Re: Jury Duty
Posted by:
Nova_Native
()
Date: August 16, 2012 10:01PM
The rural juror Wrote:
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> Just got a letter saying I was selected for Jury
> Duty for the Fairfax County Circuit court. Any
> ideas of how to get out of it? Thanks in
> advanced.
You must be either very young or very lucky not to have had this experience before. I've been called four times!
Getting out of Jury duty is actually quite easy, and people who make it out to be such a difficult thing to do can't know very much about the process. It's all a matter of having or claiming to have bias against either the prosecution or the defense. This of course assumes that you are told to report. If your pool is not called in, you're off the hook. If it is, you've got to go in. The best you can do is delay being called in. You can't get out of this part -- there are exceptions actually, but the reason needs to be something like "I'm deploying that day", and not "but I have an important sales meeting then".
As a prospective Juror, you'll be taken into a court room where the judge, the prosecutor, the defense attorney and the defendant will be sitting in the traditional Perry Mason setting. Twelve of your pool and maybe four or so alternates will be more or less randomly selected to sit in the jury box; the rest will sit in audience seats.
After the usual remarks about your civic duty and the like from the judge, he or she and both defense and prosecution attornies will then start to ask the prospective jurors in the box questions, a process referred to as voir dire. The prosecutor will ask questions such as "Do you think the Police are fair in their dealings with the public?". Obviously, if you say "I think the cops are just criminals with badges", you're showing a biased view of the Police, and would not be inclined to believe an Officer's testimony. The prosecutor will issue a peremptory challenge and you'll be struck from the list. The defense attorney asks things like "what is your occupation?" and "do you know anyone who has been a victim of this type of crime?", because if a prospective juror shares certain characteristics with the victim, such as a job, or knows someone effected by the same crime, it is unlikely that person can be fair and unbiased. Another challenge and another struck name.
A struck prospective juror isn't told the reason, he or she is simply thanked for service and dismissed. So, if you're in the audience and all 12 persons in the box and the alternates "make the cut", then you're done, struck by default. You give the clerk of the court your name on the way out, and you won't be called again for three years.
If you are in the box, and not challenged, you're a juror. If you are challenged, you leave and another prospect is selected to go up into the box. As long as the jury is being selected, prospects remain in the audience. Having been through this more than once, I can tell you to expect it to take a goodly part of the day.
So the upshot. Say and admit to prejudices that would make you unattractive to either the prosecution or the defense, and you'll be struck. But you should do your civic duty, be honest, and, if selected, serve honorably. Our system of Justice won't work if citizens refuse to participate fairly.
Hope this helps.