Why have I not been called for jury duty? How can I encourage that?

Wherever I lived in the States, the juries were randomly chosen from the tax rolls. I believe you have to own a piece of real estate and be on the tax roll to be chosen. Some people live their whole lives without ever being called. It’s a crap shoot. Owning a cemetery plot will get you on the tax roll.

@Espiritus_Corvus = I do own a house in the county, but not a cemetery plot.

Next time I’m in the town with the county building, I may run in and check.

Dear god. Why…
I was picked for the grand jury once. It was nearly two months of hearing every case. It was enlightening and sadly reinforced some stereotypes I had all but let go of.

“In 2002, having spent more than three years in one residence for the first time in my life, I got called for jury duty. I show up on time, ready to serve. When we get to the voir dire, the lawyer says to me, “I see you’re an astrophysicist. What’s that?” I answer, “Astrophysics is the laws of physics, applied to the universe—the Big Bang, black holes, that sort of thing.” Then he asks, “What do you teach at Princeton?” and I say, “I teach a class on the evaluation of evidence and the relative unreliability of eyewitness testimony.” Five minutes later, I’m on the street.

A few years later, jury duty again. The judge states that the defendant is charged with possession of 1,700 milligrams of cocaine. It was found on his body, he was arrested, and he is now on trial. This time, after the Q&A is over, the judge asks us whether there are any questions we’d like to ask the court, and I say, “Yes, Your Honor. Why did you say he was in possession of 1,700 milligrams of cocaine? That equals 1.7 grams. The ‘thousand’ cancels with the ‘milli-’ and you get 1.7 grams, which is less than the weight of a dime.” Again I’m out on the street.”

― Neil deGrasse Tyson

I would very strongly doubt whether juries are still picked from tax rolls, @Espiritus_Corvus. I’m not saying that they’re not, ever, but I doubt that would survive a constitutional challenge if a defendant was convicted by a jury of “property owners” – and he, for example, owned no property. That would make the jury decidedly “non-peer”. I suspect that tax rolls are “one of the places” that is trolled for potential jurors, but surely it can’t be the only place.

Telephone books, as archaic as that may sound to some, are another place. Since landline telephone ownership has in the past been as close to universal among adults as anything one could find (driver’s licenses being another), I know that in the past telephone books have been used as a source of names – and driver licenses still are.

Here is a reference to help you start reading about the process of “sortition”.

I hope you get selected, and I hope that you enjoy the process. I did.

Did you say you’re a citizen? Just after 9 years? I’m guessing you have to be a citizen to be on a jury.

I’m pretty sure FL uses tax roles and voter’s registration. I don’t think they use just one source.

I’ve been an adult in the US for 30 years. I’ve been called to jury duty twice. Once from FL when I had just moved out of state, so I didn’t have to do it. Once when I had moved back to FL, and I showed up on time and while there I was never randomly selected to serve.

I lived in TN 8 years and was never called for jury duty.

It’s all random and luck I think.

I used to get called every three years or so, even served for a week and a half one time. But I have not been called in a good fifteen years.

In California, they also use Drivers License records.

So… do you get paid for jury duty or something? Not sure what the appeal would be otherwise.

In California, you get paid. A whopping $15 per day!

@XOIIO – in Georgia it’s a little more – maybe $25/day, but I’ll never get rich.

It’s the intellectual appeal that gets me – lawyer against lawyer; the adversarial fencing.

I get called fairly frequently, I sit from time to time, I actually enjoy the process, it is fascinating. I am lucky that I only seem to get called for civil cases, I would likely weep if I had to sit some of the awfuller criminal ones.

@ragingloli, the point you are probably trying to make (that the system rejected him because of a] his profession and/or b] his intelligence) is just flat out wrong. Tyson was probably not rejected because he is a scientist, but because he presents as a know-it-all ass who would likely alienate or intimidate the rest of the jury and, simply by that factor, skew deliberation away from any sort of objective assessment of presented evidence and testimony.

@canidmajor
The one who is flat out wrong is you.
Lawyers, especially in the colonies, are out for only one thing: victory.
The last thing they want is an objective jury.
What they want is a jury they can easily manipulate.

I’ve been called up but never sat. You could call your local county clerk and just ask them. They could help you with info and possibly even get you on the roll of names for the next cycle or whatever it’s called.

@canidmajor I can hardly believe that I am siding with @ragingloli about anything, but in this case I do. The justice system that we have might be the best in the world, but it is still highly flawed. I have seen race and economic class play an enormous role in the legal process.

I think @ragingloli was right about why Neil deGrasse Tyson was not picked for juries. People who are too smart or are charismatic leaders are usually not desirable to one side or the other.

I have seen what loli says too. Lawyers get to pick a juror or two to boot from criminal cases and they will choose ones that will hurt their case. If they are on the losing side they want dumb, gullible and uneducated people sitting on the jury. Usually I would agree with candidmajor

My 18 year old son and husband have received jury notices when neither owned a property.

Once they find out I am a physician they always dismiss me.

loli left out too much information. Were the cases civil or criminal? Was he dismissed by prosecutor/plaintiff or defendant? i have a few friends that are attorneys, we’ve talked about just this type of thing. These are not evil shysters, these are community members, and of course they are out to win, that’s why there are two sides. My friends say that during vois dire, attitude matters a lot. Tyson, although really marvelous in front of the cameras, is obnoxious and arrogant in person (this according to a couple of friends at Princeton).
Loli is so busy hating on everything to do with us that his generalizations are just cartoonish. That was my point.
And not all doctors are rich.
And not all police officers are racist bullies.
And not all politicians are corrupt.
On a local level, the court system is usually pretty fair.

I’ve experienced the complete opposite, I have been summoned like 5 or 6 times in the last 15 years and every-single-time, my group is cancelled when I call in the night before. lol
WTF is up with that?

Jurors are picked from voting rolls and people with driving licenses and state IDs in the states where I have been called for jury duty (California and Illinois).

I’ve never been seated as a juror, though. Mostly I hang out for a day and nothing happens. I have been called about four times in thirty years.

One time I was in a group of 50 questioned in detail and either accepted or sent home. It was a murder trial, and I found it fascinating and would gladly have served (despite the economic hit), but I was sent home.

If you are at that point, just answer the questions honestly and be yourself. They will take you or reject you, no big deal.

@elbanditoroso, I too have always wanted to be on a jury. It’s never happened. I’ve never got the letter. My husband has and my daughter has. Neither of them wanted to do it. I was quite jealous. You are chosen for jury duty from the electoral roll here. So if you are eligible to vote, you could be asked to do jury duty. From that point it’s the same selection process as elsewhere.

Obviously, the process that determines who is chosen to actually sit on a jury is biased. The prosecution and defence want the people who are most likely to agree with the argument they intend to present. There is a science to this process. In major cases people are employed by both the prosecution and defence to vet the potential jurors and to determine who is most likely to help them achieve their goal. Depending on the trial, being a woman, being Black, being male, being old, being young, being intelligent, being dumb, being aggressive etc. etc. could all be grounds for a person being challenged by one side or the other. It’s not a perfect system.

@Coloma There is tremendous pressure to bargain most cases before trial. Trials are expensive for everyone, and if you are paying the lawyer, a plea bargain can save you a lot of time and a bit of leniency in sentencing. If you have a public defender, they will really push for a plea bargain.

Be careful what you wish for – the court for your Federal cases may be far away which will require you to leave your house very early in the morning in order to arrive on time.

For me, the Federal Court is in NYC and for me to get there by train, maybe an hour and a half ride. Add in time to get to the station and find a parking spot and we’re looking at having to leave the house by around 6:30 to get to court by 9. That would be very hard.

Maybe you could write a letter to the courts and request it?