I received a summons for jury duty and, as instructed, checked the schedule late yesterday. Our group: “Your trial is on.” Report for duty at 7:45 a.m. this morning.
So no walk today. Possibly little chance to moderate comments, although I’ll try.
And hopefully I’ll know by the end of the day whether this will extend beyond just a day or two.
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When I got a jury duty summons I had a seriously rusted bathtub in need of replacement ASAP. The begin-work date had been set.
I told the judge et al that I would be a good and fair juror and would be able to serve Weds-Fri but had to be home on the next Mon-Fri. The judge reminded me of my civic responsibilities.
Turned out that there was no pre-emptory challenge for me, but both attorneys agreed that they simply did not want me on the jury, considering my time constraints.
I sure did not anticipate that!
That’s one of the oldest tricks in the book. Both sides appear to be “nice” in letting someone who must get off (for surgery, trip to Europe, etc.) leaving the jurors with a fuzzy, warm impression of them. (I used to work for a judge and saw it dozens of times.)
When I asked an invited speaker to a class at UH what he would suggest to improve the criminal justice system in Hawai’i, he said, ” Don’t avoid jury duty, and tell your friends how important it is. Otherwise the smart folks aren’t participating in decisions that affect us all”.
So there is that. Mahalo Ian. Hope your Dad’s situation is comfortable and without stress.
Mahina you are 100% correct. If we would ever need a jury of our peers, we would want smart people to judge us, not just those who can (students, seniors, homeless or unemployed people). Besides serving in the military, it’s the only other time the government can command you appear. It is a duty you can be proud to perform.
Hold on Leinanji, are you saying students, seniors, etc are not smart? I was laid off and am unemployed and that makes me, and the others you listed, “not smart”?
Please, racism has many forms, think before you post please.
At least in Leinanji’s comment, that isn’t racism, it may be ageism and socio/economic statusism but not racism. You want to show students or seniors differ from the general pop in terms of race? Dubious. You may be on better grounds for the homeless or unemployed, but are they more likely to show up for jury duty?
Throw words around often enough and they lose their meaning