Attention

The opinions expressed by columnists are their own and do not represent our advertisers

Sunday, August 14, 2011

People Say The Darndest Things To Get Out Of Jury Duty

A pig farmer insisted her livestock would die if she missed a day in the barn. A psychic medium said she'd know immediately upon walking into the courtroom whether a defendant was guilty. A woman claimed to have such an important job that her workplace couldn't function without her - plus, she was going on vacation that week.

In her eight years as jury commissioner of county Circuit Court, Marci Bailey has heard it all when it comes to excuses to get out of jury duty.

"I get lost very easily and am not comfortable driving into Annapolis."

"I'm a racist."

"I think everybody is guilty."

About 12,000 county residents are summonsed to jury duty at the county courthouse in Annapolis each year, Bailey said.

More

16 comments:

Anonymous said...

I don't think anyone should be FORCED to participate in Jury Duty. If you don't want to, you should be excused rather than go before the judge and tell them each and every day. How objective is a person who doesn't want to be there anyway? The system is about as broken as it can be and forcing citizens to serve is yet another crack in the system. It is as much my CHOICE in a free society NOT to serve as it is my responsibility to serve.

Anonymous said...

I feel its my duty as a law abiding citizen.

Anonymous said...

Jury duty is a privilage and those before us fought for that privilage. Let's not lose site of that.

Anonymous said...

1114 take my place every time if you want to. I don't like the criminals, those prosectuing, defending, with or those without a badge or a robe on. You can associate with them if you want to. No thank you, leave me off the list!

Anonymous said...

I agree totally 10:29. Let them gather the jury pool from the unemployement line. There are many people who would welcome getting $15/day or whatever it is verus regular joes having to miss work to serve on a jury they don't want to be a part of.

Anonymous said...

I would be ok with people that are on unemployment serving on jury duty. I don't think I would want the people on welfare to be on the jury duty. If they can't be responsible for their own life we shouldn't let them be the deciding factor in someone elses.

Anonymous said...

I really think Jury Duty is unfair to those who get paid by the hour. If they don't work, they don't get paid. They will not excuse you for you being the sole provider or an hourly employee. Jury duty is like $15 a day--seriously?? I don't understand why you have to be "on call" for 30 days. Why not just one or two days. I could live with that.

Anonymous said...

It is with Jury Duty that each individual Citizen in America is given the authority ot oveturn laws passed by the Congress and not yet heard by the Sub-Par court.

Anonymous said...

The people on unemployment and welfare should have jury duty to be elegible to get their check. It is a way for them to pay back.

Anonymous said...

Just throw the notice away if you don't want to serve...it is delivered by regular mail....no signature or proof of delivery...usps loses mail everyday

Anonymous said...

ever seen most of the people who make it through the selection process? If you don't want to be selected for jury duty just make sure you have an education. I have been called many times both here and for federal court in baltimore. The people who were selected were the bottom of the barrel when it came to intelligence. The lawyers aren't stupid. They want people with IQ's at or below room temperature. This way they can be led and easily swayed. A jury of your peers should mean (if ever needed) I would get a jury of fathers, former marines, property owners, and other with IQ's above room temperature!! Yeah, that'll happen!

Anonymous said...

735 BET! Great idea!

Anonymous said...

i say let me in! ill hang em all!

Anonymous said...

Have unemployed and welfare ppl serve on jury duty? That would be a mistake! You have a thief, stole money, says hes unemployed for 3 years and no one is hiring. The unemployed and welfare jury will MOST likely sympathize with him. PLUS have you seen most of the ppl who are welfare? Half of them would be defendants and related.

anonymous said...

wow! that's how you feel 11:36? why they gotta be related? smh! that's all yall talk about in every blog...somebody bein on welfare...get over it! it is what it is. wth

Anonymous said...

I have had District, Circuit, and Federal Jury duty, I loved it. I got paid my full wages by my employer, since I worked for the Government, and had great lunches, rooms, and loads of good jokes. I got to see our so called Justice System in action, I got to see attornies dealing cases over lunch like trading baseball cards. These were peoples lives! I got to listen to the balife tell us about the differant trials he saw and the guilty ones getting off. We got to learn that in America, if you have a great attorney and enough money you can get away with murder! I say everyone needs to do Jury duty once to see how bad our system really is.