I didn't even get to see them recoil when I said I was a law student

My jury duty experience:

1. Arrive at 8:30 am (as requested).
2. Watch the nifty video about the Importance of the Jury System (it was kind of neat to recognize some of the judges), and get told they will probably start calling for juries around 9:15 am.
3. Wait with everyone else for 3 hours.
4. Get called for a jury (as part of the first group to get called).
5. Get led down 3 flights of stairs to the courtroom, where someone came out and consulted with the bailiff (or jury commissioner or whoever was shepherding us around), who then announced that our case had settled and therefore we were free to go.

Woo hoo.

(Not especially surprising, though, since we've learned all about how few cases actually go to trial, and the jury commissioner person announced that there were 100 cases on the docket for today. I don't know how many courtrooms they have/how many trials run concurrently, but you KNOW they're not holding anything remotely like 100 trials a day.)

Hanging around the city & county building was cool, though. It would be neat to work there.

Comments

[Notorious Ph.D.]

I'm up for jury duty this summer. I am a historian of many, many things, but I think I'll choose to identify myself as "legal historian" if and when they ask.

[life_of_a_fool]

I did get chosen to be on a jury while working for that state's attorney general and doing research in areas directly relevant to the case at hand. I might have sent confusing signals from the confluence of my different background factors, but I've also heard it's much harder to get dismissed for these reasons now. The wife of the police captain of the relevant district did get booted from my case though.

I'm in the camp that finds it fascinating, if stressful and often poorly timed.

[New Kid on the Hallway]

Huh, well, who knows? Maybe they'd have kept me after all. Friend of mine from school got called in the fall and was sent home, though. It would have been interesting, but I'm glad not to have had to spend the time.

[life_of_a_fool]

I think at a minimum it would be easy for you to defer since you're taking classes. . .

[Jae Kim]

I'm in the process of starting a social experiment via the web, and am in need of someone that can write really well. The details of the project is laid out on my website at www.accreation.org. I'm looking for someone that can edit the content in a more easily understandable format. Please visit the site, and contact me if you or someone you know might be interested in participating in the project. Thank you.

PS. This is NOT a paid position; I'm looking for like minded individuals who are interested in making this prjoect become a success. Thank you.

[Batemann]

Trust me it's a lot more difficult to explain to schools and employers why you have so much involuntary involvement with the criminal justice system.