Today I got called in for jury duty (made it through 4 days of dodging the bullet). Turns out this week is Juror Appreciation Week, which involved guest speakers, free coffee and donuts, and fun juror games with, what else, early dismissal as prizes. I was wearing my EFF hat and ended up having a brief conversation with a woman who works for a local lawfirm that is considering filing a class-action suit against Diebold and other e-voting companies. I was sort of bummed out about being called in as I ended up missing out on Commencement (John McCain was this year’s commencement speaker) and hitting up the last day of E3.
The day was actually going pretty well (made my way through a large chunk of Free Culture and Eastern Standard Tribe), and it looked like I was pretty much in the clear, but I got called in at 3:30 and will need to report back next Tuesday for juror selection in an attempted murder case.
It should be interesting, however if I’m actually called up, I will have to ask about my juror’s rights. My reading seems to show that I have a right (and of course responsibility) to judge both law and fact. The Juror’s Handbook (err, it’s a trifold) handed out today says that jurors are only supposed to judge fact. Further confusing matters, the judge made some opening remarks emphasizing the importance of our role as judges, but also spoke about and being non-judgemental (I know what he means, but when you put that together it’s sort of funny).
- Basic Juror Information
- Jurors’ Handbook: A Citizens Guide to Jury Duty
- DOING YOUR BEST AS A TRIAL JUROR: SURVIVING VOIR DIRE
- Rejected as a juror
Should I make my way through the selection process, I’ll probably keep a little writeup (to be released after conclusion, of course) of the experience.