suppose it depends on where I am and availability of locums tenens.
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