Jury Duty?

[BlueAwards]

So... to my surprise, I opened up the mail and saw a letter from the United States District Court. Well, my first thought was, "Who's suing me this time" (just kidding) - It turns out it was a Juror Qualification Questionaire. It pretty much made sure I was qualified to be on a jury (which I am).

My question is... does this mean I am going to get called for jury duty? I know the quick answer would be 'no', but reality tells me that everyone I have spoken to that recieved one of these had to serve.

Any experiences anyone?

Thanks!

Matt

[miss_american_pie]

1. Not necessarily

I received one about two years ago and was not called.

My hubby got one over the summer and received his summons about a month later.

[BlueAwards]

2. Will they excuse you if you are in college?

I would hope so... especially since the court is 2 hours from my home :(

[miss_american_pie]

4. That's a good question

I'm not sure if it qualifies as a hardship or not.

When my hubby served, they included hotel info in the packet they sent, so I don't know if living far away would be a reason to be excused.

[MadAsHellNewYorker]

6. I got excused during undergrad

all I had to do was send them my offical current schedule/prove I was a full time student

[bliss_eternal]

9. It depends where you are...

In CA, they did excuse people for school for a while--then it changed. They just bumped you to winter break, spring break or summer break.

I was excused as an undergrad years ago. But, what I just spoke of happened to a friend. She said that ALL the other people were teachers or students, people that had that week off. She said they were all pretty disgruntled, too. Being students and teachers, some had other plans (docs appnts. for themselves, kids, etc.) that they couldn't get done at other times, so weren't thrilled with the idea of sitting in the room doing nothing while they decided if they needed them or not. A whole week of just sitting and waiting. She never got used.

I think they've changed it a bit now. There's a new call in system of some sort where you call a number at the beginning of the week, and it tells you if they need you to report. It hasn't been introduced in every county as of yet, but those that I know that have participated with this, like it a lot better--no sitting around feeling like you aren't getting stuff done.

Let us know how it works out for you!

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

3. The questionnaire is just to find out if you qualify as a juror.

You will get a jury summons later if they need you. I don't know that it's necessarily automatic, but if you qualify there's at least a good chance they'll call you. The federal court for your district probably has a juror handbook and other information on their web site, including valid reasons for getting out of it.

[trof]

5. One of the most fascinating things I've ever done.

On so many levels.
Fellow jurors.
How the system works.
And the dirty little secrets about same.
Watching the prosecutors that you pay (taxes) in action.
Sometimes brilliant, sometimes very disappointing.
Watching the defending attorneys and thinking "Hmmm...I'd want THAT guy...but NOT that guy."

Do it.

[BlueAwards]

7. I would love to...

but as a full time student, I don't know that I can miss that much school...

[Maine Mary]

8. Ooops

wrong space :blush:

[Swede]

10. I was once called as a witness in a fraud trial.

I sat in the waiting room,waiting to be called,the defendant never showed up and was found guilty. I got paid $15 whole dollars for missing a day of work.

[spindrifter]

11. You won't necessarily serve.

In fact, you won't even necessarily go into the courthouse.