The cost of jury duty

[disneysteve]

I had to go for jury duty yesterday for the first time in my life. I've been called many times but have always gotten out of it. This time, they didn't excuse me so in I went.

From 8am until 2:30pm, minus a lunch break, I sat in a big room with all of the other folks who got called. I played on my phone, read a couple of magazines, and watched HGTV - all a total waste of my time.

Finally, around 2:30pm, we were sent up to a courtroom where they told us about the case, read through the questionnaire, and one by one the judge and attorneys spoke to anyone who felt they had a reason to be excused. So around 3:30pm it was my turn, I spoke for under a minute and got excused.

So I wasted 8 hours of my day doing absolutely nothing for all but about 20 minutes. I missed a day of work which cost me $350 (it would have been more but Thursday is my short day). I spent $13 for lunch but they will pay me a whopping $5 for coming in. And in the end, even though they denied my request to be excused in advance, they ended up excusing me for the exact same reason I gave in my letter.

I get the whole "civic duty" thing but there must be a better way.

[greenskeeper]

I've always said anyone on unemployment should automatically be required to do X amount of jury duty per month.

[creditcardfree]

I suppose they could skip paying you all together, it's nice there is a little compensation for the effort of finding a jury of one's peers. It does seem the process could go a bit quicker though with lawyers at the ready to ask the one minutes worth of questions as you arrive! If they keep you, provide a time to come back.

[frugal saver]

Here you get $5 a day for the days that you're actually on the jury. There used to be a jury parking lot, but they sold it, so you're on your own.

Some time ago I got called for a civil trial that was expected to last 9 months. It took a full week for the jury selection--we got to sit silently in the courtroom for five solid days--it was absolutely horrible. I was hiding a book under my purse just to keep from going crazy but were weren't supposed to read, talk, anything.

At one point they selected a guy who was a doctor. He explained that he had a small medical office and there was no way in the world he could close his office for 9 months. The judge told him "tough" and he was on the jury. By the third day he was a couple hours late back from lunch and told the judge it was because he was trying to see patients during his lunch break and it was the best he could do. The judge threw him off the jury and he grinned all the way out of the courtroom.

I have a permanent jury waiver now and don't miss all that a bit.

[QuarterMillionMan]

As a gov. worker we get our full pay but forfeit the jury pay ($15) plus mileage.

[~bs]

I think something's wrong with their list. aside from being called once when I was early 20s, I've never been called again. I'm not grumbling. lol

[YULACU]

I understand that jury duty can be burdensome, but someone has to do it. Whenever someone complains about a high profile jury decision, I always ask them if they've reported to jury duty recently. If the answer is no, I stop listening because I think they have no right to complain. Congratulations, you have $5 and you've won the right to complain in the future.

[Captain Save]

I've always said anyone on unemployment should automatically be required to do X amount of jury duty per month.

THAT WOULD SKEW THE POOL.. the outcome of a lot of trials will be affected by unemployed people .. that's fine if you think the unemployed pool is a diverse pool of individuals.. I would disagree

[disneysteve]

I understand that jury duty can be burdensome, but someone has to do it.

Absolutely. Retirees, employed people whose jobs pay them while they serve, unemployed people, etc.

Based on the judge's estimate of how long the trial would run, being picked for the jury would have cost me in the neighborhood of $10,000. There's "burdensome" and then there's ridiculous. Nobody should ever have to pay that kind of money in order to do their civic duty.

[scfr]

One thing I like about where I live now is, when you get a jury summons, you go on-line and choose from a range of dates and indicate your preferred location. If that were an option where you live, disneysteve, you could schedule your jury duty during vacation time (something that would qualify as "civic duty" rather than "financial hardship.")

[disneysteve]

One thing I like about where I live now is, when you get a jury summons, you go on-line and choose from a range of dates and indicate your preferred location. If that were an option where you live, disneysteve, you could schedule your jury duty during vacation time (something that would qualify as "civic duty" rather than "financial hardship.")

The estimate was that the trial would last 4-5 weeks. I don't think anyone can be expected to be away for that period of time with zero income (assuming their job doesn't pay them to serve). And I'm certainly not willing to give up 4 weeks of vacation time (which would be all of my time for the year) to sit on a jury.

[scfr]

The estimate was that the trial would last 4-5 weeks. I don't think anyone can be expected to be away for that period of time with zero income (assuming their job doesn't pay them to serve). And I'm certainly not willing to give up 4 weeks of vacation time (which would be all of my time for the year) to sit on a jury.

Where I live now, when you indicate your preferred location, you can choose based on what types of trials that court handles and reduce the odds of being on a lengthy trial . . . or increase the odds maybe if you're a retiree or unemployed person who has the time and is willing to serve longer (or appreciate the small daily stipend). That and the ability to choose from a range of dates gives the jury pool some control which it makes it easier and less burdensome. I think the idea is to reduce the burden for participation, not eliminate it entirely. Here it's definitely better than where I used to live, where we were ordered to show up on a specific date at a specific location.

And yes, I think we can all be expected to give up a bit of our personal time. Voting "costs" me too, because I spend quite a bit of time researching the candidates and issues before going to wait in line to cast my ballot.

When I've gone to jury duty or to vote I bring a book to read so that the time spent waiting is productive.

[disneysteve]

before going to wait in line to cast my ballot.

We vote by mail. That was a great invention.

[bigdaddybus]

Thank goodness my employer pays me my regular pay for participating in Jury duty.

I don't enjoy it, and I decline the $10 a day from the state (or whatever their token gesture is), but I cant lie it was educational. I had grand jury duty last time and we reviewed about 30 cases every Wednesday for 8 weeks. Everything from drunk college students to first degree murder with a belt. It was eye opening what happens in our low crime midwest town.

[~bs]

If you're a professional, and have a legitimate reason (such as being a doctor), they'll normally let you go.