DragonRider Posted April 25, 2012 #1 Posted April 25, 2012 The judge said that this trial should last till Thursday or Friday, well the state is still presenting it case and tomorrow is Thursday, I am not complaining, I find this a great learning experience of how the court process works, sorta like being in a episode of Law and Order. We have spent many hours in the jury room and less time in the jury box. Has anyone else had a similar experience while serving jury duty. All I can say is that this is a felony criminal trial, with multiple charges against the defendant.
BigDawg Posted April 25, 2012 #2 Posted April 25, 2012 Judge didn't happen to mention which Thursday or Friday he was talking about, did he? Sounds like you could be there a while. Good luck! BigDawg:fingers-crossed-emo
Bubber Posted April 25, 2012 #3 Posted April 25, 2012 I think you will find that the trail has nothing to do with truth , justice, and honesty. I spent time in small claims court watching the proceedings and have reached that conclusion repeatedly. Best story teller wins or so it seems. Please tell me I am wrong and I must have seen it through brown stained glasses. and so it goes.
flb_78 Posted April 25, 2012 #5 Posted April 25, 2012 Bubber, small claims is much different than criminal court. Small claims, best story wins. Criminal, beyond a shadow of a doubt. I served on a jury once. Felony, drugs, multiple arrests, paroles, yada yada yada... We ended up sending him away for 40 years. Luckily my employer at the time payed for jury duty.
kevin-vic-b.c. Posted April 25, 2012 #6 Posted April 25, 2012 I was called for jury duty once, drug trial, seems they did not want me when I told them I had a close family member in the local street crimes division.... go figure and I was sure the guy looked guilty too.
Snaggletooth Posted April 26, 2012 #7 Posted April 26, 2012 Been there three times. One civil and two criminal. The last one was a criminal case three counts felony. Took four days of presentation in the court room and then ...... two and half weeks in the jury room. Turned out it was the first case of it's kind in the state. It was an interesting experience. Looking forward to going through that again.........NO!
dacheedah Posted April 26, 2012 #8 Posted April 26, 2012 Lots of cases go to trial and after some evidence is presented the defendants take a plea deal. In their discovery the Judge and both sides have tendered their witnesses and discovery so they can usually get a good snapshot of how long it will take. Don't expect courtroom antics, few judges will put up with it. If they have priors and mandatory minimum sentencing that may all change, they may be looking for a miracle or sympathetic jury. The burden of proof in a criminal trial is beyond a reasonable doubt. You can always raise doubts but but are the doubts reasonable. Civil jurys are a simple preponderance or the greatest weight of the evidence. In either case the judge will give instructions, they are usually simple, don't read into them and don't be afraid to ask questions. This is actually a great system and allows the people to decide based on facts. Now if we could get our legislature to do this we would be set...
Trader Posted April 26, 2012 #9 Posted April 26, 2012 Justice has little to do with it. It is a LEGAL system.
KICKSHOT Posted April 26, 2012 #10 Posted April 26, 2012 I have been called three times in this county and served twice. One was a felony and the other murder. The felony took way too long and actualy got to the point where the D.A. rested because she tought she was about to lose our attention. The victim of the murder was the original manager of Grand Funk Railroad. Both took five days and both were guilty. All I can say is in this county they do not bring it to court with out a lot of evidence. One other thing I learned is if you are wrongly accused of a crime, get a very good lawyer. kickshot
OB-1 Posted April 26, 2012 #11 Posted April 26, 2012 I've only been called for Jury duty twice and I was the first one booted off the potential jury both times. In the first case I was booted by the defense and by the prosecution in the second. I really would like to serve, but one side or the other seems to take umbrage at my answers to their questions.
Yama Mama Posted April 26, 2012 #12 Posted April 26, 2012 I have had jury duty three times. I think that they like nurses. All three were interesting, however they all were settled at the end out of court, so I never found out the results. Yama Mama
Pam Posted April 26, 2012 #13 Posted April 26, 2012 The laws as they are set out are pretty straight forward, Now lets add a lawyer and that is when it gets conveluded twisted and screwed up.... The wheels of justice turn slowly just always forward Having spent quite a few hours in a court room that is just my take on it
DragonRider Posted April 26, 2012 Author #14 Posted April 26, 2012 That is one thing, I am not bored sitting there, unless we are in the jury room. I have found this to be a great learning experience. I would not hesitate to do it again, not for the money but for the chance to see the justice system at work. I am a big fan of those types of tv shows and in those everything happens in a shortened version of events. I have a lot of respect for the judges, DA's and even the attorney defending his client. That is a job I do ot envy, somebody has to do it. I have also met some very interesting people while serving on this jury, especially the bailiffs, they have a thankless job and are usually retired LEO's. The ones we have are older gentlemen one a retired state trooper and the other a retired salesman, I guess you dont need law enforcement experience to be one.......... Hmm, retirement coming up, that could be an interesting retirement gig!!!!:think:
Bubber Posted April 26, 2012 #15 Posted April 26, 2012 Been there three times. One civil and two criminal. The last one was a criminal case three counts felony. Took four days of presentation in the court room and then ...... two and half weeks in the jury room. Turned out it was the first case of it's kind in the state. It was an interesting experience. Looking forward to going through that again.........NO! So did they find you guilty or not?????? LOL
Rodburner Posted April 26, 2012 #16 Posted April 26, 2012 Work up @ 2;15am - jury up @ 8am - work 56mi drive - jury 8mi drive- work lunch 30min jury at least 90min, payed for 20 days hell i'll through in a weeks vacation to get a longer trial it's like a vacation
DragonRider Posted April 26, 2012 Author #17 Posted April 26, 2012 Well, we went into the jury box at 9:30, State rested it case, Defense presented it case, at 10:00 am the defense rested it case, we go back at 1:00 to get instructions and start deliberation............never get a lunch this long at work!!!! So did they find you guilty or not?????? LOL
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