Two and a half days of sitting through Jury selection. I managed to escape without being put in the box for questioning . NOBODY wanted any part of that trial . Aggravated Criminal Neglect of a six year old. The child was later murdered by someone else. I feel for those people that were selected . It's going to be a bad one .

About 15 years ago I got called for jury duty. The trial was for the murder of a 1 yr old boy, the accused was the boyfriend of the mother. My assigned seat for jury selection was in the jury box and I ended up on the jury. It was a long, mentally draining week of testimony and deliberations. The scumbag was convicted but only on 2 of 4 charges. Not surprisingly the jury was split along racial lines.

Obviously during Jury selection they couldn't tell us any real details of the case. Trial started yesterday afternoon and the news outlets reported on the testimony. There is no doubt this sorry bitch is guilty as hell and I hope she burns.I was wrong . The little girl was two yrs old ..

There’s a lot of evil in this world, crimes against kids are the worst. As long as I live, I’ll never forget what I saw and heard during that week. Glad you didn’t have to deal with all of that.

A few years back a secretary at work was called for jury duty. She arrived to work by lunch time and said she was excused.
As it turned out, the trial was about a guy accused of rape. When questioned for the jury, our secretary told them the guy was guilty, she could tell by his looks.
Dismissed!

A couple years back I got selected for a jury on a child rape case. The crime happened about 10 years prior and the guy got arrested then too but between covid and his health issues the trial got delayed for a decade, so fortunately for my sanity the girls testifying were over 18 and at least I didn’t have to listen to a 9 year old girl on the stand. Though we did have to watch the girls being interviewed around that age after the arrest. It was awful.

What was rough for me is that the state absolutely didn’t prove their case. But I was pretty sure the guy was guilty and I was seriously conflicted. But it ended in a mistrial as the state didn’t give all the evidence to the defense team so I never had to pass judgment.

They retried the case about a year later and he was found guilty, which he probably was. I pray for those jurors and hope they made the right decision.

You dodged a bullet! That is worse than the jury duty case I was seated on.

2 or 3 years ago, I got called for County and Federal jury duty 3 months apart. The Feds didn't give a darn that I had actually served on the county jury, and said "it wasn't us." Glad I didn't have to serve on the fed case as it was a LEO accused of having sex with an illegal immigrant while in custody.

The County Case made my heart hurt. It was family court and a custody battle between two narcissists who couldn't co-parent and it was roughly their 10th time in court in 10 years. One of the "parents" actually made the child testify on their 15th birthday and had their low budget attorney ask, "Which parent do you want to live with?" The kid cried their eyes out on the witness stand in front of a room full of strangers. Quite a few moist eyes in the jury box too. Both "parents" were shitty human beings and it came down to the least objectionable parent (i.e. too bad there wasn't a 3rd option). After the trial the judge came into the jury room, spoke with us a few minutes, and quipped "I wouldn't let either one of them babysit my kids."

Spent a few days on a grand jury a few years back. I live in a fairly affluent area and could not believe all the crime going on in my community. A few of the indictments were child abuse cases.

Being a former LEO, I never get jury duty. I guess they assume I'm biased. (which I am)

quote:

Originally posted by birddog1: Not surprisingly the jury was split along racial lines.

And whites are the racists??

quote:

Originally posted by Tn226:

quote:

Originally posted by birddog1: Not surprisingly the jury was split along racial lines.

And whites are the racists??

The guy had blood splatter on his pants, the mother he did it but those folks weren’t convinced. Maddening.

Mine wasn't that bad.

Guy was on trial for stealing a fishing lure by taking it out of the packaging and putting it in the crotch of his pants.

Now if there were anywhere I wouldn't want to have six sharp barbed hooks...

^^^Now just where in the world does one find a jury of one’s peers in that case? Joe’s Tattoos and Piercings? Walmart? Bass Pro Shop?

My last summons was for Federal jury. Had to request it but requested an excusal due to age which I qualified for.

Downtown Flint Michigan, distance from here to there 49 miles one way. At least one hour each way IF there isn’t a crash on the expressway which is just about a daily occurrence. Parking is not included, reimbursement is calculated on mileage alone. The court would pay per diem and reimburse for lodging but I had to be 65 miles one way from the courthouse, probably because the jury pool they draw from includes northern Michigan.

And then we had this:

What do I wear to court?
Jurors are expected to dress in a manner reflective of the formality of the court proceedings and to preserve the dignity of the Court. Business casual attire is acceptable. Clothing such as tank or halter tops, plunging necklines, shorts, t-shirts, blue jeans, sweatpants, flip-flops, or sneakers is not appropriate wear while you are sitting as a juror. You may wish to bring a sweater or jacket as temperatures vary in the courtrooms. No hats are permitted in the courtroom during proceedings.

I have nothing but jeans, t shirts and sweatshirts in my “wardrobe”. All my business casual wear was so worn out I tossed it in the trash when I retired nine years ago.

My feet are so beat up after fifty plus years on concrete floors all I wear is athletic shoes including when motorcycle riding.

So on top of the drive I was probably facing at least 2-3 hundred dollars in clothes that would sit in the closet or donated to charity once the jury duty was fulfilled.

Local court jury is pretty laid back here, jeans are acceptable.

I've been on a couple juries, in comparatively small cases. On one of the cases, I figured both the DA and the defense attorney should serve time for being blundering idiots.

The woman was convicted of Attempted Second Degree Cruelty To A Juvenile . A lesser charge than the original. Sentencing will be at a later date .

quote:

Originally posted by selogic:
The woman was convicted of Attempted Second Degree Cruelty To A Juvenile . A lesser charge than the original. Sentencing will be at a later date .

Good.

I posted about my jury duty early last year. It was a civil case, auto accident, double name ambulance chasers. It was an easy week and nothing to scar the mind. But it was an eye opening experience.

quote:

Originally posted by Delta-3:
Being a former LEO, I never get jury duty. I guess they assume I'm biased. (which I am)

I used to think the same. Appeared for jury duty, was in the pool for a homicide case. I am a retired LE, having served as a homicide detective and was the supervisor of the homicide/major crimes division. I had family members that were victims of homicide and attempted homicide. I was leaving that week for Florida, where my elderly mother was having cancer surgery. THEY PICKED ME!

Thank God the guy pled guilty at the last moment.