Just received my Juror summons
 

In Ocala, federal. Whose done this and what can I expect?
Thanks in advance!


"The party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears..."
George Orwell

I did this around 2009. No cell phones in the building and you can get excused if 70 or over or take care of small kids or others with special needs.

https://www.flmd.uscourts.gov/sites/...y-brochure.pdf

The case I was on lasted about three days or so if memory serves. I got on the jury panel but the judge challenged me as I was being quite skimpy with my answers to his questions. I had to be as my background with the legal system is very complicated and cannot be covered in a few short sentences. I did follow the ruling by the judge in the media. It was a cop suing for discrimination on the basis of race. He had wanted to write his police reports in Spanish and some members of his department bullied him because of it. Judge found for the police department but criticized the employer and some of the police force for their actions. But did not hold them liable.

They might cancel and send you a notification instructing you to not come at all. That's been my experience most of the time I've been summoned.
But once you're there if not cancelled, you gather in a room for most of the day while some office person checks each juror candidate to make sure they're qualified to actually serve. Qualifications such as: are they literate, do they understand English fluently. Are they disabled. If they are disabled, what kind of accommodations are necessary? Does the candidate want to take advantage of the one-time "gimme" and walk away from the jury before the trial starts? If the candidate wishes to disqualify himself in advance, is he able to demonstrate his reasons (moving out of state three days before trial would be justification. Getting a paid day off that day for a dental appointment is not).

After this step, I'm not sure. Maybe someone else can pick up from here. I was dismissed during this first process because I couldn't understand a word the judge was saying.

Expect to be there all day. If you do get picked and not choosing, you will most likely be out of there before noon. If you don’t get picked you be there most of the day. If you get picked and selected to set on jury most last 3 to 5 days unless it murder trial. The

building on corner of 27/441 and CR40. Go through the stop light at CR40 and parking garage is on the right at the second stop light. Follow the signs to the other end of the building, security check as you enter the building.

Not likely at Marion county

I think the law should require that jurors be paid at least as much as the lawyers trying the case.

Defense lawyers!:)Not the bottom of the barrel county prosecutors. At least Marion County does better job of prosecutions.

At a minimum the newly/loosely defined minimum wage of $15 per hour?
:faint:

Agree. But, sending me a jury summons would be pointless. I would just tell the judge that, if you put me on the jury, I won't believe anything the defense attorney says in court.

And remind the judge about the lawyers who will do what they have to do or say to get their guilty clients acquitted.

The last Villager who showed up is now doing 5 to 10 Years at The Federal Correctional Complex in Coleman Florida. I hope you don't get the same treatment.

I would love to participate and imagine it would be similar to what we are accustomed to up North. I'll go for you if you don't wanna. :coolsmiley:

Please explain your first sentence. They showed up for jury duty and ended up in Coleman? C’mon.

Jury Service | United States Courts

This might help.


Ocala | Middle District of Florida | United States District Court

It was a bad joke. Sometimes the good :super: guys set a trap by calling someone in for Jury Duty, as a Lottery Winer Etc. And when the person shows up, bingo :boom: they've got 'em. :boxing2:

That’s why lawyers write the law. Yes don’t mean yes and no don’t mean no. They write them so they can argue, more the argue, the more they make. I call it lawyers welfare. :popcorn: the criminal or the victim has nothing to do with it. :popcorn:

They are all adeptly trained to use, abuse or hide behind the law, which ever suits their need/case.

They do seem to make the law as complicated as possible. Keeps them employed and their clients confused.

Should I ever commit a crime, that's the lawyer I will be looking for!! :icon_wink:

A reminder, the topic is about being summoned for jury duty in Ocala and what to expect.

Feel free to start another thread about the legal profession.

Moderator

I would state Lawyers run the country You really expect me to believe either side

You all watch way too many FICTIONAL crime shows on TV.

I also got the letter two days ago. I'm over 70 so could get excused but I think it would be interesting.

I have received six jury summons since 1994 or so. One for Sonoma County, CA; one for Pinellas County, Fl; three for Sumter County, FL; and one for the Federal Court in Ocala.

Had wanted to go to some of these but am now busy caring for quite senior parents so cannot take big chunks of the day away from them.

I often get challenged as soon as they hear I have a law degree ( U of MN, Class of 1989) as well as my hobby of advocating for better materials in libraries and online for survivors/victims of crimes. I do this by creating an on-going dialog between many different groups in communities like social workers, religious leaders, lawyers, teachers, librarians, students, media leaders, celebrities, victim/witness assistance providers, etc. This is basically just applying some collection development techniques and putting them on overdrive. I learned some of this from the U of Denver Graduate School of Librarianship and Information Management. (Class of May 1984). I call this the 224 613 Project.

I have also had to try to explain that and how this developed when interacting with some of the Court Administrators involved. The Sonoma County CA judge I had for the jury service has seen me around their courthouse when I was evaluating their law librarian in terms of what I saw were the needs of survivors/victims of crimes. The prosecutor challenged me that time in 1994. Not sure why. It was just a drug dealing prosecution.

I had checked the law library in Clearwater too. Pinellas County. It had very little that would have been useful to survivors/victims of crimes.

I have not even been able to find a law library for Sumter County.


Did not see any law library up in the Federal Courthouse in Ocala, neither. There is a great deal online now though for survivors/victims of crimes as well as via other sources like Apps and the like.

The judge asked a retired CIA manager from west of the Villages if he wanted to be Jury Foreman. He said yes. Made me nervous about talking about much of anything when the Judge asked this man about his background and the like.

The jury was eight people if I remember correctly.

Once I was dismissed from the Jury Pool I went to Paddock Mall and had lunch and then went to see Avatar in 3D at the Hollywood 16 theater.

I have had a real fixation on movies and their details since viewing Outbreak with my mother in Petaluma, CA in 1995. This had been filmed in that area of Northern CA. Outbreak (1995) - Rotten Tomatoes

Jury duty is a civic duty. You should not try to get out of it. Wouldn't you want someone like you to be on the jury if you were accused of a crime?

I too believe serving can be an interesting experience while contributing to the needs of our society.

However, I chose to opt out (over 80) because I dislike being in significant, do nothing wait/down time and then wait some more endeavors.
I also do not "herd" very well.

A problem with performing a civic duty?

No. Just being honest. I would not be a good juror because I could not give equal weight to the defense and prosecution cases. Based on my experience and knowledge about how trials are conducted, I would have an extreme bias against the defense attorney's case.

If I was truly innocent would I not want you on the jury with your experience ?

Yes, you probably would, but you would need to testify in your own defense and be believable. But, your attorney would probably advise you not to testify. I have never understood why an innocent person would not testify. To me, it is almost an admission of guilt.

If you testify then you are subject to cross-examination, and you know how lawyers can turn your words against you.:boom:

You have the option, you might not get chosen to jury though