Jury duty

[5string]

I have been called twice recently. Due to my occupation, I never get picked. If I did somehow, I'd serve. It is a civic duty after all.

I just got to thinking. What would I say if I were a regular Joe who wanted to get bumped?

Criminal case....when questioned by the attorneys, I'd say, "well, the police would not have arrested him/her if they were not guilty", or, "we wouldnt be here if he/she was not guilty."

Civil case....when questioned by the attorneys, I'd say, "well, I don't believe that money damages should be awarded in civil cases, period". Most civil cases involve money as the remedy.

This came up at work today in a discussion. Again, even though it would be a pain in my butt, I'd do it. It's a responsibility.

Thoughts?

 

[AAAgent]

by bumped you mean basically eliminate yourself from being selected?

Simple. If the guy is Asian, Black, or Latino say something like "fvcking xxx(race) people always starting trouble, they should be locked up."

If its a woman or teen same thing. "woman never understand their place." ---- "When are these damn delinquents going to grow up. They need to be taught a lesson."

Basically show prejudice against any party involved. You are automatically disqualified to be a part of a jury if you are labeled as biased.

Each side, the Complainant and Defendant each choose a certain amount of equal numbered jury's and they're also given equal amount of Scratches. Scratches allow either party to eliminate a certain amount of jury's from selection before selection. So even though technically you are allowed to be prejudice, the side you are prejudice to will most likely send you home.

Man beats woman for cheating case.

Lets say there are 25 Jury's with a possible of 12 being selected.
That's 6 each side. Each team receive 4 scratches/elimination cards.

out of the jury, there are 4 female rights activists and 4 men who have divorced 2 cheating wives each.

The male side will probably scratch out the female rights activits upon finding out their occupations and the women will scratch out the divorced men. Then out of the ones left, they will select who think are best to help their cause.

So basically you want to be the one to be detrimental to someone's cause. Not neutral or beneficial.

Just my explanation, not encouraging anything.

I'm not 100% sure about this but i was told this by my lawyer.

 

[RMM]

Bring up Jury Nullification.

You'll be out the door before you've finished saying the first phrase.

 

[Nygard]

I don't know what that implies, I live in a borderline failed state, there are no trials.

 

[L B]

Classic jury duty joke:

When you go into court, you are putting yourself in the hands of 12 people who weren't smart enough to get out of jury duty. - Norm Crosby

 

[Bible_Belt]

Bring up Jury Nullification.

You'll be out the door before you've finished saying the first phrase.

I had a 600 page criminal procedure book. Jury nullification was covered in one small paragraph, mostly just to say that is was very bad, mkay?

For anyone who is not familiar with jury nullification, it means that you refuse to enforce the law as a juror because you simply disagree with the law. There was a recent case in Montana over a small amount of marijuana where the jury refused to issue a guilty verdict on the basis that the law was ridiculous. Lawyers, judges, and legal scholars all hate jury nullification with an intense passion. I think it makes those people feel as useless as they really are.