Jury duty and involuntary servitude

[Brian Roth]

I'll try to keep this short and to the point. I lived in Okla. City for decades and never had a jury summons. After 10 years here, I now have my THIRD summons. In the latest summons, there is a threat of being held in contempt of court and/or being fined for not filling out and returning a questionaire or appearing.

I missed summons #1 here because I was working out of state. Second summons, I had to call a local robo number after 6:00 PM the night before...I was "excused" that time.

I think they pay a few dollars per day which is FAR less than what I can bill for ongoing projects I have going on here.

Hmmmm...I can be arrested as a criminal for not appearing to judge other criminals? Seems like an endless loop.

Bri

 

[pucho812]

I'll try to keep this short and to the point. I lived in Okla. City for decades and never had a jury summons. After 10 years here, I now have my THIRD summons. In the latest summons, there is a threat of being held in contempt of court and/or being fined for not filling out and returning a questionaire or appearing.

I missed summons #1 here because I was working out of state. Second summons, I had to call a local robo number after 6:00 PM the night before...I was "excused" that time.

I think they pay a few dollars per day which is FAR less than what I can bill for ongoing projects I have going on here.

Hmmmm...I can be arrested as a criminal for not appearing to judge other criminals? Seems like an endless loop.

Bri

I can’t speak directly for ok. But in Cali it goes as follows. You get a summons every two years. You can defer the summons once maybe twice but then you have to go.
I ignored a summons once and got the same letter. I went I am not about to be in contempt of court unless I make a spectacle.
Yes you can be arrested but it’s like they will look for you. What will happen though is if you happen to get pulled over driving or whatever, they will run you in the system and see the warrant and boom, issue.
Do yourself a favor, just go or defer it to a later date.

 

[Brian Roth]

What is even more annoying is that my car is at the repair shop for a week or so, and I'll have to rent a car for approx $60/day as well as losing many dollars per day of billable income. No idea how long the car rental plus loss of income will last. I don't know how Kansas knows me for this rip-off.....driver's license, or being a registered voter.

Fortunately, I don't know of any big court cases here in Salina which could run for months....that would mean I'll have to withdraw money from my savings just to pay my bills.

Bri

 

[pucho812]

What is even more annoying is that my car is at the repair shop for a week or so, and I'll have to rent a car for approx $60/day as well as losing many dollars per day of billable income. No idea how long the car rental plus loss of income will last. I don't know how Kansas knows me for this rip-off.....driver's license, or being a registered voter.

Fortunately, I don't know of any big court cases here in Salina which could run for months....that would mean I'll have to withdraw money from my savings just to pay my bills.

Bri

Can you postpone service?
You do have a hardship.

 

[Brian Roth]

I guess I can call the phone number on the letter with the threatening language. But, I guess it will just pop up again.

Bri

 

[CJ]

I got a summons last week
PITA.
Luckily I am retired so no pay loss.
Do they really want a guy with 5 DUI's including one on a bicycle?

That one made the newspaper, headline was

"Pedaling While Pickled"

My mistake was registering to vote. That's where they find you for jury duty.

 

[Brian Roth]

I am semi retired at age 69. But I still work to avoid using up savings accounts.

Bri


PS...if I end up on a jury I hope they take frequent breaks so I can pee. lol

 

[Spiritworks]

Questionnaires ask employment status and self-employed, only income-earner in household ( usually ) get excused. I ignored twice in a row, then got the threatening letter. Did the survey last month, on the third summons, and got excused via text message. If the Lawyers paid me, per day, what they make, I'd be happy to go.

 

[Brian Roth]

Apparently the pay here in Kansas for jury duty is $10.00 per day. Bail to get out of jail is MANY times higher. This stinks to high heaven. If they paid me my hourly/daily rate I would not be grumbling. And I need to rent a car (mine is in the shop) for $60.00/per day to get to the court house and back. I'm losing many hundreds of dollars.

According to this:

https://www.talent.com/salary?job=sanitation+worker&location=salina,+ks
The guys who collect my trash (God bless them!) make $17.81/per hour.

As said in the topic....involuntary servitude.

Bri

 

[Brian Roth]

Another interesting thing....here in Kansas, you cannot be on a jury if you have been convicted of a felony in the past 10 years.

Two best friends here (one now is RIP) were busted for pot possession greater than an ounce and served time as a felon. No....not trafficking....just wrong place/time with a big bag of pot.

I am "squeaky clean" yet I am being threatened with jail time as an honest citizen.

Bri

PS....both friends could not/cannot find work for anything more than minimum wage at a fast food gig. The better-paying employers reject anyone with a felony rap, even for pot possession.

 

[Brian Roth]

Oh.....from what I know now.....NEVER register as a voter.

Bri

 

[AnalogPackrat]

It's part of your civic duty. If you were ever accused of a crime and the case were tried in court, tens of your fellow citizens would be called to jury duty and 13-15 would serve (12 plus alternates). It's a small price to pay for living in a civil society.

As for the compensation, it's supposed to cover gas and maybe lunch. Employers are supposed to allow time off for JD. And voter rolls are a good filter for 1) citizenship and 2) some level of civic responsibility.

I've been summoned 6-8 times and served on 3 juries. It was an educational experience each time. Having said all of that, many states will excuse you from service if you're 65 or older if you choose.

 

[Brian Roth]

Civic duty....bah humbug. I am literally an Eagle Scout from the 1960's that is totally dismayed by the USA and the courts in year 2023....among other things.

Hire a lawyer and end the BS, just all the rich folks do. Ever see a rich person on a jury? NEVER!

They pick on hard working folks like me.....who have to pee frequently at my age. lol

"Judge...I gotta pee"......judge sez "contempt of court". ;-(

I am not rich like Trump (or Biden) and the other guys who pay millions of dollars per week to a fleet of lawyers. As I near age 70 next year, I am slowly winding down with my Social Security, a few investments, and part time projects that I can bill.

Pay for my time just like my clients do! Otherwise, just leave me alone.

Bri

 

[JohnRoberts]

One way to look at jury duty is imagine that you have been arrested for some crime. Who would you want to sit on your jury judging your innocence?

I have been called for jury duty a few times and served on one case while I was working for Peavey. I was called again one time after I quit Peavey and had started my own business. Since I was a sole proprietor the judge excused me, and I haven't been called for jury duty since.

Amateur juries of our peers, are a key principle of our legal system.

JR

 

[Brian Roth]

And do NOT sling threats at me because You Are The Government.

 

[Brian Roth]

I do NOT like being threatened by the government if I am just an honest person.

Quote from the summons:

"Failure to complete and return the jury questionaire and appear as directed may result in contempt of court, a daily fine or both."

So I am an innocent man but they invented a way to make me a criminal if I do not bow down to the demands.

Reminds me of Mao, Castro, Putin, etc.

Bri

 

[Brian Roth]

JR....if I have to rely on the locals here to keep me out of jail, I should just shoot myself.

If I had some IP to protect I might fight. But, I don't have millions of dollars to fight.

So, I'm stuck wasting my time with a meth head/etc. on trial.

Bri

 

[AnalogPackrat]

Civic duty....bah humbug. I am literally an Eagle Scout from the 1960's that is totally dismayed by the USA and the courts in year 2023....among other things.

How are you going to make things better by not participating?

Hire a lawyer and end the BS, just all the rich folks do. Ever see a rich person on a jury? NEVER!

First jury I served on had several wealthy folks (this was in Sunnyvale c.1996). During the selection process they ask basic questions about yourself that might bias you one way or the other. What you do for a living, any relevant experiences related to the case, etc. One well-dressed fellow was called up and basically bragged about being the CEO of a small company he started. His attitude (I'm large and in charge) got him dismissed by the judge which clearly hurt his ego.

What's "rich?" I retired at 55 and got called and selected as a juror the next year. The foreman was also retired at about 60. You might consider us to be "rich."

They pick on hard working folks like me.....who have to pee frequently at my age. lol

We got frequent breaks (no more than 2 hrs between).

"Judge...I gotta pee"......judge sez "contempt of court". ;-(

Not likely. Jurors address any concerns through the baliff(s). These folks were professional and reasonable. I'm sure a bio break would be accommodated

I am not rich like Trump (or Biden) and the other guys who pay millions of dollars per week to a fleet of lawyers. As I near age 70 next year, I am slowly winding down with my Social Security, a few investments, and part time projects that I can bill.

So who would you want to serve on a jury if, say, you were wrongly accused of a crime? People who never registered to vote? Only rich people?

Pay for my time just like my clients do! Otherwise, just leave me alone.

You've benefitted from life in a civil society whether you want to admit it or not. TANSTAAFL. In the grand scheme of things a few days of jury duty is a small price to pay.

 

[Brian Roth]

If I am wrongly accused of a crime I will spend whatever it takes to hire the best lawyers.


Same thing as Trump or Biden. The actual crooks never go to jail.


Bri

 

[pucho812]

What is even more annoying is that my car is at the repair shop for a week or so, and I'll have to rent a car for approx $60/day as well as losing many dollars per day of billable income. No idea how long the car rental plus loss of income will last. I don't know how Kansas knows me for this rip-off.....driver's license, or being a registered voter.

Fortunately, I don't know of any big court cases here in Salina which could run for months....that would mean I'll have to withdraw money from my savings just to pay my bills.

Bri

Can you postpone service?
You do have a hardship.