Jury duty; the ultimate get-out-of-jail-free card!!

[soberups]

Opened my mail today and it was like I hit the lottery. Jury duty for the whole month of September! I wont serve the whole time; you call a phone # on Friday and find out which days, if any, you have to report for the following week...but usually you wind up with at least 4 or 5 paid days off during your term. And frequently you get excused by 1 or 2 o'clock and get to go home. The courthouse I report to has a very nice jury waiting room, air-conditioned with comfy seats and plenty of magazines and newspapers. Last time I served there were a couple of guys who got a poker game going while we waited. Its going to beat the hell out of sweating my ass off for 10 hours in a hot truck...not to mention it is my civic duty for which I will gladly "sacrifice" my time.

 

[LED]

I got jury duty one time. I was put on a murder trial. Sequestered, no television, no contact with anyone except jury members and the deputies that took you to eat, to the hotel, and to the courtroom.

It was very interesting, and I actually liked seeing the presentation of the prosecution and defense, and serving on the jury.

 

[1080Driver]

You are soooo on the money. I got called Feb. 2008 & LOVED every minute of it.......report there around 9:30-10:00, wait to start until 10:30, take breaks every 20 minutes, then the 2 hour lunch, and go home around 3:30, what a treat compared to the usual day. I check my mail every day hoping to find the JD notice.

 

[UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)]

What Sober is describing is what we call grand jury duty here, which is the jackpot of jury duty.

 

[ol'browneye]

I've only been called once for jury duty and that was for federal court in St. Louis around 15 years ago. I served 4 days and got a very nice mileage check on top of pay! Haven't ever been called since, not even for local duty.

 

[wolfman]

got picked for state petit,county petit, and county grand jury all within a year of each other about 15 years ago. only case i got picked for was....against UPS. of course instant disqualification.

 

[BrownEvo]

Does anybody know what they pay for jury duty?

 

[8Years2Go]

We had a driver finish his tour of Grand Jury about 4 months ago. He was on it a whopping 18 months and was there EVERY Tuesday during that period, Peak and all. You talk about some PO'd center manager's.

 

[Big Babooba]

The last time I actually served on a jury was May of 1984. Back then we were called for the whole month. Now it is just a one day / one trial commitment. We used to play pitch and poker most of the time. At lunch time we went out to the various establishments in the downtown area.

A few of such establishments had live entertainment! They had dancing girls. These girls were fine dancers and took their vocation seriously. They must have been poorly paid because they didn't have much for costumes and what they had was of poor quality. As they danced, more and more of their costumes would fall off until they had nothing left on!

The patrons must have noticed this too because they were all giving dollar bills to these poor girls. This made the girls happy and they would dance a little harder for the donor. I only had a five and gave it to one of the dancers. She acted like I was her friend for life. I expected to get four dollar bills back in change, but she only held up a quarter!.

The clumsy girl dropped it on the bar. Modesty prevents me from telling you how she actually picked it up! I still have that quarter. It's the only one I've ever seen with George Washington wearing a big **** eating grin!

We often went back to the courthouse drunk. Thankfully, the judge never found out!

 

[1989]

Does anybody know what they pay for jury duty?

8 hours minus what the court gives you.

 

[DS]

Babs that was a great post.You should talk to stug and go for a% in his book.I have seen a few dancers in my day,and would gladly offer a $20 bill and wait for the change.

 

[BLACKBOX]

People don't realize that many senior citizens sit in for Criminal Court just to hear the cases. I was at the courthouse to file some legal papers and happen to sit in on of those criminal courts. It was empty when it started but when the seniors started filing in the room quickly filled up.

The best part is when they bring the criminals in, all handcuffed like a roadside work crew. The stories you hear is amazing, you just don't know how sick people are and what they are charged with. Believe me, the local news can't report all the criminal activities in your hometown.

This one case, a lady dressed in a business power suit (all primed and proper) was asked by the judge why she didn't answer several court orders to appear, she gave some smart answer and mentioned something about how she was too busy to remember about the warrants. With the slam of the gavel she was hauled off kicking and screaming to jail. What a sight!

 

[rod]

I was on jury duty for 2 sessions while I was a driver. 1st time I got 8 hours pay from UPS for each day serverd and got to keep my jury duty pay and milage. Made out like a fat rat. 2nd time I had to give them my Jury pay but got to keep the milage ck. Both times it was the winter session (Jan. Feb. March) and its a fact that the courthouse was a hell of a lot warmer than my P800. I loved Jury duty so much I made it a point to stop at the Clerk Of Courts office and tell them that anytime they needed a juror fill free to call me.

 

[Dustyroads]

I was on a criminal jury trial a few months ago, it took two days. Payroll screwed the pooch on my pay, and it took two additional pay periods for them to straighten it out.

 

[Bad Gas!]

I've had jury duty three times..2 cases..a divorce and a shoplifting case...I agree..It's like a paid hooky day..Certain people hate-business owners,high mgt etc...I am due for that sweet envelope to come in the mail for some more jury duty....Thanks for reminding me..

 

[Big Babooba]

Babs that was a great post.You should talk to stug and go for a% in his book.I have seen a few dancers in my day,and would gladly offer a $20 bill and wait for the change.

There's more to this story but I have to plead the 5th Amendment.

 

[Ms Spoken]

You have to admit a UPS driver is perfect for a good federal case because we are never home to see the news. This is the main reason I go vote in every race with the hopes of getting that golden ticket.

 

[cosmo1]

What Sober is describing is what we call grand jury duty here, which is the jackpot of jury duty.

A few years ago I got a questionnaire for Federal grand jury duty to run from November through January.

Never got picked.

 

[iowa boy]

There's more to this story but I have to plead the 5th Amendment.

So Babooba,

Which of the three cats has got your tongue?

 

[Big Babooba]

So Babooba,

Which of the three cats has got your tongue?

The one in the black robe