Should Citizens Be Forced into Jury Duty?
Why No One Should Be Forced to Serve Jury Duty
US Citizens Can expect to be called for Jury Duty.
Jurors are selected randomly from voter registration lists, motor vehicle lists, telephone directories, and utility company lists. Therefore, chances are, if you live in a country you will be called upon at one time or another. Being called does not mean you will have to serve on a trial jury, but that you will be interviewed to serve. A person can be called on as often as once a year. If you receive a summons, you should not ignore it but respond, whether you are able to attend or not.
Why do I have to serve jury duty?
Many people do not want to serve jury duty for one reason or another. Perhaps I will cause a financial hardship if they miss time for work. Perhaps children will be left without a caretaker is a parent serves. Other people feel it will cause emotional distress to themselves to serve. Jury duty service is not voluntary. This means if they call you, you must respond. If you have a good excuse to not attend, you may be excused. Reasons you may be excused are financial hardship, case bias, pre-formed opinion, or if you are a convicted felon.
What happens to the juror after Jury Duty?
Once the verdict is made and the trial is over, the jury is given closing instructions and sent home. A recent Dr. Phil show profiled the Jurors from the infamous Scott Peterson trail. Just by serving on that trial and administering their verdict, their lives have been seriously affected. Most jurors say they need to see a therapist, which the government has not provided. According to the superior Court of Arizona, "Serving on a jury is not a common experience and may cause some jurors to have temporary symptoms of distress... Some temporary signs of distress following jury duty include: anxiety, sleep or appetite changes, moodiness, physical problems (e.g. headaches, stomach aches, no energy, and the like), second guessing your verdict, feeling guilty, fear, trouble dealing with issues or topics related to the case, a desire to be by yourself, or decreased concentration or memory problems." They encourage the sufferer of this depression (which is clearly described above) to resist bad thoughts and get on with their life.
What are my options if I cannot be excused or am afraid to serve for personal and emotional reasons?
You have no options. Recently in Dade City, Florida, after being picked first from the jury pool Monday to hear a civil trial at the Pasco County Courthouse, Harrell, 20, showed up in court the next day with little enthusiasm for his civic duty. He handed over his juror's badge to Circuit Judge Wayne Cobb's bailiff, saying he didn't want to serve any longer." To make a long story short, he was jailed for 15 days.
How do you feel about serving on a jury?
Personally, though I would probably go, if I could make arrangements for my homeschooled kids, I would be afraid of ending up fearful, depressed, or worse. I do not feel anyone should have to serve if they have reservations. What do you think?
Published by A. Hermitt
Andrea Hermitt is an artist by nature and an educator by necessity. As a homeschooling mom of 10 years, she stays current in all things educational, and cutting edge to help her homeschool her children, and... View profile
- Six Odd but Interesting Jury Duty Excuses Every American citizen must be available for jury duty, a core component of the US justice system. It is also common to use many excuses to get out of jury duty. This article takes a look at a few of the strangest e...
-
Phone Scams: Were You Summoned for Jury Duty?
If you receive an unexpected phone call, accusing you of missing your assigned jury duty, maligning your patriotic spirit and requesting personal data, hang up the phone! Here a...
- Missouri Attorney General Warns of Jury Duty Scam Tons of residents have called in about an identity theft jury duty scam.
- Jury Duty on Inauguration Day 2009 This should be the closing for the article, but it's not! After everything that happened at jury duty in a Florida government building, I was shocked at this last action.
- If You Are in Financial Hardship, Loan Modification is for You If you are a homeowner facing foreclosure due to financial hardship, loan modification may be the only option for you to be able to stay in your home.
- Jury Duty: The Great Equalizer
- How to Get Out of Jury Duty Service
- What to Expect at Erie County (New York State) Jury Duty
- How to Avoid Jury Duty
- Top Ten Ways to Get (kicked) Out of Jury Duty
- Jury Duty Part I: Jury Selection
- Are Breastfeeding Mothers Excused from Jury Duty?
|
|
- Jury Duty is a Civic Duty
- Serving Jury Duty has been known to cause emotional issues.
17 Comments
Post a CommentI don't have a problem with doing this civil duty ONCE. But, I swear I get these damn summons every 2 years since I was 19 years old! There are people in their 60's who have never been called! I've done my turn. I'd like to opt out. It's not like I've never done it and refuse to but I've been on 3 juries and have been called at least 3 times outside of that. Who the hell has that kind of luck???
I think that jury duty is a big waste of time. I was surprised to see hundres of people sitting around doing nothng while the lawyers and judges take their time going about their business. The economy would move a lot faster if people were working instead of sitting aroud waiting to be called because somebody made a bad choice
As I understand, involuntary servitude, except as punishment for a crime, is unconstitutional. I believe that forced jury duty is involuntary servitude. Sure it is imortant, as is serving in the Militay, I just think that it should be voluntary. Do you really trust the judgement of jurors who do not want to be there, but were forced to be rational and impartial?
I whole heartily agree with everything Dee stated!! I think it is complete b.s that as American citizens we are forced to serve jury duty. So much for freedom. I am a proud American citizen, don't get me wrong! But people who say it is our "civic duty" to serve can suck it. I serve my country in other ways. I don't think I should be one to decide if someone goes to jail or whatever the punishment is. Half the time I can't decide if I have done something wrong or not, and now I am supposed to decide if some random stranger did. And if an innocent person goes to jail b/c of a verdict I help decide on that is on my conscious, great! The whole jury duty process is GARBAGE!! Let some one who actually WANTS to be there, be there instead of me. That person will make a better juror then me! It makes me so angryy
I do not feel that you should HAVE to serve jury duty. If one wanted to make decisions concerning criminals they would have studied law. I really do not feel comfortable about this. Who am I to decide if someone is guilty or not? I wasn't there and it's none of my busy.
Having just did this yesterday i was so livid about the whole exp. that i came to the web to find out what would have happened had I not gone and (drumroll...) I would have went to jail? Lame. High dollar judges and lawyers make all this money yet we have to do their job? I don't feel it is your responsibility as a human being to judge someone else. But that is personal beliefs that I won't bestow here, but I say that to say this I have to agree wholeheartedly with Tom B. if this is a must then people who are unemployed receiving benifits or receiveing gov. assistance and aren't working should be the prime candidates. I have yet to understand why do people who do nothing get all the breaks and people who do everything get none? Only in America
They say jury duty can be stressful.
Yet they force people who have heart trouble and high blood pressure to serve.
I know someone who kept giving them a doctor certificate showing he had this problem. Yet they still insisted he serve on the jury.
Maybe if they get a few lawsuits they will quit forcing people who really should not serve do to health problems.
i want to be on a jury someday, but it should not be forced. Actually, I think that you can only be called to jury duty if you are a registered voter, or so I hear.
Don't have anything to do.sorry for boo boo. bye!
screw the gov.13 th amendment no slavery or forced servitude. Why be forced to sit in a cold building on hard slabs they call benches. sue the courts for bad backs ,make them pay and maybe we can stop them from calling on us.. better yet they should only call people that are on welfare , they don't have to work and they don't anything to do.