I have jury duty next week. What do I need to know?

[mahatmakanejeeves]

Posted in General Discussion too.

Petit juror, Circuit Court. I am on call for a week. I phone in the previous business day to see if I need to show up or not. I have no idea what cases will be heard.

I guess I get a parking spot (but the location is on a bus route). Do I bring food? Should I bring a pad of paper, or will that be confiscated? I know not to bring a pocket knife or police scanner. Those are taken, but cell phones are not. I'll have a book to read.

If I find the prosecution acting egregiously, is nullification in order? Yeah, I'm not expecting that would be a necessity, but....

Thanks.

[Vinnie From Indy]

1. If the case is about marijuana

you need to know the concept of jury nullification. If I were on a jury, I would never convict a non-violent marijuana defendant. I simply would not play along with the idiocy of the War on Drugs.

Cheers!

[Just Saying]

2. My county has a website

That told me what to bring and what to expect.

At least you get to call in. When I was called I had to report for a huge jury pool and they told us to expect to be there at least a week. And they gave you parking which is nice. They paid us $10/day and I had to pay $8 to park.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

3. There's a phone number for FAQ, but

no one has answered it yet. I'll try again. I might just take the bus. The bus stop is one block from the courthouse.

[Just Saying]

6. Well they were very organized here.

I live in Ohio in the county where Cleveland is located. They call in like 300 potential jurors at a time. (This was common pleas court.) They had us watch an orientation video then we had to wait. The computer picks jurors randomly and you go up for jury selection. If you're picked, you stay and if not it's back to the jury pool. They kept us in a very large room and there were vending machines. Also a cafeteria. We signed in and out. We had Internet access and televisions. We were pretty much free to do what we liked until we were selected. Once you're on a jury, you're on the judge's schedule and he or she will tell you when to come and go.

Good luck! It can be boring but it is a necessary and important part of our system. Oh and an honor. They will tell you that, too.

[Jenoch]

4. If you actually get seated on a jury and it takes a while,

they give you a lunch break. If you are just sitting around and waiting, I don't know. If I were you, I'd bring a sack lunch just in case.

I have never been called for jury duty and neither has any member of my family, except for my mother. She got a postcard in the mail saying she was being called for jury duty, but she did not go to the courthouse. She was 75 years old and had dementia.

I would like to serve jury duty just to see what it is like, although I know it is generally pretty boring. I would not however, wish to serve on a high profile case, nor any case that lasted more than a couple of days. I certainly would not wish to be a juror on the Zimmerman case.

[elleng]

5. Don't know how its done in Virginia,

sat on Federal case jury in DC and was great experience. BUT

You're among a group FROM WHICH jurors for trial(s) will be selected, so I'd bring food and something(s) to read, as you may be hanging around with nothing to do for hours. Bring your open mind, enjoy meeting people and learning about stuff. (and when possible, talking about what an idiot cucc is!!!)

Judge should notice if 'prosecution acting egregiously,' but that's not grounds for nullification, that would be grounds for not supporting prosecution's position IF they haven't made their case. Some stuff here, not particularly useful, imo: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jury_instructions

Please report back!

[mahatmakanejeeves]

7. neighboring jurisdictions have websites

http://www.courts.state.va.us/courts/circuit/jury.pdf

(Well, I guess Virginia is not a "neighboring jurisdiction.&quot

http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/courts/circuit/jury/

http://www.arlingtonva.us/departments/ClerkofCircuitCourt/JuryDuty/facts/page64924.aspx

My big question is should I bring lunch? I want to know if there's a refrigerator where I can keep food.

Thanks to everyone.

[StrayKat]

8. My mother had Fairfax jury duty a couple of years ago.

Despite what the website says, they served sandwiches and kept the jury out of the cafeteria once trial started. There was a refrigerator.

Cell phones were confiscated supposedly to avoid any photographs.

Can't say much more. In her case the defendant absconded at the first lunch recess after the trial started.

[railsback]

9. Always wise to bring food

You're body is going to need fuel to stay awake. Bring your laptop, smartphone, something for entertainment during breaks… or a book if that's your thing. Its hard to sit in that box all day - I find visual things in the courtroom to keep my mind from zoning out. The judge understands these things and keeps an eye on the jurors to make sure they're keeping up mentally, and can issue breaks at any time. And then there's the deliberation, which is the most interesting part, because people always want to be sure they're doing the right thing, and some of those conversations get really heated. Then the drama of reading the verdict, seeing the reactions...

Just be mentally prepared.

[sunflowerseed]

10. Take a book

[TheCowsCameHome]

11. Bring snacks, bottled water, and plenty to read.

There's a lot of time spent waiting and doing nothing.

I was seated on a jury Wednesday, but was challenged by a defense attorney and excused. It took four hours to get to that point, mostly waiting around in a jury pool room.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

12. This just in:

1) They have parking available, but I have to pay for it. It's the bus for sure, then.
2) No WiFi. Boo.
3) I can bring food, but there's no refrigerator.