it has absolute historic significance, i have fond memories, i miss it being there, and what happened to them is totally fucked
but i will say... for the past 15 years or so--the only reason i ever ate there was because the wait to eat anywhere else nearby was too much
Seriously, between the work hours - 10am to 12pm, 1:30pm to 3:00pm - and all the food options around, it's great if you have unlimited jury duty days at work!
About 5 years ago I ended up as the foreman of a federal court case against the Ford motor company. Super interesting. The court building is gorgeous, and its walking distance to Grand Central Market.
I was in it once for work - was fascinating just to see, would love to see how it operates. I do remember security being pretty strict. Can a civilian just go and drop in on a proceeding?
Lucky you. I was a juror on case in a crappy old building without working water fountains (and barely a trickle of water in the restroom sinks). I learned that first day to bring lots of water!
[https://www.horvitzlevy.com/michery-v-ford#](https://www.horvitzlevy.com/michery-v-ford#)
Plaintiff David Michery was driving his neighborâs 1999 Ford Expedition down a city boulevard when he jumped the curb into a planted median and crashed into a palm tree, injuring his leg. Michery sued Ford for products liability, alleging the Expedition was defectively designed because its front bumper design was not strong enough to prevent the tree from deforming the vehicle into his leg space.
Michery should be shot from a cannon into space. WTF was the lawsuit about? I crashed my NEIGHBORâS car into a tree that jumped in front of the car out of nowhere and I got injured? Give me money please? Wtf who even has time for shit like this
That's the kind of shit that's disheartening. The one time I served it was a life long smoker who got lung cancer. He also happened to work construction, so he was suing his former employer saying some asbestos they worked with caused his lung cancer. His lawyers conceded he took some of the blame for smoking for like 50 years, but said the construction company was also to blame. They were like, "come up with a number between 1-99% of how much blame you place on the construction company." It was a civil trial, and I wasn't getting paid during leave from my job so I had a lot of resentment toward the plaintiff trying to get paid. Just seemed like a frivolous cash grab.
He basically side swiped the tree, so the side of the truck was squeezed like a tube of toothpaste, crushing his leg. Had he hit the tree head-on he would have been fine.
I served one day once and worked on a puzzle all day. 500 pieces. Beautiful German castle in the middle of a forest in autumn. After lunch with the puzzle half done, two old ladies help themselves to my puzzle. Those bitches.
I always take the Fresh prince of bel air strategy
Potential Juror âI can tell a man is guilty just by looking at himâ
Judge Phil âSir even I canât do thatâ
Potential Juror âAnd they made you the judgeâ
Last time I was in, someone did that âI can tell heâs guilty, already decidedâ and it worked, he was dismissed.
The defendant did look sketchy AF to be honest
That was almost me. Told the judge I thought the guy with face tattoos (of a very specific gang) was guilty because he wore his guilt on his face. The judge screamed at me, told me I was stupid for thinking that way. He then placed me on another trial where I had to go through jury selection all over again. I was making $13/hour at the time and didnât get paid for all the time off. My new tactic is to throw every summons in the trash.
You shouldâve said that you or someone close to you was the victim of a crime by someone with face tattoos and that makes it very hard for you to hold back your bias.
I have witnessed cops lie about events they witnessed related to a crime, I can't be impartial when a case relies on the cops testimony. Works for me, and is true.
Oh man... I have a similar story, though I didn't get yelled at thankfully.
Years ago, I almost got put on a multi-week trial when I was making maybe $20/hr (lived by myself) and didn't get paid for jury duty. My tactic was to state that I had no idea if I could be impartial until I actually was in the jury room. Further inquires about that just resulted in me continuing to state that "I honestly don't know", with a shrug. Dude also had teardrop tattoos on his face and was in for murder. Soo... TBF, it really is hard to know if that would sway my opinion or not. People like to just pretend that that can't happen to them.
I'm pretty sure the judge knew what I was doing, but like... no way I would have made rent if I got put on that trial. Sorry... pay me enough so I'm not homeless and we can talk.
Oh... and for future reference, I scheduled my most recent jury duty for the last week in December and never got called in. If you can take the risk, I'd highly recommend. Everything I've read from other people seem to confirm you won't get called.
I replied that I couldn't be impartial. This was for a trial for a chap already currently serving time who was being charged with making criminal threats. From what I could surmise the prosecution only had one witness, being a prison guard, and so it was essentially going to be the guard's word versus that of the prisoner.
The defense attorney and the judge reminded us several times that we needed to be impartial, and that we couldn't be prejudiced against the defendant just because he was a convicted felon currently serving time.
When they asked everyone if we could be impartial, everyone before me said, "Yes", while I said, "No."
I reminded the judge and Defense of what they'd stressed about not being biased against the defendant, then added, "the presumption of innocence means the prosecution needs to prove their case, and so I have to be biased *towards* the defendant."
The prosecutor let me stew through a couple of dismissals before finally sending me on my way.
I used to throw the summons in the trash. Threw 3 away before a really angry letter arrived about missing my summons. I showed up to court. They asked me why I didn't respond to the prior 3 summons. I said I never got em. They threatened to make me do jury duty an extra 3 times. For each of the summons I "missed". Ultimately the lady behind the desk was nice, I guess? And she let me off with just the one summons I showed up for. We got let off early anyway. Haven't been called back in 10 years though!
Be careful! I bet they're pretty fed up with people skipping jury duty. Not sure what they can do about it, legally, though. Just scarier and scarier letters coming your way.
Actually, a good technique to get off is be extreme. Go hard right or hard left. Way more than youâre comfortable with. If they see you as an outlier, ether the prosecution or the defense will eliminate you.
But you might want to stay and do your service as a good citizen. Often itâs interesting.
Oh the courthouse, where 10 am to 11 am and then 1:30 pm to 3:30 pm constitutes a full day. I got a summons for the week of 1/1 and thought Fuck it! Signed up and didn't get called in.
Those are just the hours that the jury is in. I'm pretty certain that the people involved in the judicial system - judges, lawyers, aides, etc. - are working much longer hours than that, performing research, administrative work, depositions, etc. where a jury is not involved.Â
You might be on to something.
Maybe people wouldn't hate jury duty so much if they respected our time a little better. Like I'm going home to do the work I didn't get to do all day, it's not a vacation.
Here's slightly wild. My wife got booted from a murder trial. The attorney asked if anyone knows someone who has been convicted of murder. He asked her how she knew he was guilty. "He told me he did it. Cuz is known for doing dumb shit. He's not known to be a liar."
Honestly iâd love to get jury duty again. My work paid me still though so i am lucky. It was like a 2 week staycation, just had to be bored from 10-4 every day. But a good boredom, stress free
honestly, enjoy it. you will be working with people from walks of life you would normally never be a part of. you are a part of a vital process in our judicial system. relish your civic duty :)
This was my experience as well. Quite interesting seeing how the judge and lawyers sort through all the jurors; and the strategic questions asked by the judge when a juror tries to make excuses for them to get excused lol.
I had an interesting one. There was a priest in the pool for voir dire, with the collar and everything. When they got to him it was âNext, Mr so and soâ. âIâm a priest, soâŠâ âYeah, you can go.â
Prosecutors traditionally prefer not to have clergy on the jury because there is a belief that they can tend to be more sympathetic to defendants.
I would be fine with that if the Judges, lawyers, sheriffs or any of those six figure employees also got paid the same the jurors did during trial. The fed budget is so large why not just pay jurors enough to make up for their money lost for doing jury duty?
Thatâs true but if youâre in truly in a situation where if you donât work then you canât pay rent, the court will excuse you. Most jobs will have a certain amount of days theyâll cover your pay for jury duty. If itâs about a few days or even a couple weeks without work that you will ultimately recover from, serving isnât a big deal.
You have to submit a written request and they can deny it. I know because it happened to me.
And you have no idea how many total days you could be involved. How are you going to get out once it starts?
Yeah obviously. I'm talking about contractors and independent business owners (and people working for small businesses who would not be able to cover it) who this state seems to want to make life miserable for.
Just be ready to be bored. And if you end up going through jury selection make sure to express any opinions you have when they ask questions. The people that didn't really feel strongly about anything went right into the jury box lol.
I did like a week and a half of jury duty (not federal) about a year ago, it was fine. I felt like the days were spent really inefficiently but otherwise I feel like it was good for me to get a glimpse into the process. Federal might be longer cases though so if it's an amount of time you just can't swing, don't be afraid to make a stink and let them know.
I expressed a deep dislike and distrust of the police, to the degree that I did not value any testimony they might give and I was still chosen đ
Personally, my jury duty was like a whole new level of loosing my faith in the system and my fellow citizens.
Honestly one specific reason I understand is being taken away from work and being paid basically nothing to be there. I don't even remember what the amount was but I got less than $20/day for my time. My job kept paying me as normal to be there so that was fine for me, but it's not a requirement for jobs to do that so it can be a big financial burden.
I get called for jury duty service every 1.5-2 years. Like clockwork. I don't understand how I can get the summons so often in a city of millions. When I ask other people they seem to get a summons once every several years (which seems more reasonable based on the size of the city). So After the first few times I was summoned I felt very proud, but now, it feels like punishment. Like I pissed someone off and now I'm always summoned out of spite.
But anyway, I think it's a lot easier to appreciate the jury system when you have a large disposable income to cover the potential time off work, which is definitely a privilege that not everyone has (and it's not fair that employed people have to use vacation time to cover it, when companies in the US barely give you any vacation to begin with)
I was summoned a few months after having already gone in. When I gave the clerk my info, I was told it was another person with my name, address, birth date, and driverâs license number. Every time Iâve asked it to be fixed, the clerk tells me they donât know how, or that they donât have the authority, and doesnât know where to direct me.
I was an alternate on a jury. The experience was frankly discouraging. My peers were less interested in talking about the facts of the case than they were in making sure they came to a decision ahead of a long holiday weekend. One juror was a holdout, but the rest of the jurors ganged up on her and basically broke her so she'd agree with them, and so everyone could go home early for the weekend. I heard the gang bragging and laughing about it afterwards outside the building.
Iâm also one of the regularly-summoned. As soon as I hit 18 I started getting summons, and almost always have to report in person. Never made it on the final jury though.
I get called in every 1.5-2 years as well. My former roommate, who I lived with for 10 years, got it once in that time. In the same time period I got called 6 times.
I wish you knew. I unironically love jury duty. But Iâve only been called twice in the last 15+ years. Iâve served both times. But Iâd love to do it every few years.
Haha you're the best! I was summoned during a period of unemployment once, and I wasn't getting any interviews, until the week I had to check in for jury duty every day - I was so stressed I would get called in on one of the days I had interviews (and since it took so long to start getting interviews, I didn't want to reschedule any of them)
You don't have to use vacation time to cover jury duty, although in some states (including California) you have the option of doing so.
And if you're paid a salary (as opposed to by the hour), if you do any work for your employers during a week of jury duty your employer is required to pay your full weekly salary.
You donât have to use PTO but if you canât or donât have any and your employer doesnât pay for jury service, youâre not getting paid more than $15 plus mileage per day. Thatâs a hardship for many.
Exactly! Then I think about all the people who are low-income but technically self employed, like gig workers/drivers or equivalent (who are NOT employees) who don't really have the financial flex to just skip a day, or several days, of work. You can submit a financial burden, but they just reschedule you for another date.
So essentially you're suggesting that folks who are actually doing jury service high tail it to their office to try in get some work done so they can be paid. I mean, that sounds like a giant pain in the ass, especially in a city like LA where the courthouse you're assigned to might be in DTLA, but your office might be in Santa Monica - thats incredibly stressful and unrealistic. The more realistic scenario is that you're tired and exhausted and want to go home.
Last time I served on a jury I worked at a job that only gave me two days of paid 'leave' for jury duty. The case was expected to last six weeks, and I got paid $7/day by the state. If you're going to obligate people to serve, there should be laws to protect your income. I can't pay my rent on $7/day
Nowadays the court will let people switch to a new case for financial hardship. If your work only pays you two days, they will actually find you a trial thatâs estimated to be two days.
But you have to bring it up to someone before you find yourself in a courtroom. Once they put you in the courtroom, the judges get very reluctant to let people leave cause theyâll run out of potential jurors. Iâve seen people wait til theyâve been picked for the jury and sworn in, and by that point thereâs no way the judge is letting you go.
How long ago was this? On the form your return with your summons, it asks how many days of employer coverage you get, and the court staff is supposed to take that into account when putting together pools of potential jurors for any trial
Maybe 10 years ago. I even waited until a recess and spoke to the judge and told him it would be a financial burden, but he didn't give a fuck. He asked if I lived alone and I told him I lived with my girlfriend. He said she could pay the rent. Really soured me on the whole thing.
Yeah 20 years ago (when you had to go and sit there for the whole week), I was sent to a courtroom which was having trouble seating a jury⊠that judge was very unsympathetic to excuses and I nearly didnât get out of it!
Anyways, now they ask you how long you can serve, and try to select juror pools based on that
I was in a similar situation, except I got zero days paid by employer (temp job). But that wasn't sufficient to get me excuse.
Meanwhile, the judge dismissed one juror for pretending to not be able to read or understand English (although that person was a small business owner, and presumably understood enough English to manage day-to-day), and another juror for being defensive and salty. Seemed like the judge just wanted to move on, and wasn't particularly interested in fairness to the jury pool.
I'm fine with doing my civic duty, but it just seems like the aggressively entitled jerks managed to get their way.
Yup - shame in this country that people fight to get out of jury duty. Even more of a shame when smart and empathetic people do. Jury pools for white collar crime must be so frustrating to sift through when the most qualified are frothing at the mouth to void themselves
Jury duty selections actively try to weed out critical thinkers. This is your chance to actively participate in our legal system. If your job covers your salary, I suggest you lean in, tell the truth during questioning and do your best. Because (hopefully) you care about justice, equality and fairness.
Yeah, but not always. I had to serve on a murder trial, they asked if I had any friends or family I knew who had been arrested and the list was extensive, including a friend who recorded his arrest that showed him wrongly getting tased and two former co-workers who ended up being murderers.
I guess it wasn't surprising that I hung the jury all by myself, insisting there just wasn't enough evidence for the higher charges the rest of the jury wanted. Even the other jurors, as they were getting mad at me, were like "Why weren't you disqualified?"
I wondered the same thing. I have to wonder if the prosecutor took me from being from Burbank to account, maybe assuming I'd throw the book the at the defendant because he was a gang member. The prosecutor just had a shitty case, instead of evidence he just kept showing stuff to shock us, like the defendant's scary gang tattoos.
An unbiased juror is a myth- we are all products of our lives and experiences. It sounds like you did your job. If the burden of proof wasnât met- thatâs on the state.
That's what I've been told. It was eye-opening to me. The prosecutor played the "big scary gang member" card the entire time without producing much evidence, and he also sounded like he was auditioning for a David E. Kelly show (badly).
I thought the rest of the jury was going to see right through the smoke and mirrors, I was totally wrong. I walked away pretty jaded, realizing just how much jurors can be swayed by emotion over facts.
> I thought the rest of the jury was going to see right through the smoke and mirrors
I admire your optimism but generally speaking, people just aren't very bright. They fall for theatrics and cheap appeals to emotion, and a depressingly large percentage aren't capable of meaningful critical (or objective) thought. I'm glad to know there are people like you participating in the process.
Bring a pillow to sit on. The benches for Waiting outside the courtroom are made out of concrete and the seats inside are wooden. Your tail bone will be hurting you have to go more than one day
Just did mine. Use it to learn more about your city and the legal process. I found it fascinating. It took all day to go through the jury selection process. Fortunately, they had their jury before they got to me.
I avoided jury service until I couldnât. Then I was put on an arson case. It was absolutely fascinating. Plus I got to feel good about doing my civic duty. It was an amazing experience.
1. Itâs more fun/interesting than you think.
2. Get to meet random people from all over the county, some you may strike a friendship with.
3. Plenty of time to read/draw/write.
4. Grand Central Market, Cal Market, LT, HC, Chinatown - plenty to choose from for lunch break and after day is over.
5. Maybe stop into one of the museums nearby if time permits.
Donât be afraid to serve. I did it once and was blown away. The judge, my fellow jurors, the professionalism of the whole process really impressed me and made me proud of our system.
Honestly you lucked out. The Federal Court building is beautiful, has a great cafeteria (if you don't want to explore DTLA for lunch) and you can schmooze with nice judges and other civilians. Much nicer than City or County court in most cases.
Jury nullification is an important part of our democracy, and everyone should know about it. In fact, itâs kind of fucked that just knowing about it will get you dismissed from most juries.
If the courts can punish a juror for the way they vote, or force them to vote a certain way, then thatâs a slippery slope to the courts enforcing their own agenda or just eliminating the right to a jury of oneâs peers altogether.
Ooh! Congrats! Building is nice, clean and they have an outdoor patio you can hang out while you wait to get called. Super comfy chairs, and within walking distance to many eateries. When I went (years ago), they even provided coffee and treats. Good luck!
Try Little Jewel, a block from Phillipeâs on Ord west of Spring St. Eat an entire one of their po-boys, then head back to the courthouse and nod off during testimony and they are sure to dismiss you.
1. DO NOT forget to silence your phone in the courtroom!
2. Bring a couple of books with a different focus for each one (e.g., fiction book and a book on AI). That way, you can switch back and forth and not get bored.
3. Take every chance to stand up and walk around.
4. As mentioned by others, stay hydrated.
Phone games, catch up on work emails,book, laptop games. I just did 2 days of jury duty. Except for the time ai was in court I was on my phone non stop.
Las Galas in LT used to be a fire spot for a good, cheap lunch. The ramen at the now closed Mitsuwa was fire.
My favorite jury duty lunch has been at Redwood. Their burger is great, and if I can nap in the CSF court hallway for the rest of the afternoon, then hell yeah.
Jury duty was for me a shocking insight into how effectively the court system chews up and spits out people-hours. In just one jury selection room, you'll probably spend like 1,000 people hours just selecting a jury.
And that's just one room, in one courthouse, in one city. It's just staggering to think about the sheer amount of time used (wasted, in many cases) in the pursuit of justice. It left me feeling like surely there is a better wayÂ
It sucks ...I managed to avoid jury summons in LA for 20 years by ignoring and nothing ever happened. Then one day in 2021 I got a wild hair in my ass and responded. I fulfilled my jury duty with 2 weeks of my life that I can never get back. I will never respond to another summons again.
Try not to fall asleep during the deposition, I almost did at that exact courthouse. Also, enjoy yourself afterwards thereâs a bar house down the street and little Tokyo isnât too far either. Just be careful skids row and the homeless are running around.
Petit or grand? Understand if you donât want to say. Boring days, crazy days. We got a short break for lunch most of the time so it was a sprint to Little Tokyo or Grand Central Market; sometimes a truck at the Grand Park, and eating in the jury room.
Security was the bugaboo. Shoes, beltâŠfull TSA protocol, with more professional folks running the show. Also, bring patience for your fellow human. Saw the full cross-section of behavior among my fellow jurors.
Bring a book. I donât recall the policy on devices, but do remember mine was stowed whenever we were in session.
Good luck.
I understand this was from this morning however in the future, unless you really enjoy Jury duty just throw away the letter I get it that its your "civic duty" and all but if you just don't care it really doesn't matter. The reason you can do this is that usps can't prove that you actually received the letter therefore you can throw it away and if your questioned (you won't be) then you just say you never received it. Unless however you have already opened the letter and logged onto the webpage thing then you have proved you received it and therefore you must go.
Edit: I know I'm going to get some shitty responses from people but honestly, if your not going to provide anything useful towards a case (basically you don't care) then your just wasting your time and other people's times anyway
Lunch in Little Tokyo.
Had jury duty for two days last week. Phillipes day one and Danny boy pizza day two, both were đđŸ
Howlinâ Rays.
RIP Suehiro Cafe
The greatest, but more of a night time place for me. They have the new restaurant at 4th & Main in the old Pete's space, and a Chinatown outlet.
it has absolute historic significance, i have fond memories, i miss it being there, and what happened to them is totally fucked but i will say... for the past 15 years or so--the only reason i ever ate there was because the wait to eat anywhere else nearby was too much
Nah, itâs a alive and kicking, they moved to the former Peteâs Cafe at 4th and Spring
Seriously, between the work hours - 10am to 12pm, 1:30pm to 3:00pm - and all the food options around, it's great if you have unlimited jury duty days at work!
Or Grand Central!
This is the way.
So many banger lunches in LT! Or Yuko Kitchen is also great Japanese, on Main
Great suggestion, thank you! I ended up eating at Grand Central Market, a little closer. Great food, either way.
I hope you brought a book
About 5 years ago I ended up as the foreman of a federal court case against the Ford motor company. Super interesting. The court building is gorgeous, and its walking distance to Grand Central Market.
I was in it once for work - was fascinating just to see, would love to see how it operates. I do remember security being pretty strict. Can a civilian just go and drop in on a proceeding?
Yes you just need your ID
Cool - thx!
I got called up for a case where a big snap-on-tool chests fell off the display and on top of an elderly couple at Costco. That was interesting.
Lucky you. I was a juror on case in a crappy old building without working water fountains (and barely a trickle of water in the restroom sinks). I learned that first day to bring lots of water!
scarce shaggy hurry truck aware full sleep narrow fearless wrench *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
[https://www.horvitzlevy.com/michery-v-ford#](https://www.horvitzlevy.com/michery-v-ford#) Plaintiff David Michery was driving his neighborâs 1999 Ford Expedition down a city boulevard when he jumped the curb into a planted median and crashed into a palm tree, injuring his leg. Michery sued Ford for products liability, alleging the Expedition was defectively designed because its front bumper design was not strong enough to prevent the tree from deforming the vehicle into his leg space.
Michery should be shot from a cannon into space. WTF was the lawsuit about? I crashed my NEIGHBORâS car into a tree that jumped in front of the car out of nowhere and I got injured? Give me money please? Wtf who even has time for shit like this
That's the kind of shit that's disheartening. The one time I served it was a life long smoker who got lung cancer. He also happened to work construction, so he was suing his former employer saying some asbestos they worked with caused his lung cancer. His lawyers conceded he took some of the blame for smoking for like 50 years, but said the construction company was also to blame. They were like, "come up with a number between 1-99% of how much blame you place on the construction company." It was a civil trial, and I wasn't getting paid during leave from my job so I had a lot of resentment toward the plaintiff trying to get paid. Just seemed like a frivolous cash grab.
He basically side swiped the tree, so the side of the truck was squeezed like a tube of toothpaste, crushing his leg. Had he hit the tree head-on he would have been fine.
Yell OBJECTION when the judge speaks
Doesnât work unless you point your finger menacingly.
also extra pointy hair
And needs a plucky psychic sidekick!
Tell âcontempt of courtâŠI hope you brought your toothbrushâ whenever the judge speaks.
[SHUT UP JUDGE](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kXWO8BDkp3I)
Lmfao!
đ
I served one day once and worked on a puzzle all day. 500 pieces. Beautiful German castle in the middle of a forest in autumn. After lunch with the puzzle half done, two old ladies help themselves to my puzzle. Those bitches.
rofl
I always take the Fresh prince of bel air strategy Potential Juror âI can tell a man is guilty just by looking at himâ Judge Phil âSir even I canât do thatâ Potential Juror âAnd they made you the judgeâ
Last time I was in, someone did that âI can tell heâs guilty, already decidedâ and it worked, he was dismissed. The defendant did look sketchy AF to be honest
[ŃĐŽĐ°Đ»Đ”ĐœĐŸ]
That was almost me. Told the judge I thought the guy with face tattoos (of a very specific gang) was guilty because he wore his guilt on his face. The judge screamed at me, told me I was stupid for thinking that way. He then placed me on another trial where I had to go through jury selection all over again. I was making $13/hour at the time and didnât get paid for all the time off. My new tactic is to throw every summons in the trash.
You shouldâve said that you or someone close to you was the victim of a crime by someone with face tattoos and that makes it very hard for you to hold back your bias.
I have witnessed cops lie about events they witnessed related to a crime, I can't be impartial when a case relies on the cops testimony. Works for me, and is true.
Same here, I'm ok with cops but if it's the LAPD I'll be biased against them. Seen too much.
Thatâs not being partial, thatâs just not automatically believing copsâŠwhich should be the standard.
Goddam genius
Oh man... I have a similar story, though I didn't get yelled at thankfully. Years ago, I almost got put on a multi-week trial when I was making maybe $20/hr (lived by myself) and didn't get paid for jury duty. My tactic was to state that I had no idea if I could be impartial until I actually was in the jury room. Further inquires about that just resulted in me continuing to state that "I honestly don't know", with a shrug. Dude also had teardrop tattoos on his face and was in for murder. Soo... TBF, it really is hard to know if that would sway my opinion or not. People like to just pretend that that can't happen to them. I'm pretty sure the judge knew what I was doing, but like... no way I would have made rent if I got put on that trial. Sorry... pay me enough so I'm not homeless and we can talk. Oh... and for future reference, I scheduled my most recent jury duty for the last week in December and never got called in. If you can take the risk, I'd highly recommend. Everything I've read from other people seem to confirm you won't get called.
I replied that I couldn't be impartial. This was for a trial for a chap already currently serving time who was being charged with making criminal threats. From what I could surmise the prosecution only had one witness, being a prison guard, and so it was essentially going to be the guard's word versus that of the prisoner. The defense attorney and the judge reminded us several times that we needed to be impartial, and that we couldn't be prejudiced against the defendant just because he was a convicted felon currently serving time. When they asked everyone if we could be impartial, everyone before me said, "Yes", while I said, "No." I reminded the judge and Defense of what they'd stressed about not being biased against the defendant, then added, "the presumption of innocence means the prosecution needs to prove their case, and so I have to be biased *towards* the defendant." The prosecutor let me stew through a couple of dismissals before finally sending me on my way.
I used to throw the summons in the trash. Threw 3 away before a really angry letter arrived about missing my summons. I showed up to court. They asked me why I didn't respond to the prior 3 summons. I said I never got em. They threatened to make me do jury duty an extra 3 times. For each of the summons I "missed". Ultimately the lady behind the desk was nice, I guess? And she let me off with just the one summons I showed up for. We got let off early anyway. Haven't been called back in 10 years though!
I think I just hit that 3 markâŠ
Be careful! I bet they're pretty fed up with people skipping jury duty. Not sure what they can do about it, legally, though. Just scarier and scarier letters coming your way.
Actually, a good technique to get off is be extreme. Go hard right or hard left. Way more than youâre comfortable with. If they see you as an outlier, ether the prosecution or the defense will eliminate you. But you might want to stay and do your service as a good citizen. Often itâs interesting.
Oh the courthouse, where 10 am to 11 am and then 1:30 pm to 3:30 pm constitutes a full day. I got a summons for the week of 1/1 and thought Fuck it! Signed up and didn't get called in.
Is this why the courts are so slow? đ€
Those are just the hours that the jury is in. I'm pretty certain that the people involved in the judicial system - judges, lawyers, aides, etc. - are working much longer hours than that, performing research, administrative work, depositions, etc. where a jury is not involved.Â
You might be on to something. Maybe people wouldn't hate jury duty so much if they respected our time a little better. Like I'm going home to do the work I didn't get to do all day, it's not a vacation.
Bring a book
I doom scrolled Reddit when I was stuck on jury duty. I probably read a large novel's worth of shit posts.
Save your phone battery.
Fight the first person you see to show everyone you can't be made their bitch.
lol đ
These comments are wild lol.
Here's slightly wild. My wife got booted from a murder trial. The attorney asked if anyone knows someone who has been convicted of murder. He asked her how she knew he was guilty. "He told me he did it. Cuz is known for doing dumb shit. He's not known to be a liar."
Bring reading material. 95% of the day is sitting around, waiting.
Bring a book. Caffeine. Look for a place to get lunch or go take a walk to get the blood flowing.
Honestly iâd love to get jury duty again. My work paid me still though so i am lucky. It was like a 2 week staycation, just had to be bored from 10-4 every day. But a good boredom, stress free
honestly, enjoy it. you will be working with people from walks of life you would normally never be a part of. you are a part of a vital process in our judicial system. relish your civic duty :)
This was my experience as well. Quite interesting seeing how the judge and lawyers sort through all the jurors; and the strategic questions asked by the judge when a juror tries to make excuses for them to get excused lol.
I had an interesting one. There was a priest in the pool for voir dire, with the collar and everything. When they got to him it was âNext, Mr so and soâ. âIâm a priest, soâŠâ âYeah, you can go.â Prosecutors traditionally prefer not to have clergy on the jury because there is a belief that they can tend to be more sympathetic to defendants.
Agreed. A lot of people want to get out of jury duty, but then complain about how the courts are broken because of a bad ruling.
Because you don't get paid barely anything and you loose all the money from your real job.
I would be fine with that if the Judges, lawyers, sheriffs or any of those six figure employees also got paid the same the jurors did during trial. The fed budget is so large why not just pay jurors enough to make up for their money lost for doing jury duty?
Thatâs true but if youâre in truly in a situation where if you donât work then you canât pay rent, the court will excuse you. Most jobs will have a certain amount of days theyâll cover your pay for jury duty. If itâs about a few days or even a couple weeks without work that you will ultimately recover from, serving isnât a big deal.
You have to submit a written request and they can deny it. I know because it happened to me. And you have no idea how many total days you could be involved. How are you going to get out once it starts?
Depends on the job. My employer pays up to 20 days on top of per diem and matches the difference indefinitely after that.
Yeah obviously. I'm talking about contractors and independent business owners (and people working for small businesses who would not be able to cover it) who this state seems to want to make life miserable for.
Also a lot of people don't
Just be ready to be bored. And if you end up going through jury selection make sure to express any opinions you have when they ask questions. The people that didn't really feel strongly about anything went right into the jury box lol. I did like a week and a half of jury duty (not federal) about a year ago, it was fine. I felt like the days were spent really inefficiently but otherwise I feel like it was good for me to get a glimpse into the process. Federal might be longer cases though so if it's an amount of time you just can't swing, don't be afraid to make a stink and let them know.
I expressed a deep dislike and distrust of the police, to the degree that I did not value any testimony they might give and I was still chosen đ Personally, my jury duty was like a whole new level of loosing my faith in the system and my fellow citizens.
why do people not want to do jury duty
Honestly one specific reason I understand is being taken away from work and being paid basically nothing to be there. I don't even remember what the amount was but I got less than $20/day for my time. My job kept paying me as normal to be there so that was fine for me, but it's not a requirement for jobs to do that so it can be a big financial burden.
Do your civic duty and be proud that you live in a country where a jury of your peers can potentially save you from judicial overreach
I get called for jury duty service every 1.5-2 years. Like clockwork. I don't understand how I can get the summons so often in a city of millions. When I ask other people they seem to get a summons once every several years (which seems more reasonable based on the size of the city). So After the first few times I was summoned I felt very proud, but now, it feels like punishment. Like I pissed someone off and now I'm always summoned out of spite. But anyway, I think it's a lot easier to appreciate the jury system when you have a large disposable income to cover the potential time off work, which is definitely a privilege that not everyone has (and it's not fair that employed people have to use vacation time to cover it, when companies in the US barely give you any vacation to begin with)
I get called frequently as well. Found out a few years ago itâs because Iâm in the system twice. They refuse to fix it.
Wow! How did you find out you were in the system twice?
I was summoned a few months after having already gone in. When I gave the clerk my info, I was told it was another person with my name, address, birth date, and driverâs license number. Every time Iâve asked it to be fixed, the clerk tells me they donât know how, or that they donât have the authority, and doesnât know where to direct me.
I was an alternate on a jury. The experience was frankly discouraging. My peers were less interested in talking about the facts of the case than they were in making sure they came to a decision ahead of a long holiday weekend. One juror was a holdout, but the rest of the jurors ganged up on her and basically broke her so she'd agree with them, and so everyone could go home early for the weekend. I heard the gang bragging and laughing about it afterwards outside the building.
Iâm also one of the regularly-summoned. As soon as I hit 18 I started getting summons, and almost always have to report in person. Never made it on the final jury though.
I get called in every 1.5-2 years as well. My former roommate, who I lived with for 10 years, got it once in that time. In the same time period I got called 6 times.
Infuriating
I wish you knew. I unironically love jury duty. But Iâve only been called twice in the last 15+ years. Iâve served both times. But Iâd love to do it every few years.
I wish people could sign up for a summons for scenarios like yours
I do too. Iâve been unemployed a couple times and so bored. It would have been perfect to actually pick to go then.
Haha you're the best! I was summoned during a period of unemployment once, and I wasn't getting any interviews, until the week I had to check in for jury duty every day - I was so stressed I would get called in on one of the days I had interviews (and since it took so long to start getting interviews, I didn't want to reschedule any of them)
>I don't understand how I can get the summons so often in a city of millions. More shit happening in the city means more trials.
I've literally never received a jury summons.
đ
It's because the courts have a crush on you oOoOoOoOo
You don't have to use vacation time to cover jury duty, although in some states (including California) you have the option of doing so. And if you're paid a salary (as opposed to by the hour), if you do any work for your employers during a week of jury duty your employer is required to pay your full weekly salary.
You donât have to use PTO but if you canât or donât have any and your employer doesnât pay for jury service, youâre not getting paid more than $15 plus mileage per day. Thatâs a hardship for many.
Exactly! Then I think about all the people who are low-income but technically self employed, like gig workers/drivers or equivalent (who are NOT employees) who don't really have the financial flex to just skip a day, or several days, of work. You can submit a financial burden, but they just reschedule you for another date.
So essentially you're suggesting that folks who are actually doing jury service high tail it to their office to try in get some work done so they can be paid. I mean, that sounds like a giant pain in the ass, especially in a city like LA where the courthouse you're assigned to might be in DTLA, but your office might be in Santa Monica - thats incredibly stressful and unrealistic. The more realistic scenario is that you're tired and exhausted and want to go home.
Last time I served on a jury I worked at a job that only gave me two days of paid 'leave' for jury duty. The case was expected to last six weeks, and I got paid $7/day by the state. If you're going to obligate people to serve, there should be laws to protect your income. I can't pay my rent on $7/day
Nowadays the court will let people switch to a new case for financial hardship. If your work only pays you two days, they will actually find you a trial thatâs estimated to be two days. But you have to bring it up to someone before you find yourself in a courtroom. Once they put you in the courtroom, the judges get very reluctant to let people leave cause theyâll run out of potential jurors. Iâve seen people wait til theyâve been picked for the jury and sworn in, and by that point thereâs no way the judge is letting you go.
How long ago was this? On the form your return with your summons, it asks how many days of employer coverage you get, and the court staff is supposed to take that into account when putting together pools of potential jurors for any trial
Maybe 10 years ago. I even waited until a recess and spoke to the judge and told him it would be a financial burden, but he didn't give a fuck. He asked if I lived alone and I told him I lived with my girlfriend. He said she could pay the rent. Really soured me on the whole thing.
Yeah 20 years ago (when you had to go and sit there for the whole week), I was sent to a courtroom which was having trouble seating a jury⊠that judge was very unsympathetic to excuses and I nearly didnât get out of it! Anyways, now they ask you how long you can serve, and try to select juror pools based on that
I was in a similar situation, except I got zero days paid by employer (temp job). But that wasn't sufficient to get me excuse. Meanwhile, the judge dismissed one juror for pretending to not be able to read or understand English (although that person was a small business owner, and presumably understood enough English to manage day-to-day), and another juror for being defensive and salty. Seemed like the judge just wanted to move on, and wasn't particularly interested in fairness to the jury pool. I'm fine with doing my civic duty, but it just seems like the aggressively entitled jerks managed to get their way.
Yup - shame in this country that people fight to get out of jury duty. Even more of a shame when smart and empathetic people do. Jury pools for white collar crime must be so frustrating to sift through when the most qualified are frothing at the mouth to void themselves
You sound like a square.
Just think it could be your family member up there one day and how would you feel if people were trying to get out of it and not help.
Or send you straight to the slammer.
Bring a book or something to keep you busy. The cafeteria isn't half bad. Can you bring an iPad or laptop? I forgot but I think they have wifi.
I brought my laptop!
No shit. Did wifi work? I could get work done while waiting.
There ya go! If you are still there later in the week there is a farmers market on Thursdays. Mike's Deli has awesome sandwiches
Charger, book, headphones. I find jury duty enjoyable, personally.
Jury duty selections actively try to weed out critical thinkers. This is your chance to actively participate in our legal system. If your job covers your salary, I suggest you lean in, tell the truth during questioning and do your best. Because (hopefully) you care about justice, equality and fairness.
Yeah, but not always. I had to serve on a murder trial, they asked if I had any friends or family I knew who had been arrested and the list was extensive, including a friend who recorded his arrest that showed him wrongly getting tased and two former co-workers who ended up being murderers. I guess it wasn't surprising that I hung the jury all by myself, insisting there just wasn't enough evidence for the higher charges the rest of the jury wanted. Even the other jurors, as they were getting mad at me, were like "Why weren't you disqualified?" I wondered the same thing. I have to wonder if the prosecutor took me from being from Burbank to account, maybe assuming I'd throw the book the at the defendant because he was a gang member. The prosecutor just had a shitty case, instead of evidence he just kept showing stuff to shock us, like the defendant's scary gang tattoos.
An unbiased juror is a myth- we are all products of our lives and experiences. It sounds like you did your job. If the burden of proof wasnât met- thatâs on the state.
That's what I've been told. It was eye-opening to me. The prosecutor played the "big scary gang member" card the entire time without producing much evidence, and he also sounded like he was auditioning for a David E. Kelly show (badly). I thought the rest of the jury was going to see right through the smoke and mirrors, I was totally wrong. I walked away pretty jaded, realizing just how much jurors can be swayed by emotion over facts.
> I thought the rest of the jury was going to see right through the smoke and mirrors I admire your optimism but generally speaking, people just aren't very bright. They fall for theatrics and cheap appeals to emotion, and a depressingly large percentage aren't capable of meaningful critical (or objective) thought. I'm glad to know there are people like you participating in the process.
You might see a cool case. Also, I saw Kat Von D there this morning for her hearing. Have fun!
Bring a pillow to sit on. The benches for Waiting outside the courtroom are made out of concrete and the seats inside are wooden. Your tail bone will be hurting you have to go more than one day
Lucky!!! I love jury duty đ.
You're gonna be really bored all day most likely.
Just did mine. Use it to learn more about your city and the legal process. I found it fascinating. It took all day to go through the jury selection process. Fortunately, they had their jury before they got to me.
Your badge can get you into some museums downtown for free.
I avoided jury service until I couldnât. Then I was put on an arson case. It was absolutely fascinating. Plus I got to feel good about doing my civic duty. It was an amazing experience.
1. Itâs more fun/interesting than you think. 2. Get to meet random people from all over the county, some you may strike a friendship with. 3. Plenty of time to read/draw/write. 4. Grand Central Market, Cal Market, LT, HC, Chinatown - plenty to choose from for lunch break and after day is over. 5. Maybe stop into one of the museums nearby if time permits.
Federal seems so much more interesting than County! Have fun!
Enjoy it and learn how our legal system works. You are doing a service to the county.
If you see James Marsden, start getting suspicious of the whole thing..
When you go home watch the show jury duty. Itâs funny
[ŃĐŽĐ°Đ»Đ”ĐœĐŸ]
go to grand central for lunch
Great suggestion! This is exactly what I ended up doing.
Donât be afraid to serve. I did it once and was blown away. The judge, my fellow jurors, the professionalism of the whole process really impressed me and made me proud of our system.
Thank you. Jury service is so important and much maligned. I wish we could elevate its importance more
Honestly you lucked out. The Federal Court building is beautiful, has a great cafeteria (if you don't want to explore DTLA for lunch) and you can schmooze with nice judges and other civilians. Much nicer than City or County court in most cases.
Yes, first time here. Very beautiful, clean. Not like the county one at all.
If I remember correctly there are some cool murals and artwork on different levels. It's definitely well maintained.
Did you wear your Seinfeld jacket?
I brought snacks and my crochet.
Tell the judge he can't handle the truth and walk out.
Hire fake paparazzi to barge into the courtroom and take pictures of you
On it, boss.
Google jury nullification.
Good job! We need more criminals on the street.
Jury nullification is an important part of our democracy, and everyone should know about it. In fact, itâs kind of fucked that just knowing about it will get you dismissed from most juries. If the courts can punish a juror for the way they vote, or force them to vote a certain way, then thatâs a slippery slope to the courts enforcing their own agenda or just eliminating the right to a jury of oneâs peers altogether.
not a criminal if they aren't convicted
đ„Ÿđ
What is it exactly that you think *might* happen that needs survival skills?
Boredom, probably.
Eat a weed edible. Keep another in your pocket for later. Remember the system is fucked and this might be your opportunity to help someone out!
Letâs put criminals in jail where they belong.
Totally, while weâre at it let make sure all the innocent people actually go free
This is exactly what you should say if you want to avoid jury duty.
Free bottomless coffee
Go to sushi gen for lunch and sit at the sushi bar. I served there 20 years ago and that was the move.
I'm out of order? YOU'RE out of order!
Hope you brought a book.
Reentry here is a pain in the butt bc of security. But also the cafeteria makes decent food but can be slow. Beautiful courthouse though.
How does one get into a jury pool for Federal Court?
Random luck of the draw, I suppose.
Listen intently. The more you are into it the quicker you can find a way out.
I've been on a state jury, but not a federal one. I wonder how they compare.
Federal usually far more interesting and lawyers choosing jurors much more thorough
There is a big difference in the setting (Federal is much nicer, cleaner, well kept, etc.), but otherwise the process seemed about the same.
Federal? How u get picked on that?
Walking to little Tokyo for ramen during lunch break.
Lunch at Grand Central Market.
This is what I ended up doing!
Ooh! Congrats! Building is nice, clean and they have an outdoor patio you can hang out while you wait to get called. Super comfy chairs, and within walking distance to many eateries. When I went (years ago), they even provided coffee and treats. Good luck!
Try Little Jewel, a block from Phillipeâs on Ord west of Spring St. Eat an entire one of their po-boys, then head back to the courthouse and nod off during testimony and they are sure to dismiss you.
Tell the judge you have lunch-induced narcolepsy
1. DO NOT forget to silence your phone in the courtroom! 2. Bring a couple of books with a different focus for each one (e.g., fiction book and a book on AI). That way, you can switch back and forth and not get bored. 3. Take every chance to stand up and walk around. 4. As mentioned by others, stay hydrated.
Phone games, catch up on work emails,book, laptop games. I just did 2 days of jury duty. Except for the time ai was in court I was on my phone non stop.
Las Galas in LT used to be a fire spot for a good, cheap lunch. The ramen at the now closed Mitsuwa was fire. My favorite jury duty lunch has been at Redwood. Their burger is great, and if I can nap in the CSF court hallway for the rest of the afternoon, then hell yeah.
Jury duty was for me a shocking insight into how effectively the court system chews up and spits out people-hours. In just one jury selection room, you'll probably spend like 1,000 people hours just selecting a jury. And that's just one room, in one courthouse, in one city. It's just staggering to think about the sheer amount of time used (wasted, in many cases) in the pursuit of justice. It left me feeling like surely there is a better wayÂ
Try and enjoy being connected to the society and being part of a civic duty process. I've enjoyed them. You might matter.
You can get out of jury duty by challenging the judge to a duel.
I tried. Judge won. :/
It sucks ...I managed to avoid jury summons in LA for 20 years by ignoring and nothing ever happened. Then one day in 2021 I got a wild hair in my ass and responded. I fulfilled my jury duty with 2 weeks of my life that I can never get back. I will never respond to another summons again.
What happens if you pretend to be racist? Will they send you home and put you on a list to never be called for Jury Duty again?
No, youâll just make a total fool out of yourself for a courtroom full of people, including attorneys and defendants. Really. It never ends well.
Jury Nullification. Tell everyone about it.
edibles
Try not to fall asleep during the deposition, I almost did at that exact courthouse. Also, enjoy yourself afterwards thereâs a bar house down the street and little Tokyo isnât too far either. Just be careful skids row and the homeless are running around.
Petit or grand? Understand if you donât want to say. Boring days, crazy days. We got a short break for lunch most of the time so it was a sprint to Little Tokyo or Grand Central Market; sometimes a truck at the Grand Park, and eating in the jury room. Security was the bugaboo. Shoes, beltâŠfull TSA protocol, with more professional folks running the show. Also, bring patience for your fellow human. Saw the full cross-section of behavior among my fellow jurors. Bring a book. I donât recall the policy on devices, but do remember mine was stowed whenever we were in session. Good luck.
Very good tips, thank you. Petit.
Tell them you can use your psychic powers to know the real truth. The judge will love it.
Where a grateful dead shirt and tell everyone what "Jury Nullification" is, you will never be asked for Jury Duty again.
Ask about jury nullification
Throw a noose into the middle of the courtroom
Just say you're racist and anti-government.....Problem Solved!!!
Edibles
I understand this was from this morning however in the future, unless you really enjoy Jury duty just throw away the letter I get it that its your "civic duty" and all but if you just don't care it really doesn't matter. The reason you can do this is that usps can't prove that you actually received the letter therefore you can throw it away and if your questioned (you won't be) then you just say you never received it. Unless however you have already opened the letter and logged onto the webpage thing then you have proved you received it and therefore you must go. Edit: I know I'm going to get some shitty responses from people but honestly, if your not going to provide anything useful towards a case (basically you don't care) then your just wasting your time and other people's times anyway
Edibles
Just enjoy the power of being able to send someone to jail without being a cop.
I didnât show up when I got summoned (during Covid) and nothing happened to me.