In the United States, it is considered a civic duty and honor to serve as a juror in court. Our judicial system depends on public participation -- a criminal defendant deserves "a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury" to determine whether the person is guilty or not guilty. That right is guaranteed in the Bill of Rights (quick, which amendment?).
But with this latest economic downturn that endures, citizens are finding it harder to leave work, even for jury duty. And with little compensation for their service, they claim financial hardship as a reason for not being able to serve on a jury. Well, the ones who do answer the summons are increasingly arguing financial hardship -- others are ignoring the summons.
Check out this news story published in the Los Angeles Times on Monday, Feb. 15, that addresses this. After reading the story, leave a comment here about your jury duty experiences and what it would mean to you if you had to take a week off from school and/or work to fulfill your civic responsibility. Could you do it?
31 comments:
I have not been on a jury yet. I have been summoned but they said being a student would excuse me and so i was excused. If being a student wasn't an excuse I would definitely come up with another one. Missing a week from school at this point in my academic career would be detrimental. If I was just working and I could afford taking a week off from work I would do it. Everyone has to serve jury duty at some point and I might as well get it out of the way while I can so they wont summon me again for however long that period is that they have to wait after you serve.
Jessica Peters, T-TH 12:30
I have never received a jury summons, and I am happy for it! I remember when I was little, my mom was called to jury duty for a law suit between Garden Ridge and someone... and the case took almost two weeks to get settled. Mom missed work and there was not one happy family dinner those weeks- she was ticked about missing almost two weeks of pay!
If I were to be called to jury (and being a student was not an excuse) there is no way life could be put on hold for up to three weeks. School work would be impossible to make up and in addition, I would seriously fall behind with my unpaid internship.
The comment in the article: "The county has also tightened sanctions for repeat no-shows, imposing fines of as much as $1,500." I found shocking, since the majority of the excuses from those called to serve are economic related, up to $1500 is an intense fine for someone who does not show.
I have never been summoned for jury duty, but to be honest, I'm curious as to what it would be like. Perhaps it is my journalistic tendency to want to know secrets and scandals, but depending on the case I think I would find jury duty interesting. I would not, however, take the position of deciding someone's fate lightly. That is a huge responsibility, even if it only has to do with being fined a small sum of money.
As for the jury duty pay aspect, I would have thought compensation to be higher. I mean, people get paid hundreds or thousands of dollars for various medical procedures as part of studies; I can imagine sitting around for weeks to decide a case could be just as painful.
L. Morgan 2:00pm T/TH
The sixth amendment guarantees a speedy and public trial by an impartial jury. I have never been summoned for jury duty and after finding out you receive such little compensation, I hope I don't anytime in the near future!
I can understand why so many people aren't willing to serve a jury without trying to be excused. Besides being financially straining, it is surely an inconvenience. If I was asked to serve on a jury tomorrow, not only would it put me behind in school, but I am also a nanny for a special needs child. Her family would be greatly affected because they depend on me for transportation, tutoring, and meeting with her teachers. Not only would jury duty be affecting me, but it would greatly affect the three other family members who would be stuck in an uncomfortable position. And with my own bills to pay, living on $6 a day would be impossible.
So, could I do it? Nope. I would definitely try to get out of that one.
I have never been summoned for jury duty but if I was, I don't think I would be able to go. Though it would be nice to get a week off from school and work, I couldn't afford it. I am barely able to meet rent whenever I work full weeks so taking one out of my paycheck would be detrimental.
I feel that if it is the law that we serve than we should be better compensated for the time that we are giving. We do pay taxes and I feel we have the right to receive a substantial substitute for our actual jobs pay.
I personally haven't been summoned for jury duty but, last week my dad was. He just started his own business and is the sole-proprietor for income in his business and our family. Because of this, he didn't want to have to do it.
Personally, I would love to serve on a jury if I had the time. Right now is the worst possible time for me to be summoned. Otherwise, I would.
Kala Brock, TTH @ 12:30pm
Jessica R TH1230
I personally haven't been summoned for jury duty and I'd like to keep it that way. For starters, I'm very indecisive, so the idea of putting someone elses future in my hands is not appealing to me. Second, missing a week of school, work, and internship is like asking for trouble. I have bills to pay and good grades to make.
I like many others, have not been summoned to jury duty, but I would actually like to participate. In Street Law, a class I took in high school we were able to visit the Houston Criminal Courthouse and participate in a mock voir dire activity. As I political science major I find this to be very interesting and would love to participate on a jury.
Lorena Buendia
TH 12:30
Since I am not a US citizen, I would not be able to participate in jury duty; however, if I was able to do so, I would find ways to get out of it. I don't think I could do it. I am a bit undecisive and I also don't think I could make a decision that could potentially change the life of a person. And to think of the amount of school work I would have to miss, and work, is not exactly good for me.
Sarah Medina
T/TH 12:30
I have not been summoned for jury duty yet, and honestly never really want to. Yes, it may be somewhat fun to participate and sit in a case, but it would just be too much of a risk to miss so much from my career (school or work). I heard being a student can excuse you from participating, and I'm glad; it would take a toll on my schoolwork (especially with some classes meeting once a week), and I would probably fall behind greatly. As far as missing work to attend jury duty, it's somewhat unfair because the pay doesn't even nearly compare. I remember when my mom would get summoned to participate in jury duty, she always hated falling behind and missing work for it.
I was once summoned but was out of state at the time and unable to fulfill my responsibility. I feel strongly that jury duty is an important civic duty that shouldn't be shirked. Sure, I acknowledge that it is an inconvenience, as are a lot of responsibilities both private and public. But one can't expect our judicial system to function if people aren't willing to fulfill their obligations to the best of their ability. Money is certainly a legitimate concern, and it is awful that people find themselves in a situation that would hinder their individual survival, but we must remember the importance of our communal responsibilities.
I have not been summoned for jury duty, and I do not wish to anytime soon. I think it is absurd that you would be compensated so little for something so crucial and fundamental to our government. As my peers have stated, being called for jury duty would severely set me back in other aspects of my life, which are more of a priority to me than being responsible for the decision of a case. As for the question of IF i could do it... I definitely could do it, but would not like to, despite finding the experience interesting, to say the least.
I have also never been summoned. I agree with Kate in that it is a very important civil duty, and that we should be able to fulfill our obligations to the best of our ability- but that is in an ideal world. With the way things are economically for many people right now, it seems really ironic to say that we have to always put our civic responsibilities before our well-being. I do believe that in order for our judicial system to function properly and in the favor of democracy, jury duty shouldn't be something that is completely optional and allowed to constantly be ignored. However, I do think that there should be a certain amount of lenience and an evaluation of individual circumstance, especially where money and time restraints are involved. It is really important that people be able to provide for themselves and their families, and I believe that to be more important that serving jury duty.
That doesn't mean I would not do it, however. If I was in a place where it wouldn't vastly strain me financially or completely set me back with school, if I was not depending on that weeks (or more) worth of income to support me, than I would gladly do it, and would be interested to see what it was like. And although I do think there could be some sort of limits on how many times someone can refuse to answer the summons, I really don't believe fines to be a just punishment.
I have actually been summoned twice for jury duty. However, being that I'm a college student, I was able to get dismissed from it. I was definitely not happy about it because as a college student, I have SEVERAL responsibilities aside from classes. But I really don't think I would be to bothered if I were summoned while I have my career going. I would like to think that a couple of days really wouldn't affect me as much because I do agree it should be a civic duty and an honor.
I've been summoned twice and served on a jury once. Had it been more than a day (and had my job not paid me for being summoned)I would have been upset about having to do it. Had it been and unpaid two or three weeks and I would have had to get out of it. The disgruntled jurors in this case remind me of my feelings toward the case I was a juror on, because it seemed like such a insignificant waste of everyone's time. (<--Due Process guard dogs attack!)
I think I'd argue that instead of raising the amount of money the court pays a juror, the government should give a tax break to companies that pay their employees their normal pay for the days they serve.
Martha Francisco
TTH 12:30
I JUST got called to jury duty today! Of course I am going to get out of it, it is for March 15th, but it is in Williamson County, not Hays. Actually going to it would greatly impact my schoolwork (many professors dock points for absenteeism unless a family member dies, I'm certain they would expect me to be able to get out of jury duty) and my job, that pays me more than a measly $40 a day. I guess I just never thought before that some people can't find ways out of it, I guess I pity them. School is just an ongoing project and I can't afford to miss out a single day.
Alysha M. TTH 12:30
I was summoned a couple years ago and got out of it right away! If being a student wasn't excusable, my grades would have definitely taken a hit. Not cool. But in the future, I think I'd really like to serve. My mom's job pays her for any time off for jury duty and then she has to turn over the check from the court to her employer. However, I hate the idea of being questioned and judged and "bet on," according to my answers, to see which way I sway. Haha, that just creeps me out--to think that people are assuming what I'll determine about the case based on my gender, race, background...
Sorry for responding to this so late.
I have never been summoned for jury duty and am proud because I feel like it would interfere with my busy schedule right now. I can't even imagine taking off a week or so from school work. I just found out that I will be elegible to graduate early, so my workload for school is so much right now.
I know that everyone at some point must help out and do jury duty, but I feel like my life would suffer whether I did it now, during school, or even later, when I will be working in the "real world".
I was once summoned for jury duty, back in 2005, when I worked as a sales consultant for Ancira Motor Company in San Antonio. I claimed financial hardship then to be excused, and I was. When working in sales, I believe it becomes unfair to force those who work in those jobs to take a leave, of weeks sometimes, to fullfil jury duty. The compensation for jury duty would have been miniscule at that time in comparison to what I could have make in a day, week or weeks. Just to put this in perspective; my monthly income average was about $6,500 to $7,000, which would translate into almost $300 a day. Sales people make money by being at their job and talking to people, which they would not be able to do away from their work place. If they do not sell, they do not eat.
Monte Ashqar
MC 4301, M-W
I was once summoned for jury duty, back in 2005, when I worked as a sales consultant for Ancira Motor Company in San Antonio. I claimed financial hardship then to be excused, and I was. When working in sales, I believe it becomes unfair to force those who work in those jobs to take a leave, of weeks sometimes, to fullfil jury duty. The compensation for jury duty would have been miniscule at that time in comparison to what I could have make in a day, week or weeks. Just to put this in perspective; my monthly income average was about $6,500 to $7,000, which would translate into almost $300 a day. Sales people make money by being at their job and talking to people, which they would not be able to do away from their work place. If they do not sell, they do not eat.
I have not been summoned for jury duty, but i would be excused for being a student. If that were not the case, I would imagine that I would serve. A week of classes for me is two days of classes. Though I would find myself behind in my classes, it isn't an every week situation. I may feel different when I am losing compensation from missing my job.
It would be basically impossible for me to take an entire week of of school and work. I have been summoned for jury duty once but it was dismissed because I am a full-time student. Even though I think it is a vital thing to experience I don't think it is very realistic or fair to ask of people to give up that amount of time without them being compensated. I believe in order to make the system fair and have the most positive results, people should be compensated for the same amount of money as they would have made in that work week. Also I have heard stories of people getting fired from their jobs because of missing due to jury duty and if that is not already illegal it should be.
I have never had to go to jury duty because I have always been in school. I think if that were different and i had to take an entire week off and not go to my classes there would be no way I could do it. It is hard enough missing one day of class, but a whole week? I am glad we have the student exemption.
Abbie Barth
T/TH 12:30
I have been summoned once for jury duty but was exempted for being a full-time student. Missing a week... or three weeks of school for that matter is impossible. Missing so much class would definitely result in failing grades. While I think it is important to have juries in our judicial system, I agree that it puts burden on people who do not have the financial means to miss even one day of work. I cannot think of a solution to such a problem... because if paying jurors more for their time was an option... up go our taxes.
This is such a difficult topic due to it's complexity. If I had to leave school and work for a week or longer, it would cause financial stress; this is certain. On one hand, you don't want such a small pool of citizens to choose from. It seems as if you would not have a diverse economic pool of citizens if only those making a certain amount of money are the only ones able to serve on juries. And on the other hand, you don't want an angry, stressed out citizen serving on a jury that he deems to be the main source of financial stress to his family. Those who can, should. Leave the financial hardships for those who really need them. Of course getting citizens not to abuse the system has always been an issue.
T/TH 12:30 class
I have never been summoned to be a juror. However, if I were to be summoned, I don't think I could afford to miss school at this point. I've learned that missing just one day can lead to a few extra hours of homework and reading.
I also don't have a job right now, so missing a big pay check wouldn't be one of my problems, but I can certainly empathize with those who can't afford to miss work.
I would love to perform my civic duty as an American and be a jurory, but only if my school schedule (or later work schedule/financial situation) allowed it.
It's amazing how much an economic recession can impact even the things we don't really think about. In my case, jury duty.
Kassie Kitchen
MW 2:00
Luckily, I have never been summoned to take part in jury duty. I don't say "luckily" because I wouldn't want to. I'm definitely curious to experience it one day. However, I know I'd be a nervous wreck if I had to miss a week of school and work. Class attendance, in itself, is pretty important to me, and I would prefer not to rely on others for class notes and lecture recaps.
Hopefully I will be summoned one day when it's convenient, otherwise I would have to ask for permission to be excused.
I have been summoned for jury duty many times. Fortunately, I've always been able to use school as an excuse to get out of it. With the economy the way it is I can understand why people would do anything they can to get out of jury duty. The pay is so little! And I doubt that most of the cases are of extreme importance, ie: like the one mentioned in the L.A. Times article. Every time I receive a summons in the mail I feel a sense of dread. If I'm feeling that now and can get out of jury duty because of school, then I imagine when I graduate in May and would be forced to take time off of work and subsequently lose my paycheck, I bet I'll be a bit irate, too. Jurors should be paid a decent wage. Perhaps the government will need to run IRS backgrounds on those they choose for jury duty before wasting money printing summons and sending them out in the mail. If someone is making under a certain amount of money then there is no way they can claim financial hardship. But on the other hand, that would be an invasion of privacy. Oh, I guess I don't know what the answer is! But I hope I'm not summoned again anytime soon!
I've only been called to jury duty once. I was taking summer school, so I had to send in a copy of my schedule and I was cleared. I don't know what I would've done if I had to miss class, for even just one day. It's hard missing classes, especially when homework is due and notes are important. I think students need to always be excused from serving, because missing school is too important.
I was summoned for jury duty in 2006, but had to say no because I was in the middle of filming a movie. It was an interesting story, and ironically the person I called to tell this to thought it was "very cool." But that aside, my parents have always said that it's an honor to serve on a jury, and I should treat it with respect. On the other hand, I completely understand "economic hardship" as an excuse. But it's a shame that people take such advantage of this excuse. It's real, so if you are able to take part on a jury, you should do so.
I have been asked to serve many times, but like everyone else has said because I am a student of higher education I can miss. I think if I HAD to go it would be such a hardship missing that much school. It is such a shame that there is not more being done to make our civic duty more enjoyable than covering yourself in honey and falling into an ant pit.
Cornelia
T/TH 1230
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