Jury Duty

[monroe67]

So, a few weeks ago I got a Notice of Jury Duty in the mail, from my local state court, for January 31.  I noted it on my wall calendar and in my phone.  I double and triple checked the bus schedules and fares.  

And I showed up on time yesterday, resigning myself to sit for hours doing crossword puzzles and drinking coffee.  I also resolved not to waste time on my cell phone.  But of course, I had to check e-mails.  (My current inexpensive phone does not chime out "Cha Ching" when I get an eBay sale.)  I am a retired person and very low volume eBay seller.  I have lived through weeks of no sales, no questions, no offers, no activity on my selling ID's listings.  

Sure enough:  One item had been purchased, an item that had been listed for more than a year.  Yippee!  AND another buyer submitted offers on three listings!  I submitted counter offers this morning, the buyer paid, and I will take the package to the post office (for an acceptance scan) once the rain lets up!  

I lucked out, one might say, by not being called into a court room for a three-week trial.  And then the Jury Services staff dismissed the rest of us at 11:30 a.m.  There were cheers.  Soon as I got home, I packed up that first sale and took it to the post office.  

Moral of the story (although YMMV) is:  Accept Your Jury Duty !!  It might have unexpected benefits!!

[coastaltechsolution]

I just had to do Federal Jury duty, had to drive 160 miles (one way) 

Got there the night before, showed up for duty and by noon jury was selected and the rest of us dismissed.

[kensgiftshop]

I've been called on twice in the last 20 years, but was dismissed because of the place I was working at the time.

Now that I can't work, I haven't had the option to do it.

[buyselljack2016]

Last time I played jury duty it was for a month. (2-3 days per week) It was grand jury where it is decided if enough evidence is presented to go to trial.

On the minus side-  put over a thousand miles on my vehicle.

On the plus side- was able to do some sourcing on the "duty days" (was not an all-day thing)

[coastaltechsolution]

I have known others that went to Federal Jury duty where I was called and ended up on a Grand Jury

It can be a long commitment 😁  

[duffy4444]

   My wife and I live in Idaho, where we have the option to permanently be exempted from jury duty over a certain age - I think it's 70 years old.

   The only downside: Being retired, we now have the life-long learning experience, perspective, and the time to be a patient, balanced and unbiased juror if it weren't for having to curtail both of our online sales venues for up to weeks at a time.

    We opted out.

Cheers, Duffy

[simba6]

Letting the comment slip  "  I know they don't put people on trial unless they are guilty "  can work wonders in getting dismissed.

[buyselljack2016]

I stated that "I couldn't possibly decide who was responsible" for the accident.

Neither side had any objection to releasing me from the case.

[redlinear]

You figure out either of the lawyers 1st names.
"Hey Bob! What's up?"

[luckythewinner]

I lucked out, one might say, by not being called into a court room for a three-week trial

If you had, you might simply have ...

• ended all your listings
• dealt with the orders that evening
• had someone drop them off for you if you could not get to the PO

[monroe67]

"You figure out either of the lawyers 1st names.
'Hey Bob! What's up?' "

For me, that actually is a possibility!  I retired about 12 years ago after a 22-year legal secretary "career", and I still live in the same county.    
I have been called to jury duty around 8-9 times.  In one voir dire I was part of, I was even slightly acquainted with the judge in the case.  We were both members of an organization that has nothing to do with the legal system, legal education, or anything else.  I was not selected as a juror in that case.  

One of the attorneys ("G") I once worked for said that, at one of his jury duty appearances, plaintiff's counsel ("P") addressed him first, before any of the other potential jurors in the room.  
"Good morning, Mr. G.  How are you today?"  
"Good morning, Mr. P.  Great, thank you."  
"Counsel thanks and dismisses this juror."

[sin-n-dex]

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@buyselljack2016 wrote:

I stated that "I couldn't possibly decide who was responsible" for the accident.

Neither side had any objection to releasing me from the case.

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I'm in Canada and I won't ever be called... they mailed me the form and there's various reasons that you can be opted out. I have comprehension and hearing problems and would need an interpreter if I don't understand what they're talking about. You can't interrupt the trial to ask questions.

For the record, I regularly use an interpreter to help me with messages from customers that are poorly written and not clear. My usual help comes from someone who works in customer management and can tell me what they customer means or what they want me to do. It helps keep the service level up, I couldn't do it on my own.

C.