Jury Duty

[Will]

I have been a registered voter ever since I made the mistake and voted for Jimmy Carter. I have never been called for Jury Duty in my life,not complaining as it would

have caused major problems for my employers as I was always in key positions. I have lived in Nashville and the adjoining counties most of my adult life. Lived most

Homes over ten years.no criminal record so I gotta wonder why. Have worked with people that were called every two or three tears,and some who were Tn Residents

only one year. Had a buddy who was Independent Contractor who worked out of town and would have left him with serious money problems as it would have with many people,but he went to person in charge in Williamson County and they worked with him on a schedule. I doubt this would be case with most as I have heard some horror stories. He had never registered to vote in his life. Some say the get you from random Driver License Draw.

[analog_kidd]

I'm in the same boat. I'm in my 50's, and have been a registered voter since I turned 18, voted in every election, had a drivers license since 16, owned lots of different properties, but I have never been called. My dad has been called at least a dozen times, my wife a couple. Even my 20 something son has been called.

[DaveTN]

Rutherford County uses drivers license lists. I have only been called once, and it was by the Feds. 

http://circuitcourtclerk.rutherfordcountytn.gov/faqs_jury.htm

Quote

 

How are jurors selected?

Jury selection begins when a name is randomly selected from a master computer generated list of persons with driver’s licenses. Those randomly selected citizens are sent a summons, which is a court order stating the required time and place to appear.

 

 

[56FordGuy]

Here they use voter registration and drivers licenses. You're in the pool for a six month term, and they can call you at any time. Once you serve on a jury you can ask to be excused for the remainder of the six month term.

My term ends in October, actually just served on a two week trial that ended this last Friday. I actually enjoyed the experience, but I've always been interested in the legal system. Would've preferred a shorter case with a different subject (civil suit, wrongful death) but overall it was pretty good.

[Grayfox54]

Its all just the luck of the draw. I've been called twice, The case got dismissed the first time. The second time I didn't get seated. 

Jury Duty can be a real PITA and many people try to get out of it. But, if called again, I will go as I see it as a civic duty. 

[quietguy]

I am in my early 40's, and have been called 7 times in two different counties.  My wife has only been called once for Grand Jury, and got out of it.  

It can be painful, depending on what is going on at work, but I am glad to do my civic duty.  The jury coordinators do a really good job in my experience, and it usually just takes 2-3 days of the two week commitment.  

[buck1032]

I have been in the jury pool in Bradley County for the last 4 months and have only been called in once, that was yesterday. It was a goat rope, cluster fork experience. The judge, a very nice and apologetic lady, explained the happenings and the procedures. I was in the seated jury box and was ready to begin the jury selection. The lawyers kept asking for a 5 min break which kept turning into a 30 or so min break. Eventually we took a recess for 30 min ourselves. When called back in the lawyers were seated and the suspect was no longer in the court room. They plead it down, the suspect went back to jail and we were dismissed. Over all it seemed like a very good waste of my tax dollars.  There were clerks, deputies, lawyers and 40 jurors to be selected from and we spent 3.5 hours just so the clown could plead down his case. The one thing I did take issue with was how the flags were situated around our state seal. The National Ensign was about a foot lower than the TN state flag. No flag should fly higher than the National Ensign. Two deputies corrected it, but how long had it been that way and why did it take a juror to notice it?

[Dustbuster]

The easiest way to get off of jury duty is to download the cowbell app for your cell phone, when the lawyer asks you a question get up and say I have a fever and the prescription is more cowbell then use the app to make the cowbell sound they should let you go home fairly quick



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk, its either this or smoke signals!

[TrickyNicky]

58 minutes ago, Dustbuster said:

The easiest way to get off of jury duty is to download the cowbell app for your cell phone, when the lawyer asks you a question get up and say I have a fever and the prescription is more cowbell then use the app to make the cowbell sound they should let you go home fairly quick



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk, its either this or smoke signals!


 

 

I was gonna suggest showing up in my 'Death To Whitey" tshirt, but I like the cowbell.

 

TGO needs more cowbell.

[Dustbuster]

[Ski]

3 hours ago, buck1032 said:

I have been in the jury pool in Bradley County for the last 4 months and have only been called in once, that was yesterday. It was a goat rope, cluster fork experience. The judge, a very nice and apologetic lady, explained the happenings and the procedures. I was in the seated jury box and was ready to begin the jury selection. The lawyers kept asking for a 5 min break which kept turning into a 30 or so min break. Eventually we took a recess for 30 min ourselves. When called back in the lawyers were seated and the suspect was no longer in the court room. They plead it down, the suspect went back to jail and we were dismissed. Over all it seemed like a very good waste of my tax dollars.  There were clerks, deputies, lawyers and 40 jurors to be selected from and we spent 3.5 hours just so the clown could plead down his case.

In Shelby County the judge that seems to be the primary liaison with the Jury Commissioner said that our service was particularly valuable for that precise reason.  Apparently it's not unusual for the presence of the potential jurors to cause defendants to reconsider taking a plea deal.  While it's wasteful that they didn't take the deal sooner, it's cheaper than taking it to trial. 

The first of my jury duty experiences ended in a similar fashion.  The judge was Joe Brown before his days as a "TV star".  The difference was that they had not seated anyone into the jury box.  The potential jurors were all in the vestibule awaiting admittance to the court room when the plea deal went down.

[Chucktshoes]

Jury duty is one of the ways in which folks can do the most good in society. It isn't just the juror's right, but his/her duty to judge not only the guilt or innocence of the accused but the justness of the law itself. If there is no victim there is no crime and 'society' can't be a victim. Any opportunity one can take to keep the state from stealing from folks or locking them in cages shouldn't be wasted. 

Edited August 24, 2016 by Chucktshoes