quote:

Originally posted by photohause:
Bring a chair seat cushion.....all the court room benches I had sat on are hard wood. They will allow it.

Well today I found out the grand jury room has very comfortable chairs like you would find in a typical corporate conference room. Courthouse deputies were at first surprised at everything I brought in my backpack as they are mostly screening people coming to court. I had snacks, drinks, my iPad, work phone, large battery charger for devices, etc.

I absolutely did not enjoy taking public transportation.

Very interesting experience so far. We are hearing about 50 cases a day. Many are just your standard basic felony case; drug possession, robbery, multiple DWI, aggravated assault, sexual assault, etc. Have heard two really horrible cases so far. Back at it tomorrow morning.

50 cases a day? That's interesting. I figure one case, one jury duty. It sounds like an assembly line. How do you keep the evidence from previous cases intermingling in your head by the end of the day?

quote:

Originally posted by StorminNormin:
I really don’t like the idea of rush hour traffic with today’s gas prices but oh well.

Don't they reimburse at some mileage rate? Yavapai County (AZ) reimburses mileage at the Federal rate ($0.585/mile) for jury work.

quote:

Originally posted by Rey HRH:
50 cases a day? That's interesting. I figure one case, one jury duty. It sounds like an assembly line. How do you keep the evidence from previous cases intermingling in your head by the end of the day?

It will be one case one jury if the case goes to trial. The grand jury is just indicting the defendant so the court then has jurisdiction to charge the person with the offense. We usually vote after hearing three cases and move to the next three. Most are really cut and dry. If it is complicated then I take good notes.

quote:

Originally posted by henryaz:

quote:

Originally posted by StorminNormin:
I really don’t like the idea of rush hour traffic with today’s gas prices but oh well.

Don't they reimburse at some mileage rate? Yavapai County (AZ) reimburses mileage at the Federal rate ($0.585/mile) for jury work.

Yes, we will be paid $40 per session. Each session is 3 hours and we have three sessions a week for three months.

quote:

Originally posted by StorminNormin:

quote:

Originally posted by henryaz:

quote:

Originally posted by StorminNormin:
I really don’t like the idea of rush hour traffic with today’s gas prices but oh well.

Don't they reimburse at some mileage rate? Yavapai County (AZ) reimburses mileage at the Federal rate ($0.585/mile) for jury work.

Yes, we will be paid $40 per session. Each session is 3 hours and we have three sessions a week for three months.

Yavapai's per day compensation is $12, which is in addition to the mileage reimbursement.

I am now in my final month of my three month grand jury service. It has been an inconvenience, but honestly I am truly enjoying the experience. As a jury group we really get along well and come to our decisions very quickly and easily with no major disagreements. I could not have asked to serve with a better group of people. It started off a little rocky as almost all other jurors had zero understanding of the criminal justice system, but they now understand much better.

I like to have momentous and trade things like challenge coins or buy coffee mugs or other things from other agencies I work with. I got permission from the district attorney to get a high resolution image of their logo to make custom coffee mugs. The mug has the logo on one side and on the other side it has our court district with our dates of service. I added a quote unique to our group that says, “Don’t Walk Too Far.” We tell that to each prosecutor as they leave the room for us to deliberate the cases they presented because for the most part it only takes us seconds to decide. Only a few cases have taken some good deliberation. Today I gave each of my fellow jurors one of the mugs and they really loved them. They came out really nice.

Kind of going to miss serving when my time is up at the end of the month. It has felt good to “no bill” some of the cases we did as those individuals really should not have been charged. Some were sitting in jail since they couldn’t bond out so they got released right away. Others who committed some pretty terrible things will pay for their crimes.

Overall, this has been a great experience.

Thank you for the update. I’ve learned more about the criminal justice system from your posts about your experiences.

I'm impressed you're that kind of a guy thinking up souvenir ideas and even executing them. That's not me.

quote:

Originally posted by Rey HRH:
50 cases a day? That's interesting. I figure one case, one jury duty. It sounds like an assembly line. How do you keep the evidence from previous cases intermingling in your head by the end of the day?

This is a grand jury, not a petit jury. Petit juries listen to entire cases. Grand juries decide whether the state has enough evidence to charge someone with a crime, and nothing more. Each presentation, barring a very complicated case, will be brief.

So today was my last day of my 3 month service on the grand jury. It was bittersweet as it was a great experience, we had a great group of jurors and we got along great, but the drive downtown, cost of gas, and time away from work sucked. I would do it again in a heartbeat and hope I can.

It was nice in some really terrible cases to have the power to demand additional charges be filed and then have the prosecutor present the case again to us with the charges we felt the defendant deserved for the indictment. It was also nice on only two cases to “no bill” a person on certain charges they should not have had.

Enjoyed the thread. Sounds like you and the others did a great service to your community.