Kurari Posted January 30, 2012 Posted January 30, 2012 I work as a court transcriptionist and virtual paralegal. Observing the justice system is interesting, strange, and sometimes frustrating. One thing that I have been keenly becoming aware of lately is the idea of judgement and being judgmental. Which of course brings up my memories of being a Christian, because being judgmental is practically a sacrament in some of the most appalling ways imaginable. It's one of the HUGE reasons that I and I know many, if not most of you left the faith. One thing I'm sure of, is I'm REALLY uncomfortable with the idea of being a juror (and no, it's not just because going is bull, inconvenient, and annoying, though I'll be honest and admit it's part of it). I've been called a few times and have gone for picking, but have never served. I know that likely I will get a notice again since it's been a while. Working as I do has made me even more uncomfortable with the idea. I really do not want to be part of deciding someone else's fate to go to jail, even if I was sure they did it. Yes, I know it's part of my duty as a voter, and it's our constitutional right to be allowed to have a trial by a panel of our peers. I still have a gut reaction that this isn't something I personally can do. Does anybody know if that's a valid excuse to give to get out of serving? I'm trying to sort out my feelings on the issue on judgement. I've definitely become much more open minded and critical in how I judge. I wanted to know if that's the same for the rest of you? I know that judgment has it's practicality. I know that you have to make some judgments and decisions about people in order just to function in society. I wanted to talk about it. Has being judgmental come more into your consciousness since you left Christianity? Less so? How did you decide what's appropriate and what's excessive?
YellowJacket Posted January 30, 2012 Posted January 30, 2012 I'm 52 yrs old and have never ever been called for jury duty. I was born in the US and have never spent much time outside of it. And yet i know people that have been called 3 or 4 times. must be Calvin's will that I have escaped this.
Positivist Posted January 30, 2012 Posted January 30, 2012 Great question. I'm still sorting out the big question you pose. However, I find myself much less judgemental as an atheist than I was as a believer. As a Christian I was extremely judgemental and highly dogmatic: God said it, pony up regardless of the outcome; throw yourself under God's bus, etc. I now am much more able to see how many complex social and economic and physiological factors form human experiences and development. So much is more subjective than I ever wanted to admit. Your job sounds cool. The things you must hear......
jdog Posted January 30, 2012 Posted January 30, 2012 I think I would have some reservations over having to judge someone in a court circumstance. I am sure it isn't always easy and depending on the case too but if given evidence and facts of the case I would have to judge based on what is given to me and I would have to live with my decision. Just wanted to add that I am way less judgemental now as I was as a Christian, for sure. just like what Positivist said, so many different factors come into play. I know that medical reasons, citizenship, and special circumstances can be reasons for not having to serve on a jury. My husband got jury duty notices twice last year! He didn't have to serve. The first time he wasn't picked and the second time he had to provide a letter from his employer because his job took him out of state and the reason was verified and approved by the court. I have had about 4 jury duty notices since living in the States for several years. I haven't served because I am still only a resident not a citizen.
YellowJacket Posted January 30, 2012 Posted January 30, 2012 ^so wierd. How do they find people? I think my husband has been called, maybe twice, but he got excused for something. He's 63. guess i'm just specially blessed to be passed over by the flying fickle finger of Jury choosing.
VacuumFlux Posted January 30, 2012 Posted January 30, 2012 I have had about 4 jury duty notices since living in the States for several years. I haven't served because I am still only a resident not a citizen. ^so wierd. How do they find people? I thought they got jurors off the voter roles, so that the privilege of voting is tied to the responsibility of serving on a jury. If so, I have no idea how a non-citizen could ever get notice to serve. Then again, maybe that's just the way my state does it. I had jury duty once. Never actually sat on any jury, just hung out at the courthouse for a few hours every day until the court cases wrapped up for the day and they told us there was no need to stay. They told us how that particular court handled summons, which explained that not even other court in the same courthouse handles it the same way. It's a very local thing on what getting a summons means and how easy it is to get out of. That particular court did a good job of explaining to us the history of trial by jury and explaining how things worked at that particular court. I think they decided that doing a good PR job is a better idea than badgering people to serve, they didn't want us getting too grumpy while waiting, and the judges are elected so it was in their own best interests to come and say hi and be friendly and helpful. Their logic behind having us all hang out at the courthouse whether we got called for a case or not is that when it's so easy to get a jury together, people tend to settle out of court since getting a jury isn't a delay tactic. My views on jury duty is that we need the rule of law maintain order. But that only works when it really is the law, and not personal biases, that rule. The jury system is not perfect, but it's a way to minimize abuse of power. And it's not always that juries are judging between citizens and the state, but between citizens in he-said-she-said cases (even in criminal cases, you may just have the word of the person who pressed charges). So I see it more as being a mediator than passing judgement, as a way to hopefully diffuse conflicts before they turn too violent (or in murder trials, something has to be done, and it's important to make sure you don't find the wrong person guilty for something that serious). And it's the judge who passes final judgement in regards to sentencing, so at least that part isn't up to me.
Kurari Posted January 30, 2012 Author Posted January 30, 2012 Your job sounds cool. The things you must hear...... Thank you! I find it endlessly fascinating, though some people would probably want to run screaming from having to type it all out. *L* @ YellowJacket Jurors are selected through voter registration polls, driver's license records, and other state identification records, respectively. States may have different criteria over what pools they pick from. That is how folks who don't have American Citizenship sometimes get a notice. I've been called three times since I was 18 and I'm 34 now.
jblueep Posted January 30, 2012 Posted January 30, 2012 ^so wierd. How do they find people? I think my husband has been called, maybe twice, but he got excused for something. He's 63. guess i'm just specially blessed to be passed over by the flying fickle finger of Jury choosing. Same here YellowJacket. I'm 38 and I've never been called. I vote in every election. Most of my friends and family have been called multiple times. No idea why they don't call on me.
Overcame Faith Posted January 30, 2012 Posted January 30, 2012 Different states and the Feds have differing rules for getting out of jury duty. The best thing for you to do if you want out of jury duty is to check on your local laws and see if you fit one of the categories for getting off of jury duty when you are called.
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