Questions from someone who has never served on a jury.

[Kwesi]

Suppose I were a juror on a case and decided, even before hearing any evidence, that the accused was guilty. Now suppose that the evidence turns out not to support the accused being guilty of the crime they were charged with and I still stuck with my decision. Would there be anything that could stop me from deadlocking the jury? Would I have to explain why I think they're guilty?

[electracoyote]

Originally Posted by Kwesi

Suppose I were a juror on a case and decided, even before hearing any evidence, that the accused was guilty

First, if you really held that conviction, it would become evident during jury selection, you would be rejected by the defense attorney. Also, what you say during jury selection sticks with you through the deliberation process, and you could be replaced by an alternate if the foreman sees fit. Refusing to offer a rational reason would make you very suspicious in the eyes of the court and its participants.

If you actually reached the point of your hypothetical situation and deadlocked a jury, and you had hidden your true feelings through jury selection and deliberation, you are some kind of acting genius. These people (attorneys, judges, jury foremen) are collectively usually pretty good at sniffing out a bias and eliminating it so exactly such a thing does not interfere with the justice system.

[BurningSkies]

You'd probably end up with a deadlocked jury and a mistrial eventually?

This is also why jury selection and interviewing is such a detailed and arduous process.

[Kwesi]

Originally Posted by electracoyote

First, if you really held that conviction, it would become evident during jury selection, you would be rejected by the defense attorney. Also, what you say during jury selection sticks with you through the deliberation process, and you could be replaced by an alternate if the foreman sees fit. Refusing to offer a rational reason would make you very suspicious in the eyes of the court and its participants.

If you actually reached the point of your hypothetical situation and deadlocked a jury, and you had hidden your true feelings through jury selection and deliberation, you are some kind of acting genius. These people (attorneys, judges, jury foremen) are collectively usually pretty good at sniffing out a bias and eliminating it so exactly such a thing does not interfere with the justice system.

Thanks! Question answered on the first post, haha. I had always assumed that there were methods of rooting out possible juror bias I just had no idea what those methods were. One more question, exactly how are jury interviews conducted? If I made a complete arse of myself on my interview, could I pretty much guarantee that I wouldn't have to serve?

[electracoyote]

Originally Posted by Kwesi

One more question, exactly how are jury interviews conducted? If I made a complete arse of myself on my interview, could I pretty much guarantee that I wouldn't have to serve?

You are interviewed by attorneys from both sides, and the questions are very cleverly designed to hit on your true feelings and if you have any biases one way or the other. Either attorney can vote to accept or reject you with almost no explanation whatsoever, but both attorneys must approve you before you actually serve.

And yes, if you're a horse's ass during the selection process, it could get you dismissed, or in more trouble than you had bargained for. Serving on a jury when you are called up is a civil duty, and using trickery to circumvent the process is frowned upon by the courts. Failure to appear can result in a warrant for your arrest in some jurisdictions, so testing the patience of the court is not a good play IMHO.

[BurningSkies]

Originally Posted by Kwesi

Thanks! Question answered on the first post, haha. I had always assumed that there were methods of rooting out possible juror bias I just had no idea what those methods were. One more question, exactly how are jury interviews conducted? If I made a complete arse of myself on my interview, could I pretty much guarantee that I wouldn't have to serve?

EDIT: Also, if you were to get pulled from the jury for being suspected of bias, are there any penalties or are you simply replaced and sent home?

I sat through 3 days of jury selection on a medical malpractice case once, only to finally get up and say 'I believe that 90% of medical malpractice cases are spurious". I was out the door in 15 minutes.

[Kwesi]

Originally Posted by electracoyote

You are interviewed by attorneys from both sides, and the questions are very cleverly designed to hit on your true feelings and if you have any biases one way or the other. Either attorney can vote to accept or reject you with almost no explanation whatsoever, but both attorneys must approve you before you actually serve.

And yes, if you're a horse's ass during the selection process, it could get you dismissed, or in more trouble than you had bargained for. Serving on a jury when you are called up is a civil duty, and using trickery to circumvent the process is frowned upon by the courts. Failure to appear can result in a warrant for your arrest in some jurisdictions, so testing the patience of the court is not a good play IMHO.

That makes sense. Are interviews conducted for all criminal case juries or just "serious" ones?

Also, if you were to get pulled from the jury for being suspected of bias, are there any penalties or are you simply replaced and sent home? I don't necessarily mean that while on jury you were out of line just that you seemed to be biased in some way.

[Kwesi]

Originally Posted by BurningSkies

I sat through 3 days of jury selection on a medical malpractice case once, only to finally get up and say 'I believe that 90% of medical malpractice cases are spurious". I was out the door in 15 minutes.

LOL! I'm actually surprised I don't hear of that more often!

[Funky Ghost]

The interview can take several routes. In the child molestation case I was a juror on, they had a questionnaire before the interview process even started. Trust me, they only want folks on the jury who want to be there. You can tank all the selection processes and wait out your 8 hours stay, go home, and b done with it for the most part. Some selections can last several days, like my last one. 4 days just to get to the jury box. I'm an odd duck, I really enjoy being part of the process. I've been in 3 now. All were challenging and intense.

[electracoyote]

Originally Posted by Kwesi

That makes sense. Are interviews conducted for all criminal case juries or just "serious" ones?

Also, if you were to get pulled from the jury for being suspected of bias, are there any penalties or are you simply replaced and sent home? I don't necessarily mean that while on jury you were out of line just that you seemed to be biased in some way.

I'm not sure which trials use the interview process for jury selection. It may depend on what rules the attorneys and judge have agreed to beforehand. I'll ask my wife the attorney when I see her.

I'm pretty sure that if you come in with the sincere intention of being a productive, positive part of the process, and you just happen to honestly reveal a bias or some other tendancy or trait that alarms one of the attorneys, there is no penalty. You're just dismissed, they probably don't even bother to explain why.

I guess the only exception would be if you happened to confess to that murder you committed last Spring.

[lowendfriend]

It is an incredibly inconvenient, yet educational experience...

[BurningSkies]

Originally Posted by electracoyote

I'm not sure which trials use the interview process for jury selection. It may depend on what rules the attorneys and judge have agreed to beforehand. I'll ask my wife the attorney when I see her.

I'm pretty sure that if you come in with the sincere intention of being a productive, positive part of the process, and you just happen to honestly reveal a bias or some other tendancy or trait that alarms one of the attorneys, there is no penalty. You're just dismissed, they probably don't even bother to explain why.

I guess the only exception would be if you happened to confess to that murder you committed last Spring.

The interview process is a bit more detailed than just basic questions about topics that might be touched upon in the case. For instance if it IS a medical case they may want to know if you have any family members in the medical profession or the insurance profession, or if you or anyone you know has had faulty medical care, etc. Usually they'll ask about your educational background, where you work, what you do there. Maybe your political views, or if you watch the news, etc.

[cheezewiz]

I would LOVE to be on a jury, but never have, and probably never will get to serve in any sort of criminal case. As a current, and soon to be retired police officer, I'm automatically assumed to be biased towards law enforcement. If they only knew!!!!!...I'd probably be the defense attorney's best friend. I know sloppy police work and if the I's and T's aren't crossed better than most!

[champbassist]

A question that I (as a complete outsider to the jury-based judicial system) have is this: can any random person go to jury selection interviews? Are there any qualifications regarding that?

[electracoyote]

Originally Posted by BurningSkies

The interview process is a bit more detailed than just basic questions about topics that might be touched upon in the case. For instance if it IS a medical case they may want to know if you have any family members in the medical profession or the insurance profession, or if you or anyone you know has had faulty medical care, etc. Usually they'll ask about your educational background, where you work, what you do there. Maybe your political views, or if you watch the news, etc.

Yes.

My attorney wife just informed me that it can be that complex, or as simple as a "no questions for this juror." It's entirely up to the attorneys.

Also, she informs me jury selection is part of any trial that involves a jury.

[electracoyote]

Originally Posted by champbassist

A question that I (as a complete outsider to the jury-based judicial system) have is this: can any random person go to jury selection interviews? Are there any qualifications regarding that?

Jurors are selected by random lottery at the court level and informed by mail that they are being summonsed to court to serve jury duty. In most jurisdictions (if not all), it is a legally binding court summons, subject to penalty if ignored.

Like cheezwiz said, I think if there is something unusual about your life or occupation, they may pass you over in the initial notification process. I'm not sure if parolees for example get jury summonses.

In my area, you get a juror number, and then you call a phone number the evening before to see if they actually need you to appear at all. Last time I got a summons, my number was not included and I was off the hook.

[tastybasslines]

I served as a juror on a murder trial for 6 weeks when I was 18. They barely asked me anything. Glad I had the experience, but wouldn't want to do it again.

[Popbumper]

Being on a jury was a civic duty I would happily repeat. This is a most educational experience, and affords one a real perspective into how the judicial system works.

My most memorable jury duty was on a drunk driving case. The kid was a young man who was of European descent, and had a heavy accent. He had had one beer prior to leaving work, drove a poorly maintained car (was "wobbly"), and got pulled over. Another car of similar make had been identified in the same area as being suspect outside of an apartment (no relation whatsoever). The cops nailed him.

After all of the evidence was given, it was clear that the cops were really, really biased, did not follow procedure, and were dubious in their tactics. They slammed his accent, calling it "slurred speech". The didn't care about the car being in bad shape. The kid had no priors. The breathalyzer was negative. To them, it was still cut and dry.

We voted unanimously "not guilty". The cops botched it, and could not provide evidence that was overwhelmingly against the accused.

I might add to the others' notes on the arduous process of jury selection. I was asked "If you were the accused, what would be your biggest concern about your jury"? I replied, "I would want to know that nobody had made a decision to condemn me until they had the opportunity to hear all the facts before giving a verdict". I was chosen.

Chris

[Jay Ralston]

Sometimes you are excused as a juror just because of your profession alone. I am a Corrections Officer and as soon as they find that out, I am immediately dismissed. It sucks too because in my line of work, integrity is a big thing. Next, as a Corrections Officer, I see what prison is really like and as a result, the last thing I would ever want to do is send a person to prison who is not guilty or find a person innocent who has committed a crime and should do prison time.