Would this get me out of jury duty?

If I were in your place, I would probably say that I’d had a bad experience with law enforcement that affected my attitude and that I’d have a hard time being impartial.

However, I can’t guess how the respective attorneys would respond.

Claiming animosity towards the justice system would likely not work. The obvious answer to that is that being on a jury is part of the justice system and you would be given a chance to make a good decision in a case…dispense justice as needed.

I share your frustration with our bogus “justice” system anymore. We are too soft on criminals and too hard on victims. It isn’t the system, though. We have a good system. Someone is arrested for a crime and they go to a trial where the case for and against that person are heard by 12 people that are supposed to be a random cross section of society. Those 12 people make the determination of guilt or innocence for that defendant. If that person if found guilty then a penalty is imposed on that person. There are problems that arise along the way. Maybe the one lawyer knows how to play a jury better or presents a better case. You may have people on the jury that are not impartial. Maybe they feel they want to “screw the Man” to get back at the cops for some previous run-in they have had. Maybe they feel that no one should have to be incarcerated. Maybe race plays in. But once the guilty verdict is established, you still have policies in place or sometimes the bias of the judge (if he is setting sentence) that gives an inordinately light sentence to someone that shouldn’t be shown leniency.

All those sorts of things play a part because we are humans. Nothing you can do about it.

Probably yes you won’t have to serve on a jury. No guarantee. You likely will still have to show up, answer questions and then the lawyers decide whether to accept you on a jury or dismiss you.

This is why you should serve. My experience serving on a grand jury had direct impact on a couple of cases I thought would have been a miscarriage of justice. You’re in a position to make a real difference.

The way you titled the question implies that you want out before you start. I don’t think your experience on one experience should “get you out”.
Serving should be viewed as a privilege and duty to be there. This to me would be why you are there to help affect change in a common sense positive way.

All you have to do is be honest. If you stated just what you wrote above during the jury selection process then you would likely be asked a few more questions. One of the attorneys (defense or prosecution) may want you. I suspect that you would be thanked and dismissed.

The last few times I got called to jury duty in my county, I just had to call a number the night before and listen to a recording that would say whether or not there was a jury trial to show up for. I think the duration for both times was two or three days. I called the number on the nights before and all of the days for both times, it said you don’t have to show up because there’s no jury trial scheduled. Voila. Easy peasy, and it satisfied the requirement for jury duty because I was on call and available.

It depends on the case.

If you’re called and it’s a case that had police involvement, then you might get dropped.

If it’s a case that has nothing related to your past—say, white collar crime, drug trafficking, etc., then you might very well be kept.

Bottom line: details matter.

Answer any questions asked of you as a potential juror honestly. Do not offer anything other than what is asked.

No, I was not implying I want out from the start. Although I would assume most people want that.

I suppose I did not know how else to phrase my question.

Why do you suppose most people do not want to serve @SergeantQueen. I consider it a privilege of the democratic process and a duty of being a citizen of this country. Same thing for voting. I hope that if my future ever lies with a jury that it is composed of intelligent and educated real Americans rather than losers who are there for the $25/day.

@SnipSnip for those who work for themselves, it takes away their income. I don’t think that’s the case for the OP, but for example, someone in my family is a CPA/CFP, who works for himself. If he spends days sitting on a jury, those are days he’s not doing his accounting. If he doesn’t do his accounting, he will not only not have that income, but he will have pissed off customers and perhaps missed deadlines.

I wouldn’t mind jury duty if it were local. However, for me, the Federal court in Brooklyn can summon me and I am in their catchment area. For me to get to Brookly, is about a 2.5 hour ride by train and subway, not including having to get to the train and find parking. The last time i went to court in Brooklyn for my job (a different court, but still, same commute), I had to leave the house at around 6 in the mornning to get down there by 9:30. It was a very arduous journey. It’s about 1.5 hours to Grand Central, plus the ride to the train, plus the subway from GCT to Brooklyn. As they say in Brooklyn, fuggedaboutit.

I was summoned a couple years ago. I thought the whole thing – selection, then the trial, then deciding on the verdict – was fascinating. I’d do it again in a heartbeat.

Probably. Depends on the case.

Sadly, I was ejected from murder trial jury duty when I said my fishing buddies were prosecuting lawyers.

I would have been happy to serve, except it meant at least two weeks off work unpaid. I thought it would super interesting plus I believe in civic duty.

My prosecutor friends wish every company paid during jury duty. They would have a much larger jury pool.

Just turn 70 . . . in my state they will NOT you call for jury duty, if you ask for exemption by age !

Last time I served on a jury we were asked by the judge if any of us had any personal experience that could hinder our ability to maintain impartiality in the case.