Jury Duty
By Rachel Choi – 16 Comments| I got my first summon for jury duty! How exciting!!! Alright maybe it’s not that exciting, but at least now I can join the club of people that got one, plus I get a lot of down time to do you know what…crochet!
Everyone that I’ve talked to says it’s just so boring. But I’m still excited because I’ve never done it before. Plus I have a thing for crime shows and it might be cool to sit in a court room and listen to an interesting case. |
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Let me know what it’s like if you’ve had your turn at jury duty!
Jury duty is only as boring as a person wants to make it. I enjoyed the opportunity to witnessed our legal system in action, it gave me a better appreciation of the process. You may want to call ahead to see if you can bring in your hook or scissors into the building. I had to take a cheap folding scissors off of my key chain before I went in.
That’s a good point, I forgot that I might not be able to bring sharp objects. Thanks Cecelia 🙂
I got summoned twice, and each time just spent hours sitting waiting to be called. Never did get called. I wasn’t crocheting much then, so I just had a hand-held solitaire game to pass the time.
I got called twice…the first time they were selecting for a number of cases…I did get called in front of the lawyers for one case, but was rejected so didn’t make the jury…the second time it was a murder trial and the selection took 2 whole days…didn’t get called that time. I love reading true crime stories (by Ann Rule in particular), so a murder trial would have been very interesting!!
Hey Rachel, check this site out.
http://www.jud.ct.gov/jury/faq.htm
I found this there. Probably the same for all states but you can check out the rules for yours. Hope this helps.
ARE THERE ANY ITEMS I SHOULD NOT BRING TO COURT?
Jurors may not bring disruptive or potentially dangerous items into the courthouse. A disruptive item includes, but is not limited to, the following: a radio, boom box, portable television, compact disc player/recorder or cassette player/recorder. Potentially dangerous items include, but are not limited to, pocket knives and sharp objects such as tools or knitting needles. If you have any questions regarding what to bring, contact Jury Administration at 1-800-842-8175. (CT)
Aw I don’t want to be bored! That’s a good list you found Donna, I guess I’ll be bringing a book, that won’t be harmful to anyone 🙂
I work for lawyers. Believe me, it is ABSOLUTELY NOTHING like what you see on television. Prepare to be bored.
I only got called 1 time; I was so excited! I’ve always wanted to do Jury duty. Turns out it was a murder trial; the victim was my cousin-in-law’s x-husband. I couldn’t serve!
I’ve had jury duty twice. Both times I was in the last group of people left but then we were all sent home. So I’ve never actually made it to the court room part with the lawyers questioning. My hubby got picked and was on a jury. He loved it and looks forward to jury duty. Me, well, I was actually relieved to get to go home. 🙂 I took a book with me to pass the time.
i had jury duty last year,here in Weat Virginia they told me if i brought my crochet needles with me they would take them away so i went out and bought plastic ones and took those put them in my glasses case the only time i had to go i was able to sneek them in i just sat in the middle some where not to bee seen i held it low ,and no one ever noticed except the ladie next to me said she wished she would have done that ,think GOD i did they were running an hour and a half behind that day just my luck.atleast i didnt get caught
HAPPY CROCHETING TO ALL
TO CUT MY YARN I USED FINGER NAIL CLIPPERS AS LONG AS THEY R CLEAN
Rachel, thank you for going to jury duty; the first time is excting. You get to feel like you are making a difference. Bring a book – better still bring your crocheting- people will be there and will notice that you are very talented. Bring an extra hook and some yarn; you will probably get a chance to teach a new person to crochet. Yay, another crocheter in the world.
They will give you some information about jury duty and your civic responsibility; take time to read it-it is very informative.
Thanks for letting us know.
Gigi
Personally, I’ve never gotten it and I’m happy not to have. I’m really not eager to go. I will say, if you do get chosen, be a good juror and a good listener. And think about the outcome well. Because me and my mom were in court because of a car accident. A car slammed into the back of us while we were sitting at a red light. Unfortunately the car behind him slammed into him and it became a big argument over who’s fault it was. Now my mom has permanent back pain and my brother’s car was totaled and we ended up getting scr*wed because unfortunately our jury was clearly filled with morons. First they only give $9000 which covers pretty much the ambulance ride alone and then they didn’t add in a provision for legal fees to be covered. So that also had to be covered by the $9000. So we ended having bills out the wazoo because some guy who was on something (had a nice big bad of pills in his car, though that was ‘inadmissible’) and the jury didn’t pay attention or think about their final decision.
Don’t mean to sound bitter, but it still gets to me sometimes even though it was about a year ago. I just wish they’d paid more attention to what they were doing.
I got mine too… definitely sent it back saying i would be out of town for school even though i leave the next week….. i’ll go next time… i promise ( with my fingers crossed behind my back lolol)
Rachel what fun! I have been on jury duty twice and got picked twice. I totally enjoyed the whole thing. I was however, very disappointed in some of the other juriors, because they did not want to be there and grumbled all the time. When we had to go and take a vote on the outcome, most of them said, they didn’t care, just went with the group, so they could go home. A few were really ticked at me, because I was “for” the one that was hurt. It was a long story and I was so surprised they were on the other side. Then for the next case I was on it was pretty black and white. It was fun!j
I would suggest bringing a plastic crochet hook, they can’t be as *dangerous* as a metal or wood one. 😛 Or a good book, something nice and long (Stephen King’s IT or The Stand would be my personal choices because they are long and I love his stories!)