Jury Duty

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not_nadine

not_nadine

Comfortably Roont
Nov 19, 2011
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Hi Tet,

I need some advice, before the thread gets sullied..

I recieved a summons for Grand Jury Duty. It's for a term of one day a week for 18 weeks.
Need to get out of it, not only because I do not want to be in position to change someone's life, but can't miss anymore work. Any tips and stories will be welcomed.

And if anyone knows, Why the one day a week duty? How is this different than 'regular Jury duty'.

Helps.
 
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ghost19

ghost19

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Sep 25, 2011
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Your employer is not supposed to be able to count jury duty toward absences. As long as you have paperwork saying you're at jury duty for the specified dates. If they try to count you absent it's against the law, at least it is here in Arkansas.....as far as grand jury duty, grand juries don't get called very often. I'd be surprised if you were actually brought in for any of those days...
 
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HollyGolightly

HollyGolightly

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The Ogre got summoned for Grand Jury Duty. The first day he was supposed to report we had to go to court on our daughter's behalf. So when he explained that we were involved in a criminal case (someone did something to our daughter), they let him off just for that day. He had to call every night through the entire month of August to see if they needed him, but they never did. We felt that his having been involved as a witness in a criminal case may have made them feel he would not be able to be unbiased. Your recent dealings with dread roommate might be able to sway them to let you off.

All that to say: I agree with Arista. If they feel you wouldn't be an unbiased witness they probably won't want you.
 
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HollyGolightly

HollyGolightly

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ghost19 said:
Your employer is not supposed to be able to count jury duty toward absences. As long as you have paperwork saying you're at jury duty for the specified dates. If they try to count you absent it's against the law, at least it is here in Arkansas.....as far as grand jury duty, grand juries don't get called very often. I'd be surprised if you were actually brought in for any of those days...
Click to expand...
Very interesting because that's exactly what happened. Why don't grand juries get called? Ish, the legal system is horribles.
 
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ghost19

ghost19

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Grand Juries are higher profile and aren't called unless the DA can't decide if there's enough evidence to charge someone one way or the other. Grand Juries usually take a while to be formed because there's a butt load of evidence for the jurors to sort thru once they are formed. The prosecutor is very picky as far as who they choose to let serve on a grand jury because it takes a while for said jury to sort thru a ton of evidence then decide if there's enough evidence to indict and who to indict in the case. They want people who don't mind being tedious and being tied up for a an extended amount of time. Regular trial juries can be formed in an afternoon but I've rarely seen grand juries take less than a few weeks to be formed much less how much time they actually take to make a decision on whether to indict or not.
 
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not_nadine

not_nadine

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ghost19 said:
Grand Juries are higher profile and aren't called unless the DA can't decide if there's enough evidence to charge someone one way or the other. Grand Juries usually take a while to be formed because there's a butt load of evidence for the jurors to sort thru once they are formed. The prosecutor is very picky as far as who they choose to let serve on a grand jury because it takes a while for said jury to sort thru a ton of evidence then decide if there's enough evidence to indict and who to indict in the case. They want people who don't mind being tedious and being tied up for a an extended amount of time. Regular trial juries can be formed in an afternoon but I've rarely seen grand juries take less than a few weeks to be formed much less how much time they actually take to make a decision on whether to indict or not.
Click to expand...

Thank you. I am not understanding why they said 'one day a week for 18 weeks' Selection process? Or if you are chosen, they are giving you 18 weeks to sort through evidence?

Either way, not good.
 
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ghost19

ghost19

"Have I run too far to get home?"
Sep 25, 2011
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not_nadine said:
Thank you. I am not understanding why they said 'one day a week for 18 weeks' Selection process? Or if you are chosen, they are giving you 18 weeks to sort through evidence?

Either way, not good.
Click to expand...

One day every week or two weeks, the court clerk will contact the prosecuting attorney's office to inquire if there any cases that are potentially Grand Jury material. If there are, the court clerk will make a note and when you call in you'll be put on standby. There's usually not a time limit set on a Grand Jury once its selected. The prosecutor usually lets them take their time due to its usually a lengthy process to sort thru reports, testimonies, crime scene info, etc. I think a Judge can intervene at some point if it seems like a Grand Jury is taking an inordinate amount of time but I've never seen that actually happen.
 
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fljoe0

fljoe0

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not_nadine said:
Hi Tet,

I need some advice, before the thread gets sullied..

I recieved a summons for Grand Jury Duty. It's for a term of one day a week for 18 weeks.
Need to get out of it, not only because I do not want to be in position to change someone's life, but can't miss anymore work. Any tips and stories will be welcomed.

And if anyone knows, Why the one day a week duty? How is this different than 'regular Jury duty'.

Helps.
Click to expand...

You can probably tell the judge that you have a hardship and get excused. I'm pretty sure they do excuse people for hardships.
 
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not_nadine

not_nadine

Comfortably Roont
Nov 19, 2011
29,655
139,785
Behind you
ghost19 said:
One day every week or two weeks, the court clerk will contact the prosecuting attorney's office to inquire if there any cases that are potentially Grand Jury material. If there are, the court clerk will make a note and when you call in you'll be put on standby. There's usually not a time limit set on a Grand Jury once its selected. The prosecutor usually lets them take their time due to its usually a lengthy process to sort thru reports, testimonies, crime scene info, etc. I think a Judge can intervene at some point if it seems like a Grand Jury is taking an inordinate amount of time but I've never seen that actually happen.
Click to expand...

Again, thanks Ghost. I was hoping you would reply. I understand now.

:facepalm_smiley: This sounds like a mess.
 
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ghost19

ghost19

"Have I run too far to get home?"
Sep 25, 2011
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56,578
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Arkansas
not_nadine said:
Again, thanks Ghost. I was hoping you would reply. I understand now.

:facepalm_smiley: This sounds like a mess.
Click to expand...
Anytime NN. Good to hear from you ma'am. And, if you ask for a hardship discharge, just have a good story ready and you'll most likely be dismissed. They'll have a bunch of people on the call list. The court expects a majority of the people on the list to try and get out of it, so they usually compile a large list of candidates. I always wanted to serve on a jury but all three times I was a potential juror, the moment I stated where I worked I was dismissed by the defense post haste...
 
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