(no subject)

[omorka]

Yarrgh.

So, they pulled a group of 80 of us - for a 12+2 person jury. 0_o

Then we wandered around in tunnels for a while, including a pass through a metal detector.

Then we got lined up to go into a courtroom. Then we actually went into the courtroom.

Then we stared at these eight white guys, age range roughly 30-65, I'd guess. (So, not Women & Minorities vs. The Man, this time; it's just The Man all the way down.)

Then the judge came out and explained that we were all going to fill out a three-page questionaire. Then we were all going to go home, and come back on Monday, after the eight white guys read all eighty questionaires and decided which ones of us were Right Out. Then, on Monday morning, they'd ask us all questions in person, and we'd find out which of us were the unlucky 17.5% who got to stay.

For what the eight white guys estimate will be a four-week trial.

*groans, rolls around on floor*

I'm doomed. Doooooooooooooomed.

And I can't, absolutely can't, miss the first two weeks of school for the Eight White Guys Show. This is so not okay.

*rolls on the floor some more to emhasize how not-okay this is*

Just to make things that much worse, the electrician still hasn't come by to fix the busted circuit in out apartment, so I'm still running my computer off of an extension cord. But at least I Never mind, they just showed up. Shutting the machine back down, now.

Comments

[krystiegoddess.livejournal.com]

oh, yuck.......

i will think good 82.5% thoughts for you Monday.

[dbzmerciter2005.livejournal.com]

If you want you can make yourself off to be incredibly insane or something. I was part of a "mock jury" for class and when they asked "Have any of your friends attempted suicide" and I said "Yes" they let me go home. :P

some advice from the master

[spinner-atropos.livejournal.com]

"Some people try to get out of jury duty by lying. You don't have to lie. Tell the judge the truth. Tell him you'd make a terrific juror because you can spot guilty people" [snaps fingers] "just like that!"


I have never in my life even been called for jury duty. Good luck not becoming a guest star on the Eight White Guys Show.

Re: some advice from the master

[omorka.livejournal.com]

This is the third time I've been called up. The last time, I ended up not only serving but being the friggin' jury foreman, in the now-infamous civil case known as Women & Minorities vs. The Man because we had, on the plaintiff's side, an African-American plaintiff, his African-American wife, and two Asian-American lawyers, one male, one female; across the isle, on the defendant's side, we had the old white male defendant, a young white male lawyer, and an older white male who might have been the lawyer's senior partner. (And a young Hispanic female whose job it was to hand the young white male lawyer gigantic Powerpoint slides made up as posters, but she was only an aide so I'm not counting her.) If it had been within the law to do so, ten of us jurors would have voted to have both sides spanked and sent to bed without any supper, because they were both stupid and deserved it. Turns out the Texas legal code doesn't let you do that, though, so we found in favor of the plaintiff, on the grounds that the defendant's stupidity was more culpable.

This is also a civil trial. They didn't tell us what it was about, but guessing from the questionnaire, it involves a home-builder and an insurance agency. I foresee more wishing that spanking was a permissible verdict.

[starcat-jewel.livejournal.com]

Sure-fire ways to get yourself eliminated:

1) Be overt about being pagan.

2) Ask the DA to explain the concept of "jury nullification".

3) If it's a death-penalty case, say that you could never cast a vote that might result in a death sentence.

4) If it's a drug case, talk about bad laws and jury nullification.

[krystiegoddess.livejournal.com]

Michael routinely puts "Druid" on the blank about religion - seems to work every time.

My dad, when queried by the lawyers or DA, will lean forward slightly and say "I'm sorry, i didn't quite hear that"

Neither has ever been chosen when these have been done. The one time daddy didn't he wound up on a federal jury for MONTHS.

[omorka.livejournal.com]

It's a civil case. None of the above apply.

[starcat-jewel.livejournal.com]

I'm pretty sure that wearing an overt pagan symbol still would. One side or the other is bound to include a born-again who won't want "some damn Satanist" on the jury panel.

[tygerr.livejournal.com]

Wear black, with a flowing skirt, as well as a pentacle. Possibly with some additional silver jewelry, to include bracelets that jingle together when you move your arms. (Might as well play up the stereotype all the way for maximum effect.)

[brezhnev.livejournal.com]

I've been called up for jury service six times, but haven't been picked yet. Two times they had enough people and told the rest of us to go home. Twice they decided to drop all the jury trial cases (this is traffic court; maybe fighting your ticket is rational after all). One time a coke trafficker chickened out and made a last-minute deal (smart move; I would have voted for crucifixion if I thought he was guilty). Another time would have been a federal appeals case that "only" would have lasted two weeks, whereas the usual time would be more like three months. It was a civil case involving soil contamination. I approached the bench and saw that the defendant's lawyer had highlighted the "religion" section on the questionnaire; probably figured (correctly) that I'm a tree hugger. I also had financial ties to both sides (worked for affiliates of the one, had mutual funds with affiliates of the other). I didn't get picked.

[fynarra.livejournal.com]

You can also put on the questionaire that you're a teacher and the education of your students could be badly hurt by the timing. Blargh. Hope you can tell them to piss off.

[the-kiggy.livejournal.com]

I'll send Good Luck vibes your way

[ghostdogmeta.livejournal.com]

We live in a country where we are granted a glorious right, and rite, of a jury of our peers. However,I have lately been in a "move back to the caves and make a spear" mood, and have little care for civil suits. Lock them all in a room with raw, whole bass, and see who comes out.

Here's well wishes that they don't choose you, cause you've got better stuff to do. like develop boils and get them lanced.

[omorka.livejournal.com]

And, like, come up to Dallas. And stuff. :-/