I got summoned (by a letter in the mail) for Jury Duty a few weeks ago and reported today. There has been some controversy lately regarding a juror twittering about the details of a case, so I was hesitant about posting about this, but I want to provide useful (but not confidential) information to others. I looked up information about what the day (and remaining 2 weeks would entail), but I didn’t find much information about what to expect.
I showed up at 10am, went through the metal detector and followed the signs for “Jury Pool”. The room was huge and the line wrapped around the door. I handed over my paper, got it matched up with the paper I previously signed and mailed back to them. And waited and waited. About 300 people were in the room. I got a name badge with my juror number and group listed. They went over parking information, facilities (food/vending machines), and emergency evacuation route.
Everyone was very nice and welcomed us and also said thank you several times. They gave us a brochure on what she was going to go over. She said that juror lists are taken from voter registration, tax rolls, and drivers license registration. They try to get “all walks of life” and select people from every corner of the county. I took a look around the room, and I would agree with that. She mentioned that this building (and the one connected to it) were the 2 busiest buildings of the state.
By law, we are paid $12.50 for each day we report for jury duty. Each night (for the next 2 weeks), after 6pm, we are to call into a number to see if we need to report for the next day. This is one of the most annoying aspects of it. I don’t know if I will be at work the next day and that makes it difficult to schedule or attend meetings.
After an hour, we were allowed to take a break, and then they started our “check in” process where our number is scanned. They then played a video that said about 8,000 jurors are selected each year. It went over the aspects of a case (Judge, Sheriff’s Deputy, Witnesses, etc) and said that we are the “Finder of the Facts”. We are to listen, look at the evidence, and find the facts.
A judge came in, and welcomed us and said thank you to playing such an important role. I was impressed with how he came across. It was a nice touch for them to do. By this time, it was almost 12. The lady said that she would call off numbers and if your number was called, that you would have an hour for lunch and that we needed to come back- otherwise, you are free for the free. She went through a list of around 50 people, including me. I went to lunch and came back early to use their wi-fi to catch up on work email. At 1pm, she called off 13 people, not me. She said that she had 2 more potential cases and that she would come back. Around 20 minutes later, she said that they both had been settled and that we were done for the day, but we were reminded to call in after 6pm, to see if we need to report back tomorrow- and the message tonight was: “All Jurors Must Report by 9am”.
