Jury Duty

[Ghoulish Delight]

"Why would they have been arrested if they aren't guilty?"

I've never gone in for jury duty. The only time I've actually received anything beyond the questionaire was when L.A. county sent me a summons several years after I moved away and registered in O.C. (even though I had sent the questionaire back telling them I had moved).

[wendybeth]

I've been summoned twice, and the first time I got a waiver because Tori was sick. (Tha's when she lost her hearing). The next time was for Superior Court, and I had to keep my schedule clear for a month. The good thing was they had to give you ten days notice, the bad thing was I was given notice midway through the month. Luckily, the trial was cancelled one day before it was due to start. If I had served on a jury in SC, I would have been paid something like $45 a day, as opposed to the lesser court's cheap rate of $10. That's the sad thing about jury duty- I think most people would do it, but they can't afford the financial hit. The only ones in that courtroom losing money are the defendants and the jurors.

[Strangler Lewis]

Originally Posted by Ghoulish Delight

"Why would they have been arrested if they aren't guilty?"

You have a better chance of getting quickly excused for cause by saying that if you turn yourself into an "Asian gentleman," because the system sort of recognizes that Asians are hopelessly pro prosecution to a degree that will not survive appellate review.

If you're a white guy and you say that, the judge will remind you that he instructs the jury that the fact of an arrest is not evidence of guilt. He will remind you of the presumption of innocence, which you will sheepishly acknowledge as a cornerstone of our system. He will tell you that the prosecution will put on its case and you might conclude that they didn't do a good job. He will then ask you, white man, if you'd be willing to listen to the evidence before making up your mind. You'll say, "Oh, yeah, I'd want to hear the evidence." The judge will then deny the challenge for cause. Defense counsel will then kick you off with a peremptory challenge unless he's used them up on people who seem far worse than you.

As a white guy, you stand a better chance of getting quickly excused for cause by using a variant of the above: that you work with/know people in law enforcement, have a huge mancrush on them, and would believe anything they say without question.