new thread
Bill,
I saw in a previous post that you stated this.
"A lawyer friend of mine once told me his firm never seats longhairs on juries "because longhaired men think for themselves", and the firm's lawyers don't want that."
What does this tell for me should I be called up for jury duty some day? Me is a little worried. :-/
That you have less chance of getting on a jury than other people. This is no big deal of course, and some people would see it as a benefit. :-)
You'll have to go down to the courthouse of course. This just means that they'll be likely to use a challenge against you during jury selection to keep you from having to serve during the trial.
It also depends on the case and what you look like, of course. I can't imagine any prosecutor wanting me on a jury for a marijuana case, just because of what they'd think when they took a look at me.
Bill
Be sure to wear that shroom shirt for the selection process. :)
Or, you could do what I did: Get a new job that causes you to relocate. This was a perfectly valid excuse, so all I had to do was fax a letter to the court.
There was, of course, a part of me that felt like I was missing out on something that's an integral part of our country. However, if I had to serve it couldn't have come at a worse time. AFAIK, employers have to pay you during service, but I was between jobs and thus would have born the cost myself. Yes. The cost. The compensation for jurors is a pittance. Nobody in DC could live on $40/day. That's what it was. They really ought to index it to whatever you were making on your last job. Of course, then I could see how this would result in juries being skewed towards burger-flippers.
Yeah, that would turn 'em off for sure. [grin]
Don't we wish. I think we get about a quarter of that. And in California your boss does not have to pay you while you're gone, but he does have to let you off work.
Here in San Francisco they also won't let you shift to night shift. They had too many jurors doing that and then falling asleep in the jury box.
Bill
Unless you really want to serve you need not worry about a thing.
I know a few people who were called up and served and thought at the time what an honour it was and all that. Afterward they all said they hoped never to have to do that again as it was tedious and boring among other things. Unless your on one of those celebrity murder jurys and want to do a book deal afterward it must suck.
Kevin