Results tagged “jury duty” from Debi's Journal

My mom calls San Bernardino Peak her own personal Mount Fuji.

It's no fun getting sick because your kid picked up a virus from a schoolmate. Yesterday, after sleeping all day, I rocked back and forth in my bed for an hour straight.

I only lasted one day at jury duty.

A few years ago there was an armed robbery involving several men out in the desert. XYZ Law Enforcement Agency (fake name, duhr) responded, and during a foot chase with one suspect, the fleeing man ditched his gun; however, at some point the pursuing officer felt threatened and shot the suspect twice, killing him. The family of the suspect decided to pursue an "unreasonable use of excessive force" (or something like that) civil case against the officer.

Every potential juror was given a list of questions, such as name/hometown/occupation, ever served on a jury and if so, was a verdict given, does anyone you know work in law enforcement, etc. When my turn came up, I stated that my brother works for XYZ Law Enforcement Agency, the very same one as the defendant. After lunch break, the plaintiffs' lawyer re-interviewed everyone who mentioned having a relative/neighbor/friend in law enforcement. Basically, his question was, "Would that influence your ability to give a fair verdict in this case?" Two people admitted that they would give more credence to the defendant because people in law enforcement hold higher standards and would be more believable. I said it would make no difference to me and that I felt I could make a fair judgement, and so the Judge asked, "So you wouldn't discuss this case with your brother?" to which I responded, "He would insist that I didn't."

Next was the preemptive strike, where each lawyer was allowed to remove five potential jurors. Surprise, surprise, the plaintiff's lawyer excused everyone with connections to law enforcement, including me. The defense lawyer was pretty cool, because two of the people he excused had mentioned during their interviews that being on this jury for three weeks would be a hardship (one said it would be a financial hardship, the other was an elementary school teacher whose class was participating in a science fair the following week).

The top eight remaining jurors on the list were placed on the jury, and the final juror was the woman sitting to my left who was just above me on the list. So even if I weren't excused during the preemptive strike, I wouldn't have made it on the jury anyway.

Unlike Superior Court, which only pays you $5 a day beginning the second day of jury service, Federal Court pays you $40 + mileage beginning the first day, so I ended up with a $55 check for all that. Sure beats the $5 that I had to pay back to my employer (because they automatically reimburse you) a decade ago.

This hat was purchased at Disneyland, the land of sunshine and happy children. I was wearing a shirt with a big white peace sign, but I don't think anyone other than my sister noticed the contradiction with the hat. It was my mom's 75th birthday last Thursday so my sister and I took her for a day of fun. For 2009 you can get in Disneyland for free on your birthday, unless you're already an annual passholder in which case they give you a $60 gift card that can only be spent on merchandise (like, pirate-themed hats) in the park only on that day. It can't be spent on food, which was a real bummer because we would have splurged at the Blue Bayou restaurant (the one inside the Pirates of the Caribbean ride).

~*~

Tonight was the night before my latest jury service was to begin. Normally I would need to call the jury confirmation number after 7:00pm, but I also had the option to check my status online. Cool.

Participant Number: 5XXXXXXXX
Zip Code: 9XXXX

You do not have to report on Tuesday, January 27. Be reminded however that you are on-call for two weeks. Please go to work and check this message again, after 7:00pm, on Monday, February 2 for the next day's reporting schedule.

Melody asked me, "Wouldn't it be so cool to be on a jury for a murder case?" I would have to think on that for a bit. The last two times I was in jury selection were for an auto theft case and a burglary by a housekeeper, which for a 13-year-old are not all that exciting. Both times the jury was selected before I was interviewed, so maybe the third time's the charm?

I thought I was off the hook for a year. BZZZTTT! WRONG!
This came in the mail yesterday. My little pink "you are excused from jury service for one year" slip from the county Superior Court doesn't mean jack to U.S. District Court since I didn't actually sit on a jury.

Three summonses in a year! I'm freaking special!

At least Federal Court pays you more -- $40 per day as opposed to Superior Court which is only $5 per day beginning the second day of service.

You have been randomly selected as a prospective juror for the United States District Court, Central District of California. This Federal Court has jurisdiction over people who live in Los Angeles, Ventura, Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino Counties.

I don't live too far from Riverside, the location of the courthouse where I have to report. I feel sorry for those who have to report all the way from San Luis Obispo, over 200 miles away.

This is Mel's second year in her middle school marching band. This past October 19 they marched in the Loma Linda Community Parade. Loma Linda used to be populated by mostly Seventh-Day Adventists, who observe the Sabbath on Saturday (thus many shops are closed Saturdays). Their post office is open on Sunday, and they hold their big parade on a Sunday. The Grand Marshall this year was Brigadier General Loree K Sutton, MD, U.S. Army; her connection to the town was the fact that she received her graduate degree from Loma Linda University some two decades ago.

October 29 was Jury Duty Day for me. I took an antihistamine before I left home as a precaution. I dutifully arrived at the courthouse a few minutes shy of 8:00AM and zipped through the metal detector with a small bag I borrowed from Melody containing just my ID, car keys, jury duty paperwork, and a novel (at least, that's all that I thought I had at the time). I remember during my previous stint that camera phones were banned from the courthouse, but this time around everyone had their Blackberries/Tilts/whatever and phones were constantly ringing in the jury assembly room.

The room. It was packed full of people, and it stank. The antihistamine didn't seem to have any affect on my sinuses, and within the first half hour I was no longer able to breathe through my nose. The room reeked of smokers, heavy perfume, and body wash. Ugh.

The check-in staff didn't even finish processing everyone until around 9:20AM. I could have shown up an hour late to the courthouse and nobody would have cared. Once the last person was checked in, we all had to sit through a movie featuring jurors who had such a wonderful experience serving on a jury. Maybe 15 minutes after that, the assembly room staff posted four lists, and we all had to check to see which group we were in. I was in Group C. The staff announced that each judge would eventually call in and give instructions for their particular group. I assumed that this meant there were four cases and four judges for today.

About 9:50AM, the staff announced that one of the judges has called in! The defendant has plead guilty! Group C has been excused!

I was relieved, not because I didn't want to be on a jury, but because Mel had two appointments the next day, plus it was a minimum day at school, and I didn't want to be stuck in a courtroom for two days like the last two times I had jury duty. So it all worked out and I won't have to expect another summons for at least a year.

Oh yeah, about that bag I took with me... After I returned home and emptied it out, I noticed that the side pocket had a hole in the bottom. I found several items underneath the bag lining including lip gloss and a swiss army knife. Great job you're doing there, courthouse security. I'm glad I've never taken that bag to the airport. I fear what TSA would do to me.

First, the pretty:
I don't know what kind of flowers those are (I probably blogged about them in the past, too) but they unexpectedly sprouted around the roses one day a few years ago. I don't know what kind of butterfly this is, but it's fairly common around here. Update: Jessie was kind enough to let me know that this is a Fiery Skipper.

I wasn't chosen for the jury pool for the federal court case I mentioned back in July, which made me still available for jury duty. Not surprisingly, I received a new jury service summons, for the local superior court this time. Mel bought a few interesting books at her school's book fair last week, including a novel that her dad and stepmother forbade her to read (they might as well tell her PLEASE READ THIS BOOK!, duh). I'll probably take that book with me for what will likely be an astoundingly boring two days.

You have been randomly selected from a group of registered voters for possible service as a Federal juror in the United States District Court...

Here I go again, though if I make it to the jury pool this time around, it will be very different from my previous experiences.

I've received at least six summonses (I've lost count, really) since I turned 18. The first couple of times I was excused because I was a full-time university student. Then I received at least one summons while I was living up in the Bay Area, but I hadn't changed my address with the DMV so I got out of that one because I wasn't a resident of the county issuing the summons at the time. Once or twice after I moved back to So. Cal, I received yet more summonses, showed up at the courthouse and was assigned to a group that ended up being sent home soon after lunchtime. Finally, when I was working at Cal State San Bernardino, I made it as far as voir dire (jury selection) for the first time, ever, for an auto theft case. It took two days, was boring as hell, and the jury members were finally selected at the end of the second day before I had a chance to be interviewed by the lawyers. The most interesting part was that quite a number of people gave some really lame excuses to the judge as to why they should be excused from jury service. Against my religion? I don't believe in the justice system? My car was stolen last week and it was so traumatizing that I can't be impartial for this case? Come on! You can do better than that! The one thing that bothered me the most, however, was that the defendant sat in the courtroom and listened to all the jury interviews. I really didn't want this smirky scumbag (guilty until proven innocent!) learning my name, how I made my living, and where I worked. What if I say he's guilty and he gets his buddies to hunt me down and teach me a lesson? That really, really bothered me.

The last time I was summoned was maybe two years ago. Again, I made it to voir dire for a theft case involving an immigrant housekeeper, but this time the judge decided to have a huge jury pool that packed the courtroom. The excuses were way more comical this time around, but the judge was pretty cool and excused people for just about any idiotic reason, because, hey, he had a big pool! His strategy worked, because by the end of the second day he had himself a nice jury, and (does this sound familiar) I hadn't had a chance to be interviewed. I think that in both cases, had my name come up early in the selection process, I would very likely had ended up on the jury. It's not like I'm conveniently married to a cop like some people I know.

All these previous duties took place at the local county courthouse. This one would be in Federal court, and the trial is expected to last four months. Good thing I don't have any vacations planned for the rest of the year. So I did my duty and filled out the nifty juror questionnaire, and I will find out in a couple of weeks if I'm selected for the jury pool.

I wonder if it's purely a coincidence that I received the summons so soon after I renewed my drivers license last month. I don't believe for one moment in this "random selection" hooey, since I know too many people who have never received a summons, and mine come regularly every three or so years.