Jury Duty: Why Everybody Wants Out
Why do so many people want to get out of jury duty?
I think that we have noticed in this country that people try to get out of jury duty because they don't want to take off work, they don't get paid very much, we hope to change that soon, they're confused by the process, they're afraid that if they show up they're going to have to answer a lot of personal questions or uncomfortable questions and so, and they don't really realize that this is an opportunity for them to help shape the laws of the country and to protect their human rights as well as everyone else's, so we're trying to change that, but I think a lot of people just don't want to show up for jury duty because they consider it an inconvenience instead of realizing what an amazing opportunity it is to participate.
Why are courts having such a hard time finding jurors?
I've noticed lately that courts have a lot of trouble finding people to serve on juries, people don't answer the summons, they don't show up. There are a lot of reasons for this: first reason is that a lot of people are not voting and a lot of jurisdictions draw their jury wheels or their jury polls from voting records, so there's fewer people for them to get. Jurors are not paid well, and so they hate to take a day off work to serve on a jury because they're afraid they'll lose pay. Sometimes jurors are not treated very well in the court room. Usually they are treated with respect and people appreciate that they're there, but not always. And jurors often think that the law is so confusing and they're not sure if they're going to be punished or not.
Why would I want to serve on a jury?
You should really always run, literally run, to serve on a jury and I will tell you why. When you serve on a jury it is one of your chances to participate in the lawmaking and law enforcement and law application process in this country. Jurors who may refuse to convict under bad laws, send a message back to our lawmakers that they need to appeal that law or modify it. If there is a law which you enforce consistently, you are letting the lawmakers know that the community approves this law and wants it to be applied. We know that this works because we have seen this work in the history of this country.
Do I have a responsibility to serve on a jury?
You have a great responsibility to serve on a jury and let me explain that to you. You may be the only person there who understands that your function as a juror is to stand between the individual on trial, especially in a criminal trial, and the government trying to impose a bad law to deny this person their human rights. Whether it's slavery, or their right to drink, or their right to use alternative medicines, or maybe their right to free speech, that the government is trying to take rights away from some human. You may be the only person on that jury who understands, that you have the authority and the power and the obligation to protect the person on trial from government trying to take away the human rights that belong to all of us and when you do that for another person, if you're ever on trial for another instance of someone trying to take your human rights away. You would want people on your jury just like you, which is why you should also encourage other people to serve on juries.
Are judges going to extremes to find jurors?
There was, there was an instance not to long ago, I think it was in Virginia, where the judge actually sent the bailiff and a court marshall out to hand out summonses in a shopping center parking lot to people and they had to come and show up for jury duty later that afternoon. I mean they had to run and take their groceries or purchases home and show up at the court house to be impaneled perhaps to serve on a jury, at least to go through the voyder process and find out if they were competent to serve on jury or qualified, or the right people to serve on a jury. Well judges are desperate because we have a right in this country to a jury trial. It's one of the laws of the land. You have a right to trial by jury. We all know that. If people don't show up to serve on your jury, how are you going to have that right? So judges have to do what they can to ensure your rights if you are on trial, and you want a jury trial.
How did the OJ Simpson murder trial affect the reputation of juries?
One of the most wonderful things, however, that happened as a result of that case and that verdict, was that it brought attention to the fact that we have juries, and juries have this power to find somebody not guilty. Now, it may be that the prosecuting attorney didn't present enough evidence for the jury to render a guilty verdict. They may have not been reasonably convinced that this person was guilty. This was a sensational case. It was on the news. It may be that the defence attorney was such a good defense attorney that he presented the jury with reasonable doubt. In fact, I think there was a line in there that said something like, "If it doesn't fit, you must acquit," about a glove. If there was some doubt in the minds of the jurors, they certainly had not only the right but the obligation to find him not guilty, because you should not convict somebody if you're not sure beyond a reasonable doubt that they're guilty of the crime. It brought wonderful attention to the role of the jury in our justice system, and I think that was a good thing.
Are people afraid to serve on juries?
I've talked to people about whether or not they're afraid to serve on juries and I have found that there are people who are afraid to serve on juries. They think they can be punished for their verdict or they think that if they find somebody guilty, somebody in that person's family may find them and take revenge. They're scared. There are also people who are afraid to serve on juries because they think if they don't find somebody guilty, their neighbors may think that there's something wrong with them because they think that person should have gone to jail. There are not really very many instances where any of those things have happened. We make movies about them because it's a good story line, it's a good plot, but we make movies about a lot of weird stuff that doesn't happen more than maybe once in real life. So, I would tell people don't be afraid to serve on the jury, don't be afraid to stick to your convictions and render a verdict based on conscience and evidence presented.
Can it be dangerous to serve on a jury?
You know, sometimes people think that if they serve on a jury, it could be dangerous; they think that somebody might take revenge against them or that they might be punished if they don't give the verdict that the government might want them to give. But that happens so rarely that I don't think that it's something anybody needs to be concerned about. Now, if there is some danger and the judge thinks it's a high profile case, if it's a murder or a gang shooting case or something, the judge may protect the jury. You may be anonymous if you're on that jury. It may be that you'll be screened so that they can't see you. You may be sequestered so that you are just hidden from view and nobody can even see you going from the courthouse to your car or bus or anything. So, it's really not dangerous to serve on a jury.
Do juries have a bad reputation?
Sometimes people tell me that they think that jurors are dumb or stupid and they think juries are easily manipulated and they think that people who serve on juries are usually not very smart or don't get it, but we've done studies on this and we know that jurors as a group are usually more educated than the general population, they're highly conscientious when they serve on juries, they try to get the facts really, really straight and they pay careful attention, they're very aware while they're serving as jurors that they are considering and deliberating usually, especially in a criminal case, they're deliberating about the future of someone's life and they take that very seriously, so I think even though we sometimes talk about jurors as being, you know, we see funny cartoons about jurors falling asleep or not even knowing what the case is about but just, you know, saying, "Oh, lets find him guilty" or "Lets find him not guilty." That doesn't really happen. Jurors are so conscientious and I think we should all be proud when we have an opportunity to serve as jurors.
How can we get more people interested in jury duty?
I think that we all know that we need to get people more interested in serving on juries. We need to get people more interested in showing up for jury duty. And that is not easy when we have some strikes against us. They have to take off work. They are not going to get paid very much. It may be a boring case. It may be a case that gets them sequestered because it is not so boring. We need to encourage people to serve on juries because if you ever go on trial, you are going to want to have the best jurors there serving on your jury that you can get. Also, remember that everybody has a right to trial by jury and if they do not show up, or you do not show up, then they are denied a process of due process, aren't they? And if the judge has to go out and pull people off the street, that is not a very good way to have a jury. We have a wonderful system. Juries are an elegant tool of justice and human rights protection in this country. We need to make sure it works.
