jury duty

[Chaoster]

Does anyone ignore those jury duty forms? The ones they sent for you to fill out before they actually pick you for jury duty? I always fill them out and several months later get called for jury duty. At work today some coworkers say they never fill one out and just throw them away. Does anyone not fill them out?

 

[clori]

Does anyone ignore those jury duty forms? The ones they sent for you to fill out before they actually pick you for jury duty? I always fill them out and several months later get called for jury duty. At work today some coworkers say they never fill one out and just throw them away. Does anyone not fill them out?

I'm confused. The only time I've had to do any jury duty form was after I got the mail saying I had jury duty.

 

[design_mom]

I generally get the questionnaire at the same time I get my jury duty summons. I have always filled it out. (I’m actually currently on jury duty — we get 7 random days in a 3 month period, two of my days have passed, but I haven’t been picked for a jury yet)

 

[lorimt]

I’ve never received a form. Just a letter telling me the date I need to appear.

 

[hrhdhd]

We get a summons and have to fill out the info online before reporting to the courthouse.

 

[disneychrista]

What questions are they asking on this form?


Ignoring a Jury Summons can lead to contempt of court and fines or possibly even jail time.

 

[tvguy]

They don't do that here. Just send you a summons. They are big on call in jury duty here, so not everyone who gets a summons actually ends up having to report. If you have to report, they do have you fill out a voir dire questionaire. If you actually do get assigned to a case, you give that questionaire to the Bailiff. Otherwise, nobody sees it.
Jury duty selection uses multiple sources here to draw names from. Driver's license records, property tax records, voter registration records. library cards

 

[luvthatduke]

"we get 7 random days in a 3 month period, two of my days have passed, but I haven’t been picked for a jury yet)"

Am I understanding you correctly? You are required to serve 7x every 90 days?

 

[Micca]

Am I understanding you correctly? You are required to serve 7x every 90 days?

I read that as Over a 90 day period you may serve as many as 7 days jury duty. At the end of the 90 days your service is complete(until you're selected at random again.)

 

[NannyBeBe]

I have never received anything other than a call to jury duty; and thankfully I have never had to serve and never will.

 

[_19disnA]

The state where I live only sends you a letter if you have been chosen to be part of the jury pool. Maybe each state has their own rules/procedures. I agree with others who have said if you ignore official correspondence, you could be breaking the law or fined. I find a lot of coworkers brag and talk nonsense about such things and wouldn't decide how to proceed based on that type of input. People in the office where I work know who talks nonsense and everyone just smiles and laughs when they say something that makes no sense to us.............LOL.

I would assume the letter states what the information is for and if you are required to reply.

 

[monsterkitty]

Funny you should ask this question right now. I just got my yearly jury duty summons in the mail yesterday.

Like many have already stated, we get the summons in the mail. We call the night before the date listed on our summons to see if we're needed the next day. If we are needed, we fill out the questionnaire while in the holding room while waiting to see of they are going to excuse us or send up upstairs to a court room.

 

[Kathryn Merteuil]

I always fill them out and get excited that I might get to serve.... but so far, nothing has ever become of it. I wish they would let me volunteer

 

[design_mom]

Am I understanding you correctly? You are required to serve 7x every 90 days?

No. It appears our county sends out jury duty summonses every 4 months. (I'll call that a "session" although I don't know what the real term is. Also, I re-looked at my summons and my first assigned day was Jan 9 and my last is April 27 so it's closer to 4 months than 3.)

When you are summoned, you are assigned seven non-consecutive days during that 4 month "session." If a case goes to court on one of your assigned days, you're part of the jury pool. If you are selected, you stay for the duration of the case. If not selected, you're excused till your next assigned day.

However, you are not called as a juror for every 'session.' I have no clue how they choose who gets summoned. We have lived here 20 years. I've been summoned four times, but my husband and now-adult kids have never been summoned. It hardly seems fair. (They are also registered voters.)

I don't think it's a particularly active court though. So far, 2 of my days have passed, and I haven't even had to go to the courthouse either time. We're supposed to call a phone number the night before we're scheduled. The first time, I called and was told that the scheduled case had been settled, so I was not needed. The second date, I got a letter a few days beforehand saying no case was scheduled, so I didn't need to appear till my next assigned date. Across all 4 times, I've only had to report to the courthouse a couple of times and I've never been picked for a jury. I'm hoping my luck holds! I do not think I'd enjoy being a juror!

 

[cedricandsophie]

We live in Illinois. Jury duty summons are taken from voter registration. At a certain age you are not required to go which is too bad. I’ve been on a couple juries. Great experience.

 

[bluezy]

I always fill out the questionnaire. Ten years ago while being interviewed for a potential seat on a jury, I had a panic attack and had to be removed from the courtroom (the judge was very understanding and sympathetic). The next time I got called for jury duty my doctor wrote a letter indicating I couldn't serve due to my anxiety issues. I was excused from that summons. Ever since then, whenever I get the questionnaire I indicate that I was removed from a courtroom due to a panic attack and that my doctor had also written a letter indicating I couldn't serve on a past summons and would write the same letter again if I was summoned. I've gotten the questionnaire a few more times but never got summoned for jury duty.

I do know someone who over the last 35 years has ignored the 3 or 4 jury duty summons she has received (also ignores the questionnaires) and has never heard anything about it.

 

[Diznygrl]

I always fill them out and get excited that I might get to serve.... but so far, nothing has ever become of it. I wish they would let me volunteer

I wish they would accept volunteers too, then maybe those of us who absolutely loathe jury duty wouldn't have to go as often.

 

[tvguy]

I'm 67 and I have been called for Jury Duty 5 times. So that works out roughly to once every 10 years. Two times I made it on a jury, two other times I made it into a court room but did not make the jury, one time I had to call in but did not have to go in. I was 36 the first I was called, and 67 the last time last October. My wife has Jury Duty next month.
They do a good job making the Jury portion of the process as painless as possible. But, yes, if you make it into a courtroom, THAT process can be painful. The law says Defendants have a right to a speedy trial, but it has been my experience that Defense Attorneys tend to drag out cases far longer than they need to be.

 

[leebee]

I was summonsed for the December jury pool but totaled my car on the way to court on the first day, so they put me in the January pool. However, we were going on vacation so they moved me to the March pool. I am awaiting the summons for that jury pool.

Prior summonses listed the days of the month to expect being called (the days when court is in session, basically) but actual service will depend on whether or not you are picked for a jury, as well as how many juries they need. My summons came with a form with 4 questions on it. I can't remember them all, but it was something like "can you be impartial when a LEO is giving testimony" and things like that. I had to answer the questions, sign the form, and mail it back to the court. It also came with a little card with my juror number, which I needed to fill out with name/address info. The instructions said to bring it to court on the first day if I want to be reimbursed for mileage.

 

[CynBeth]

I'm confused. The only time I've had to do any jury duty form was after I got the mail saying I had jury duty.

Same here.