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Aloha Punawebbers! Can anyone share their experience with serving jury duty on the Big Island?
Or, Alternatively any experience 'getting out of' jury duty, for lack of a better term...
I'm curious both about the processes, and personal experiences from your perspectives...not so much links to information on the subject.
Mahalo,
Rainyjim
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I have been "on call" for jury duty for a month. The date keeps getting changed so I keep having to get a substitute teacher, write lesson plans for a week, and then cancel and reschedule. I talked to the judge's clerk about how hard that is on everyone involved, and since this judge likes having teachers on juries (I guess he thinks we can follow directions) there is no way out for me if I don't flat out lie to the judge.
I know our legal system requires citizen jurors, and I really don't mind serving, but the way jurors get jerked around in terms of knowing when they will be serving is unconscionable. If I was retired, or still was self employed I would serve with a smile, but the current system has already cost me hours and hours of work writing lesson plans for a sub, who reserved her time for me, and then didn't get used.
I have gotten all sorts of advice on how to "get out" of jury duty, most of it along the lines of: tell the judge you could never send someone to jail, or tell them you know the accused must be guilty, or else they wouldn't have been arrested, but I am not willing to try to game the system that way. Dentists for some reason are exempt from serving, other than that it is hard to get out of jury duty here.
Carol
Carol
Every time you feel yourself getting pulled into other people's nonsense, repeat these words: Not my circus, not my monkeys.
Polish Proverb
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was selected to jury duty, time to appear kept changing, they tell you a date and it changes, You have to call clerk to find the correct time and date every time they mail you !
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can't really say but I just got a letter in the mail myself. I guess don't vote and you won't have to worry about it?
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You can check your jury duty status online, it gets updated at 5PM of the business day before you are supposed to appear. I think some places use drivers licenses to pull names for jury duty, instead of voter rolls, I don't now about Hawaii.
Carol
Carol
Every time you feel yourself getting pulled into other people's nonsense, repeat these words: Not my circus, not my monkeys.
Polish Proverb
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I have lived in Hawaii 17 years, and never been called. Which is kind of a bummer, since the one time I served on the mainland,
I enjoyed it- it was a marvelous microcosm of prejudices and preconceived opinions trying to rationalize themselves into a decision.
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In 2009, I was on a jury 'pool' that had partial jury selected - only partially selected because the judge cleared the court for something else after the pool was sworn in - we even had to stay in the court until after 7 so the jury could be selected, but the judge kept getting other business to attend to... so he finally dismiss the pool for the next Monday, but the trial was delayed & then the trial was delayed every week from April until August...
The whole pool had to check every week to see if the trial was rescheduled... call after Friday 5pm to find out if you are on jury selection on Monday...
How do I know this time? I had just started as a long term work project & had to tell my boss every Friday that I might not be in on Monday...how to make points with a boss!
After reading this thread, it seems like this is a very common event here... another incident when the county really does not THINK about the process.... and how to make it something that people would want to do again (obviouly I would rather never do THAT again!)
I am very familiar with the way other states have "one day/one jury" and have never had a pool sworn in & follow the delays...also have never had the court take so little concern for the jury that they would deem their ... whatever... more important than the jury selection...
Oh, and there was finally a plea bargain accepted in the case early August...one week later I got another jury duty questionaire...funny thing was...NO ONE in the county could tell me how I could fill out that line about serving on a jury in the last year...as I served a jury POOL!
ADDED: Here the license is used - only know this as DH & I both got our this year questionaire...and only his DL is here, he votes on the other side...
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Just a guess... But I think if you didn't fill out the form they sent you in the mail nothing would happen. I mean, I personally know people that have been busted for No insurance, Expired Safety/Registration Not once but TWICE... And well, they aren't coming after them. Matter of fact that so called person was pulled over from the first time and just let go on the second time because the cops are too busy to deal with it. To top it all off, said person still drives!
I am thinking if you just threw your mail away (acted like you never got it) you'd probably be ok... I'm sure that they get lost in the mail or you just throw it away thinking it was junk mail. (insert excuse here) ...
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As far as getting out of jury duty...
You must go to the first day. If drawn from the hat you will be asked to answer a bunch of questions "properly." When the judge tells you about following instructions regardind deliberation, you reply that you will follow your conscience before following the judge's instructions. That's code for you know about juror's rights--something neither lawyer nor the judge wants.
I was dismissed for jury duty by doing this. The irony is that I want to serve on a jury. Could not justify weeks away from my classroom.
Years ago I was called on the first day of class, couldn't get out of it, but wasn't picked, so didn't have to do the juror's rights thing. I wish I'd get called during the summer...
Cheers,
Kirt
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i would also say i wouldnt mind serving on a jury, but the jury pool sucks. i was on one that went on for 3 months of not knowing, having to check in, not being able to make plans for 3 months! ugh... has to be a better way. the lawyers settled the case finally and i was "released".
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