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.
I'm sad to say I wasn't called that week, but 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 Wednesday, December 7th, 2016.
I believe that most Americans don't want to participate in jury duty because who wants to make a decision based on the sake of someone life. Humans are humans with feelings, emotions can over power a person. I would go to make sure things are fair and my voice is heard.
ReplyDeleteBesides the most obvious reason as to why people complain about jury duty, inconvenience, I think it has to do with uncertainty. The people called to serve have no idea what type of case they will be facing, what type of evidence they will have to look over and how harshly the person being prosecuted by the government might be punished. People do not want to make hard decisions, and serving on a jury might prove to be be just that sometimes.
ReplyDeleteI think that people try to get out of jury duty because it could be considered a waste of their time, an inconvenience, a lousy case, etc; I, however, would like to be called to jury duty depending on what the case would be and when it would be. I think it would be interesting to go at least once to get a better understanding and have that experience. But at the same time, in a busy life, if it is inconvenient for me and feel as though I could be doing better things, I could see myself wanting to get out of it. The perk of course is a free day off work! So I think it depends on things, but overall going one time would be beneficial.
ReplyDeleteLike people have been saying I feel like people don't want to take part in jury duty because it's just another thing you have to add to your list of things to do. Also people probably have the mindset of if it doesn't effect me personally, then why do I have to go? Honestly it would depend on the situation for me. I would be interested in serving on the jury at least once, but if it was during a busy week then I would probably be slightly annoyed.
ReplyDeleteMost people don't like jury duty because very few people have a true sense of empathy that extends past people they know. Sitting around for hours while listening to details of a crime that has nothing to do with them seems like a drag to most people. It is true that being called to jury duty is an inconvenience on the juror's part, so many people don't view the experience as anything beyond that: a waste of time. Also, I'm assuming "free day off work" just means a day that the juror could spend making money, excused absence or not. Lower class individuals dread jury duty because it means less food on the table or a bill that may go unpaid. I would like to experience jury duty at least once in my life, to gain a greater understanding of the workings of the legal system. However, seeing how I am currently one of the lower class individuals I spoke of, I wouldn't want to serve at this point in my life. I can almost guarantee I would try to get out of it, unless it were a major offense. In that case, I feel like I would be missing out on a great opportunity to potentially avenge the life or other grave injustice that had befallen an individual. Either way, jury duty would be a great educational experience.
ReplyDeleteI think for most people its just time consuming. People have things to do and are busy and don't want that to be another thing. It doesn't affect them and people probably don't care its just somewhere they have to be. For me i personally think it would be very interesting to experience. Id love to go and participate on a case atlas once in my lifetime.
ReplyDeleteIts Katie: I think that most americans don't want to be on jury duty because of 2 possible reasons,the first being the most simple, it takes up a lot of time and americans are kind of lazy, but the second reason is that depending on the situation jury member decides the fate of a person and if they are wrong in their decision, then I can see how sometimes there might be a level of guilt with being a jury member. I personally would like to do it once to do my job as an American citizen and to also experience it because it is part of being an adult.
ReplyDeleteI think that people don't want to go either out of pure laziness or the thought of it being a boring task. That's usually how it's represented on television and media. I personally also wouldn't want to go because it does feel like a tedious thing to do with as you said whiny people to deal with while there.
ReplyDeleteI think most people view it as annoying required duty. sure they get the day off, but they unfortunately don't get paid. Most assume that they will get a boring case-and view it as an obligation rather than a privilege. I personally don't know what to think of it, other than it would be an interesting experience.
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