WHY DO AMERICANS EVADE JURY DUTY?

Perhaps because, unless you're not employed, it means a loss of income.

My own guess is that most people don't actually mind jury duty itself it's all the BS that goes with it that drives people away. You'd think that with todays technology a court clerk would know how many jurrors will be needed on any given day, those people would be called, seated and be done. Instead (in most places anyway) you show up and are treated like you are the criminal while you wait around until 2 pm to be told that you aren't needed and that you get to come back tomorrow for more of the same.

There HAS to be a better way...

(Judging from some of the jury verdicts we've all seen...)

fishin', actually here in NY we have a better way, for regular juries at least. When you get your notice you are given a juror id# and a phone number to call sometime after 5 p.m. the night before your 'duty' starts. There you get a recorded message advising the range of numbers of those jurors who must report the next day. If your number isn't within that range you go about your regular business the next day and then call again. When my son was called, he didn't have to go in until Friday and then only for a couple of hours and that counted as his jury duty. My husband was called a few weeks ago and had to go in on Tuesday, but was also done on Tuesday, and again that counted. A much better system, I think.

bandylu2 - If your number doesn't come up during that week are you done?

One of my co-workers got called for jury duty a few weeks ago and he had to be at the Courthouse every morning at 8 am. He was never called so they released him at 1 pm each afternoon and told him to be back the following morning. He spent an entire week sitting in the jurror's waiting room at the courthouse reading newspapers and books he had brought. He never did sit on a jury. What a waste of time.

Patiodog,
...That's not the main reason. When I wa working civil service we got paid full salary. and people still tried to dodge jury duty. I suppose it's a lack of responsibility, and a lack of curiosity, all of which amazes me, as I would love to participate. Ironically, the closest I have goten so far is being an alternate. People take for granted, a proscess we benifit from... It seems "Everybody wants to get to heaven, but nobody wants to die."

My husband has been on jury several times, both local and superior, and has found it to be very interesting although the pay isn't very good. His boss did pay him some for time missed from work, but it still wasn't the same amount he would have made had he been there.

I've been called for jury duty a couple of times, but had to get out of it because my daughter is diabetic and I am her primary caregiver. There is/was no one else who could take my place at the time. Maybe it will be possible for me to go sometime in the future.

I am scheduled for jury duty on Jan. 6th.

The process in Florida is the same as New York, as Bandylu stated.

Yes, if you are not called, you have served your appointment.

I consider it an honor to serve on a jury, and I am looking forward to it because I've heard it's very interesting.

It's also an education to see how our judicial system operates, because most of us don't have a clue.

Great thread Babs!

That's right Misti, SHOUT IT OUT!.......I love your signature line by the way. I've never heard that before. :wink:

fishin', my husband never made it to Friday but my son did. On Friday they called in everyone who had not yet been called -- so yes, they all received a receipt that they had served.

Years ago, my husband had the same situation as your co-worker. He read all of Gone With the Wind (and he's not the fastest reader in the world).

Thanks Booman! Didn't mean to seem that I was shouting, just trying to be festive:)

C'mon now, Patiodog
THAT IS BS!!!
Your employer is required by law
to pay you your normal pay, less
the tiny amount you get paid from
the court - so what is your next
excuse?

babsatamelia...

My husband took a cut in pay when he was on jury duty. The reason for that is he missed out on a lot of overtime hours, and he was only paid for regular hours by his boss. My husband usually works a lot of 12 hour+ days, and when he was on jury duty, he was only paid for 8 hour days. It makes a difference.

YOU GO GIRL, MISTI!!
'tis a great thing to hear someone
who is enthusiastic about serving &
being a juror. You never know,
you may end up in a most amazing
case. OR, you may end up being
the KEY person, the one who forces
the rest of the group to take a
second & maybe even a third look
at the evidence, & the testimony if
that is what it takes. I hope Cicerone
Imposter will share his experience
as a juror with us here.
As for me, I only have been called
once, it was an arson case, & was very
straightforward. Not only were there
eyewitnesses, but the 2 men who were
paid to torch the place both testified to
to get off the hook themselves.
IMAGINE - if we could have had a smart,
on the ball, jury in the case of O.J.
Simpson's criminal trial - he would be
doing time for murder as we speak. It
seems there is a general consensus that
he did the deed??

JURY DUTY
I can see what you mean there Matrix.
Overtime is a whole other deal, and
mighty important if you need the $$$
bad, and who would work the 12 hour
days (as I often did) if not for a really
genuine need for the money. Those
are cruel/punishing hours to work. I
don't know how I ever did it. It was
way before my rheumatoid arthritis ever
got totally out of control. I could not do
it now if my life depended on it.
*Misti also brought up a very good point
about the fact that most of us don't have
a clue about what really goes on in a court
room, except from what we see on tv
shows, dramas. The judge FREQUENTLY
has to reiterate,again and again explaining
to the jurors why the verdict they came
back with is not appropriate, nor correct.
For example, take a man is on trial for
murder 2, the jury comes back and finds
him guilty of murder 1???? Scary scary
scary stuff. What if it was YOU on that
defendant seat???? Who would you want to
be deciding your fate?

babs...

Where my husband works 12 hour+ days are the norm, and they usually pay time and a half or double-time for the overtime, so it was costly to lose that. We could manage without it, but that overtime pay adds up quickly and is nice to have.

He did enjoy his time on jury duty a great deal, and has never tried to get out of it. He said what bothered him most, though, were some of the people selected for the jury - some were not too bright, and others were so eager to go home that they were willing to vote quickly for any verdict just so they could do so. (Makes you hope that nothing ever happens to put you in the place of the defendant, doesn't it...)

I actually didn't know all jobs had to pay you in full. If that's the case I don't think the OT thing is a valid excuse. I use to take every minute of overtime I could get, but I had no trouble giving it up for jury duty. I'm no gung-ho, flag-waver, but c'mon people, .....YOU THINK FREEDOM IS FREE?

Hi, Booman...
I don't think that anyone here has used OT as an excuse for getting out of jury duty, have they? I said that by being on jury duty my husband lost a lot of his paycheck which usually consists of many hours of OT, but that has NEVER stopped him from accepting his responsibilities when called to be on jury duty.

Hey there Matrix,
...Perhaps not in this forum, but I have in life, seen much flimsier excuses. Your husband is of course a responsible citizen.