As I mentioned in class a few weeks ago, I received a jury summons for later this month. Now most people hate when they get the dreaded jury summons in the mail, but I am one of the few people who LOVE jury duty. Doing my civic duty, participating in our judicial process and getting a “free” day off of work, what could be better than that? If I could, I would give up both of my jobs and become a professional juror. Yes, I know, I am a weird political nerd!
Last time I served on a jury was several years ago. I seemed to be the only one on the jury that was excited to be there. Everyone else complained, whined and used every excuse in the book to try and get out of serving, and yes, they all thought I was a weird political nerd too.
With my impending service coming up, it got me thinking about why Americans are so apathetic when it comes to jury service. So my question to you this week is, “Why do you think most Americans don’t want to participate in jury duty? Be honest – would you try and get out of it if you were called? Why or why not?” Answers are due no later than Tuesday, August 10th, 2010.
I always hear people talking about how they want to get out of jury duty and how tedious the whole process is for them. I am honestly not sure why they feel so unhappy with it.
ReplyDeleteIf I had the opputunity to serve i think it would be a unique experience. I am always interested in politics even though there is a small majority who feel the same way i do about most topics. I look at jury duty as an "experience" and most people look at it as "service".
I think that a lot of people do not like jury duty because the quite honestly the pay sucks compared to most peoples hourly rates. Along with that I also think most people don't feel they have a good reason or even like the reason that they hold the fate of someone else in their hands. Most people in my opinion can not handle dishing out a verdict wether it is innocent or guilty. I have only been called once and actually looked forward to it, but unfortunately it was settled out of court. I personally think that more people should experience jury duty.
ReplyDeletei know that my family members are allowed to get out of it because we are related to someone who served time in jail and therefore are assumed to hold a grudge against the court system. i think that people try to get out of it because it seems like a waste of a day. who wants to sit in a court room with 11 other cranky people that dont want to be there just to decide whether someone is guilty or innocent. i sure dont want to.
ReplyDeletei believe that people try to get out of jury duty is because it's so boring hearing about someones crimes and listen to both sides of the story, personally i would fall asleep, as for getting out of jury duty most definitely i don't think you would catch me dead in a jury room.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure why most people wouldn't want to sit for jury duty. Like Heath said, maybe the responsibility of holding someone's future in their hands is too much responsibility. I personally would love to sit for a trial. I've always found law very interesting and at one time read many John Grisham and Patricia Cornwell books and usually try to follow true court cases as they are reported on in the news (e.g. Scott Peterson, Natalie Holloway, O.J., etc). I don't like all the sensationalism that people like Nancy Grace put out their though. Just give me the truth and the facts.
ReplyDeleteI definitely think it's because people don't want someone else's "blood on their hands." I think most people would probably live with that for the rest of their lives, and not see it as an exciting part of the criminal justice field. I would definitely love to serve on jury duty. I think it would be a first hand experience in learning the criminal justice system and would be a missed opportunity if someone chose not to go.
ReplyDeleteok well last year or the year before i was for the first time in my life summoned to do jury duty and yes i am one of those people that hate it, here is why, i no nothing about down town therefore i was not to happy about getting lost to find this place and be there at a specific time, that was nerve recking in its self! had to wait like 2 hours before my group was called to go into the place where they ask you all these questions and all i can think is o god please dont ask me cause i know that you are judging me with those beady little eyes of yours and then we had to come back out then go back in and it felt like i was in elementary school again now stay together and be in a single file no talking no nothing. i was there probably about 6 hours for 20 mins of their time to tell me that they didn't want me THANK-GOD! on top of all that i was in a room where a "murder" was waiting trial talk about uncomfortable! so yeah its a pain in the butt and i would rather work then do that again! i hate anything to do with the government, laws whatever you name it i am out! besides the fact that i didnt want to have any person sentence on my hands!
ReplyDeleteI have no clue why most Americans try to get out of jury service. I personally would love to have jury duty, mainly because I would feel like I was making a difference. Also, I've always wanted to be in the middle of something like that, I mean when I watch shows like Law and Order SVU, I often times find myself screaming at the TV because of the decision the jury made.
ReplyDeleteI think Americans don't want to participate in jury duty due to the fact that it may be considered a hassle and something extra that Americans would have to fit into their schedules and it would be easier to get out of it then to actually serve.
ReplyDeleteI have never been called to jury duty but I'm looking forward to it just as a new experience. I don't know how it all works but I would be terrified if I had to be the one who reads the verdict (only if that's how jury duty works). My main fear/concern would be that the perp would recognize my face as I'm reading the verdict and I would forever be on their "Get List" and they'd come after me once they are released. It sounds completely outlandish, I know, but these are my assumptions of jury duty. Guess I'll find out whenever I'll get called.
I think that originally, people didn't like being bothered with something that didn't initially involve them, and that they couldn't control beyond their part in the jury. But now, I feel like people only dislike the notion of having jury duty because it's been kind of a running gag in media that jury duty is an extreme inconvenience, and that the natural reaction is to complain about it.
ReplyDeleteI agree with mostly everyone on here. I have never had to do jury duty but I have heard stories and from what I have heard it is boring, confusing, and uncomfortable. I honestly wouldnt want to do it.
ReplyDeleteI have never been experience as jury duty but I had heard before from my friends. Most of news that I heard from my friends, they said most negative like "boring or wasted". So I don't see the point why the people are forced to go if they are not interesting.
ReplyDeleteI really don't know why others would want to get out of it but i don't want to have to do it because then i will be responsible in the helping of wither someone is guilty or not and to me thats something that i don't want to ever do i dont't want to judge others by what others are saying and then you can never tell if the actual person is lying or not!
ReplyDeleteI think people don't like to do jury duty because it is a hassle. It's early in the morning, boring, a lot of waiting around, oh and did I mention boring! I was summoned last year and I really wasn’t looking forward to it because I was working third shift at the time. I was so tired and unfocused. My group was called to hear the case and split us into two groups. I was relieved that they picked the first group and let my group go home. That was around 1 pm…
ReplyDeleteI think that most Americans don't want to do anything that is out of their routine unless they plan to do something that is intentionally not routine. Also, since it seems like everyone complains about Jury Duty, people just assume that it's terrible even if they have never done it before. Typically, a negative attitude tends to breed even more of a negative attitude. Not to mention, people just see it as a hassle because they aren't really interested in going.
ReplyDeleteMy uncle got chosen to be on The John Stamos trial in Marquette, MI and I think he was actually somewhat interested in going since it's the trial of a celebrity. If I got called in for Jury Duty, I wouldn't be too excited about it but I wouldn't try to get out of it unless there was something interesting I already had planned for that day.
I honestly think most Americans don’t want to participate in jury duty because we feel that it is a waste of time. It is annoying and most of Americans are busy and hate to waste time and energy on something we are not interested in. If I got called I would be the American trying to get out of it because I have a very short attention span and I feel like I would be lost and not know what is going on and I would hate to have to miss work or school for jury duty.
ReplyDeleteI received a letter earlier this year saying I was selected for jury selection and had to call the day before to see whether or not I had to come in for selection. I hate when people thing citizens are being selfish or rude when they don’t want to do jury duty. The system is horrible. I am a very go-with-the-flow person and when I have a problem with something like this then it is pretty bad. I work in a kitchen which means there is really no one that can cover my shift. The day I would have had to go in was our busiest day of the week. I am also a student and the day to go in was during a final. These are things you cannot get out of easily and it requires more notice than a day. However, I had to take a final early and get out of work only to call the day before and have a machine say I was not selected. This is a very inappropriate process and this is why I was bitter about the whole situation. I wanted to do jury duty and I hope I can in the future. It is a very inconsiderate way of selecting people and it is a big hassle on people when they are told to do something rather than being asked. If it was more volunteer based then I think people will being more than happy to help out.
ReplyDeleteI hear my mom talking about it sometimes and she says that she has been chosen quite a few times and most of the time she doesn't get fully chosen to listen to the case. She has told me that basically it's just a bunch of sitting around and doing nothing the whole time unless they call you and that you waste an entire day for it when you get nothing back. We are a bit tight on money so I can understand why she would not want to miss work for that. But honestly I can say that if I got picked I would go..I have never doneit before so I feel that it would be a new experience and I would like to do it at least once.
ReplyDeleteI think a lot of people try to get out of jury duty because they don't enjoy it. It's boring to most people and I think just about everybody would rather just go to their every-day job. If I were to be called into jury duty I wouldn't try to get out of it but I'd complain I'm sure. I wouldn't try to get out of it because I wouldn't want to deal with anything more than i had too, but I'd rather be anywhere else. I don't like listening to other people's problems let alone a total stranger's.
ReplyDeleteI think the biggest reason that people hate doing jury duty as that it is outside of there every-day schedule, or they have better things to do. You don't make as much money at jury duty as you do at work. If I was called to jury duty I would probably try to get out of it unless I really had nothing else to do.
ReplyDeleteI know my mother doesn't like to go because the court house is an hour from our house, and even though she gets off work she would rather be at work so she doesn't get behind. I persoanlly would love to get called. my favorite shows are law and order, CSI, and NCIS. It would be like my own personal law and order!
ReplyDeleteI think most people are reluctant to do jury duty because they have to go out of their way to do it. It's not part of their normal lives and it interrupts whatever they have planned. American's have so much stuff going on in their lives they feel uber stressed if they don't get things done how they normally get done. If I had some legit reason why I couldn't do it like my grandmother needed me or something along that line, then yes, I would try to get out of it. However, if I knew that I nothing going on, then I would stay. I wouldn't like it, and would probably do what Lisa said and make it my own Law and Order or what not.
ReplyDeleteI believe that Americans don't like serving jury duty because of the pay. It could take days, maybe even weeks for a trial to reach a verdict. And, it could effect a person living situation. They could get behind in bills, or even lose their job. Some people might be scared to serve because of who might on trial. It just seems that its not worth it to serve in today's judicial system. I think I would try jury duty if I was called. I've never been selected, and I think that it's an experience that every person should try.
ReplyDeleteWe are too used to being told what we should think of issues from our choice in unbiased media. We as a nation aren't used to "thinking" on our own. Asking questions is almost un heard of in fear of outing oneself and being different from those around you. Those who blindly follow the person in front of them would find jury duty tiresome and dull. Also, those who do not actively defend their ideals and engage in stimulating conversation would find jury duty dull as well.
ReplyDeleteI would enjoy the change of my everyday life with jury duty.
tl;dr We don't think enough. No, I wouldn't try and get out of jury duty.
I'm not sure why it's such a big deal. I wouldn't mind going. Do I get a free hotel room and food?!
ReplyDeleteI was actually summoned once. I was a senior in high school. My mother didn't tell me about the summon until after she mailed something back or talked to someone and canceled it because I'm in high school or something. She told me not to worry, that she took care of it. Her worries were that no matter what side I took, that playing a part in a conviction would put me in danger. But this was coming from the same woman who never let me go to church camp or church events because that is the main target for terrorists, and the same woman who withheld my acceptance letter to my #1 desired college at the time from me because it was all the way down in Georgia. Too far away from Gas City.
I do not come from a background of reliable sources regarding politics or common sense.
I think people are just lazy sometimes.
They complain about routines, but don't take opportunities.
My name is Craig Smith, I would not try to get out of jury duty, and I approve this message.
-Craig Smith
(*phew* I almost forgot!)
I think most americans do not want to go to jury duty because they always hear from someone else that it is the most miserable thing to go to. if i were called in to go to jury duty, i;m sure i would not care if had to go or not. Sure i wouldn't mind if had to go because that is just a day where i don't have to go to work. Also i wouldn't mind seeing how the courts really work.
ReplyDeleteI would imagine that most people see it as an inconvenience, having to drive out of their way, miss a day of work, and be somewhere where they don't want to be all day seems pretty crummy to most people. I honestly don't think that I would try to get out of it; rather, I'd probably find it at the very least to be an interesting experience. It hasn't ever struck me as a horrible ordeal to have to go through.
ReplyDeleteI think most Americans don't want to do it because they don't want to wrongly convict a person or because it seems to take forever for all jurors to agree on the verdict. I don't think I would try to get out of it. I personally think that it may be fun. I like watching shows that allow me to guess whether a person is guilty or not.
ReplyDeleteI think most americans dislike jury duty because many people have a hard time helping others if they are getting nothing in return. I also think a good chunk of our society is very lazy and they dont want to do something that they feel they dont have to. If I got jury duty I would love it!! I always get caught up in all those crime shows and I love helping people. I would be excited to try this new thing where I get to help decide the fate of someone and make a difference. I would be excited to help the little man and make a difference. I cant wait till I get to go do jury duty!
ReplyDeleteI think most people try to get out of it cause its kind of out of day to day rutine. It would also be kind of wierd putting somebody elses future in your hands. I would probably go if i were summoned.
ReplyDeleteLate Entry
ReplyDeleteTristan
Having never served or been called for jury duty I have little knowledge of the process. Why people shrug off this duty is a mystery to me. We have many freedoms and rights one of which is the right to a Fair trial with a Jury of our peers. I would go if I were ever summoned.
It seems like it would be interesting. What if you got called to an intense murdur trial? Or an adultury hearing? It's like Jerry springer!...Right?
ReplyDeleteBut seriously, I've never been called, or know anyone who has, honestly. I always thought it was something oputdated that people referenced jokingly.
I personally have not been called for jury duty. If I were to be, I would be excited just for the simple fact that it would be a new expirence. But I do not feel comfortable with someones life in my hands. Also from what I hear the pay sucks.
ReplyDeleteTom Whitesell
ReplyDeleteMost americans live their life a mile a minute, and are constantly going from doing one thing to the next. Its simply an inconvenience to most americans. Its sort of like registering to vote and voting. some people just would rather not take the time to do it, dispite all the things that our country does for us. And I personally wouldnt mind going to jury duty. Ive been on the other side of that situation, in front of a judge, and i think it would be nice to be in a court room and not be the one that is getting in trouble.