Jury Duty. Have you? Like it? Avoid it?

Not really a people person, I avoid it. Its a self diagnosis after lots of reading, but I'm pretty sure I have Social Anxiety Disorder. This forum and occasional face-book, is the extent of my being around people. Luckily my profession allows me to be left alone throughout the day at work.
 
I have done it several times. No fun. Some cases are interesting though. You have to get picked. The waiting is the part that is mind numbing boring. The jury pool is like what you would find spending the day at Walmart. I was in a Grand Jury once. Very educational.
 
Well in my county they’ve got this newfangled thing and you have to check online every afternoon if you’ve got to show the next morning.
Kind of sitting home reserve.
 
Last time I got summoned for the pool, the case was a capital case involving home invasion and the death penalty. When asked if I favored the dp, I commented that the perp (who was sitting there), was lucky the homeowner hadn't already killed him during the act... :devilish: For some reason I was dismissed as was the weenie before me who did not believe in the dp... :rolleyes:
 
Alpa Chino said:
Well in my county they’ve got this newfangled thing and you have to check online every afternoon if you’ve got to show the next morning.
Kind of sitting home reserve.
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I had that once. It worked out well. I still ended up sitting at the courthouse waiting but it was definitely more efficient.
 
Been called for county court jury duty three times and I'm quite happy to perform my civic duty, but I've only made it onto a jury in a civil trial. One case I was not selected for was a rape incest case, which I was quite relieved to be excused from the jury pool!
 
BeerHunter said:
Been called for county court jury duty three times and I'm quite happy to perform my civic duty, but I've only made it onto a jury in a civil trial. One case I was not selected for was a rape incest case, which I was quite relieved to be excused from the jury pool!
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I guess some people live by the old mantra, "The closer the kin, the deeper it goes in."
 
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Voter Registration in my state.

Don't wanna serve?
Wear a black T-shirt saying "Shoot em all and let God sort em out.". Consider adding a Grim Reaper graphic.
Pick your nose and face incessantly to stand out in court. Maybe scratch your Johnson occasionally too.
If that fails, wear a shirt with my Avatar Logo and that will probably do the job in most states that are blue. But, be
aware, you're not suppose to bring a firearm to court and given today's world, they will call that a firearm. ;)
But rest assured when you go through the metal detector, expect a cavity search too.

Having said that, if I was selected most fellow jurors would not like me. Either criminal or civil court, I will need a lot of
solid proof to convict or find the verdict favorable for a party in a suit. It would be a very high burden to convince me.
I would have no issue being the lone person that wouldn't convict with eleven other jurors voting the opposite way. They could hound me for weeks or months, but if I truly believed the person was innocent, they would not sway me.

I would have no issues with Jury Nullification.
The Judge should not even be able to bring up the topic of Jury Nullification other than in a positive light and as an option
for the jury. Otherwise, it immediately prejudices the case the moment he/she brings it up in a negative tone or light or starts striking jurors because they appear positive or knowledgeable about nullification. Everyone that sits in the box should be aware of it.

Racer, you are 100% correct, judges prefer rubber stamp case or cases where his fellow lawyers are going to make lots of coin.


no4mk1t said:
Been called once. Didn't get picked. It showed me they waste a tremendous amount of time. Jurors told to report NLT 0800.
Attorneys start showing up at 0830. Judge doesn't arrive until 0900. Break for lunch at 1100...2hrs. Resume at 1300 and repeat the morning drama of all the players drifting in over the next 45 minutes. Dismissed for the day at 1500.
It's no wonder cases take a year plus to go to trial.
Oh, and the judge just spun around in his chair during jury selection. o_O
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How else will the attorneys justify billing the client $500 per hour for a full day of work at $4K? They gotta keep themselves fed while you get $30 for the entire day.
 
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USApat said:
How else will the attorneys justify billing the client $500 per hour for a full day of work at $4K? They gotta keep themselves fed while you get $30 for the entire day.
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I wont ask what state you are in but $500 an hour is Ivy League territory. Only a handful of the very best attorneys bill $1000-1200. The average for mere mortals with money in the bank is $300 for a very respectable attorney. Some states and DC, slightly higher, some like Wyoming, etc. slightly lower. Night school lawyers are a lot cheaper.
 
Well that was easy.
Dismissed after two hours.
Judge came into the jury room, said both defendants in two separate cases on his docket decided not to show.
Arrest warrant issued and we were free to go.
On a side note, I wouldn’t want to be dependent on half the people in there.
 
Bongo Lewi said:
I wont ask what state you are in but $500 an hour is Ivy League territory. Only a handful of the very best attorneys bill $1000-1200. The average for mere mortals with money in the bank is $300 for a very respectable attorney. Some states and DC, slightly higher, some like Wyoming, etc. slightly lower. Night school lawyers are a lot cheaper.
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I have not dealt with lawyers much probably because I haven't fucked over people in general. I have never been sued, nor have I sued. However, the lawyers I have interacted with were/are very expensive and that was probably because the divorce matter was in a jurisdiction of a major expensive city. (BTW, not my divorce. I was helping a sibling) Most interactions with lawyers here was helping family or friends that had issues or matters in their lives.

Unfortunately, you will find expensive predatory lawyers rooted and residing in probate court stealing from the dead. And probate is like death and taxes. Everyone will eventually have to file a legal application in that dreaded courtroom and you want it to be rubber stamped and smooth and get your ass moving out their door. So, prepare accordingly and do your kin a favor with a properly prepared will that IS UPDATED and current. Otherwise your kids and family are in for a world of hurt and unnecessary time and expenses.

Yep, probate attorneys are the very definition of ambulance chasers. Or, should I say hearse chasers. They're the bottom of the barrel for attorneys with both ethics and intelligence. Probate lawyers can be fossils because it's easy money shuffling paperwork most of the time. They get their hourly rates based on the number of years they've been in practice. Without doubt, they are typically the dumbest graduates of law school and park their asses in probate staying there until they retire/die. I have met only one intelligent probate attorney and the rest were hacks. And, I've had to deal with probate a few times due to family members dying very young and not having wills because of their age.

I have dealt with probate attorneys billing $400+ per hour because they were in practice for 40+ years. Yes, it cost an estate close to $2,800 dollars a day (7 hours of sitting) for an appointed administrator (attorney) to sit on a patio smoking a cigar and snapping photos of things removed from a house. This is all he did! Well, he did have to write scribbled notes on a sheet of paper too. Obviously, removing property like this can take days/weeks if it all has to be inventoried and packed. So, do the math. And update your will. Often.

Include a residuary clause. 👈 IMPORTANT! This last sentence is the best advice you can receive if you care about your family, property and your wishes.

Look it up. The clause can be only one sentence. Also, look up the ramifications if you don't have that sentence and you also have some property you haven't gifted appropriately or simply overlooked it, or the beneficiary is now dead. It can be a linchpin issue that throws your estate into the expensive and time consuming probate system.

BTW, the state calls the exorbitant rates "reasonable attorney fees" on their orders approving payment. $450 per hour is reasonable. In a dependent administration all invoicing requires approval by the judge and an order.
 
Best to avoid probate hassles for your heirs by putting your most valuable assets in a trust. My will is one page, specifying who gets some personal items to pass down. Everything else simply refers to the trust, which is very explicit. My parents did the same thing many years ago. When they were both gone, it was relatively painless for me as the trustee. My mother was trustee when my father passed and when she was gone it became me. The attorney who wrote the trust and will was very good and didn't gouge me. Probate is a whole 'nuther thing. As you said, it can get ugly and expensive.

When you have a trust, the probate court is notified. Basically a judge rubber stamps it and then the trustee moves along without further interaction with the court. It takes about a week.

If I suddenly drop dead, my wife and son are co-trustees. My wife is not his mother.

The side benefit of a trust is if you do something dumb and get sued, your trust cannot be attached. Good way to protect the nest egg you spent your whole life building.

We are all going to die. Pays to plan ahead.
 
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Alpa Chino said:
Well that was easy.
Dismissed after two hours.
Judge came into the jury room, said both defendants in two separate cases on his docket decided not to show.
Arrest warrant issued and we were free to go.
On a side note, I wouldn’t want to be dependent on half the people in there.
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Yep. A disproportionate number of jurors are turnip brains.
 
Racer88 said:
The lawyers on BOTH sides WANT turnip brains.... in other words people who are easily influenced.
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….and that is exactly why I’m not a fan of the current “may the one with the most expensive lawyer win” system.


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