Jury duty

ChapelHillSooner

ChapelHillSooner

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I have jury duty tomorrow. This is for a grand jury for Chatham County. I called their automated line and they will need me.

What should I expect?

Two concerns I have. One, if they don’t provide some type of hearing aid, I will not be able to do it. I don’t want to sound like I am trying to get off but my hearing is not sufficient to follow what is going on in the courtroom.

The second is that I am doing a 50/50 living arrangement where I live in an apartment in Orange County half the time. I honestly couldn’t tell you if one place > 50%. It would just be random if it is. I do spend Christmas evening at the house in Chatham so I spend on average a night more there every two years.
 
ChapelHillSooner said:
I have jury duty tomorrow. This is for a grand jury for Chatham County. I called their automated line and they will need me.

What should I expect?

Two concerns I have. One, if they don’t provide some type of hearing aid, I will not be able to do it. I don’t want to sound like I am trying to get off but my hearing is not sufficient to follow what is going on in the courtroom.

The second is that I am doing a 50/50 living arrangement where I live in an apartment in Orange County half the time. I honestly couldn’t tell you if one place > 50%. It would just be random if it is. I do spend Christmas evening at the house in Chatham so I spend on average a night more there every two years.
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You'll probably have a chance to explain all that. I ended up serving one of the four times I was called. The other three times were basically one day present and then checking in by phone.
 
Also, why the heck do I get called all the time and my wife literally never gets called. This is the second time for me in Chatham. I did not end up having to show up last time. I got called twice when I lived in DC. (Totally normal for DC but she lived there for 15 years and never once got called.). I spent all day in the courthouse once but did not get selected. The second time I had already moved back to Virginia. Also got called for a grand jury in Virginia but had moved to DC right before.

Maybe I need to commit light treason or something’s. ;-)
 
Seems like you have an out, whether you’re looking for a way to get of if it or not. “I’m sorry, could you repeat that? Uh? What was that last bit?”

“The prosecution moves to strike juror #47 your honor…”
 
I got a questionnaire from the Federal Court to judge my suitability for Grand Jury duty. I played the hearing angle and added that I had sleep apnea that might cause me to doze off if I remained seated and inactive for too long.
Mailed the questionnaire back and never heard anything else from them.
 
ChapelHillSooner said:
I have jury duty tomorrow. This is for a grand jury for Chatham County. I called their automated line and they will need me.

What should I expect?

Two concerns I have. One, if they don’t provide some type of hearing aid, I will not be able to do it. I don’t want to sound like I am trying to get off but my hearing is not sufficient to follow what is going on in the courtroom.

The second is that I am doing a 50/50 living arrangement where I live in an apartment in Orange County half the time. I honestly couldn’t tell you if one place > 50%. It would just be random if it is. I do spend Christmas evening at the house in Chatham so I spend on average a night more there every two years.
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Seems to me that you are going to need to change your user name to something like 50%ChapelHillSooner.
 
BubbaOtis said:
I got a questionnaire from the Federal Court to judge my suitability for Grand Jury duty. I played the hearing angle and added that I had sleep apnea that might cause me to doze off if I remained seated and inactive for too long.
Mailed the questionnaire back and never heard anything else from them.
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Now that I’m retired I think it would be interesting to serve on a jury. I was on a jury 40+ years ago, but it was for one day on a civil trial. All I remember is thinking I would want better attorneys than the ones I was watching.
 
ChapelHillSooner said:
I have jury duty tomorrow. This is for a grand jury for Chatham County. I called their automated line and they will need me.

What should I expect?

Two concerns I have. One, if they don’t provide some type of hearing aid, I will not be able to do it. I don’t want to sound like I am trying to get off but my hearing is not sufficient to follow what is going on in the courtroom.

The second is that I am doing a 50/50 living arrangement where I live in an apartment in Orange County half the time. I honestly couldn’t tell you if one place > 50%. It would just be random if it is. I do spend Christmas evening at the house in Chatham so I spend on average a night more there every two years.
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Grand jury is basically a clearinghouse for new felony charges. If selected, you won't sit and hear a specific trial and determine guilt or innocence. Instead, you'll hear multiple different officers' one-sided summaries of the felony cases they want to bring to court, without any judge or defendant being present. It's also a multiple day commitment- a couple of hours or more, about once a month, for a few months.
 
Sooner, just tell them about your son and living arrangement. That should get you out, if that's what you desire.

Hope you and your son doing well, by the way! I think about you a lot.
 
Per the FAQ.

How long must I serve?

Service on a grand jury in the Eastern District of North Carolina is typically 18 months. On occasion, a grand jury may be extended to the maximum service time of 24 months.
 
I've been called multiple times.

I was on one jury, great experience. I was slated to be on a second and they came to an agreement just before we entered the court room.

Never a grand jury though. And the other times, I was not seated.
 
BubbaOtis said:
Per the FAQ.

How long must I serve?

Service on a grand jury in the Eastern District of North Carolina is typically 18 months. On occasion, a grand jury may be extended to the maximum service time of 24 months.
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I think that that is federal. Mine is state.
 
I once received a jury summons for Chatham County. This was about 30 years after I attended UNC. And it was at a time when I was living in Charlotte, but working for a company in PittsBURGH, PA, not PittsBORO, NC. I had an overlong conversation with at folks at the courthouse in Pittsboro that boiled down to me explaining that even though I did work for a company based in Pittsburgh, that did not mean I was eligible to serve on a Chatham County jury. I only made progress when I made the point that if I was selected for a jury, the defendant might have cause for an appeal based on the concept that he was not found guilty by a jury of his "peers."
 
Called once in college, got out of it.
Called again about 15 years ago, ended up being an alternate on a drunk driving case. Listened all morning, broke for lunch, we all came back and the judge released me as the jury was about to deliberate.
Haven't been called since.
 
circlesky88 said:
Called once in college, got out of it.
Called again about 15 years ago, ended up being an alternate on a drunk driving case. Listened all morning, broke for lunch, we all came back and the judge released me as the jury was about to deliberate.
Haven't been called since.
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When I was in law school in Pittsburgh, I was called for jury duty and was seated as an alternate. The judge left me sit through the entire trial, including closing arguments, but dismissed me before deliberation. I actually asked if I could sit through through the deliberation if I promised not to say anything. The judge looked at me with one of those over the top of the glasses looks and said, "No."

Needless to say, I was effusive in my praise at what an educational experience it was and recommended to my professors that the school should implement as a requirement volunteering for jury duty. I was informed the local county used to allow people to volunteer for jury duty, but all the local unions had negotiated that the companies pay full salary for jury duty and the result was all the personal injury case juries were packed with union members. The insurance defense bar in that county insisted that "volunteering" for jury duty be abolished and it was.

ETA: During voir dire, the prosecutor asked of I would be able to set aside what I had learned about criminal law in class and only apply the judge's instructions. I said I could. The defense attorney asked who my criminal defense professor was and I told him. The criminal defense attorney turned to the judge and said that he could assure the court that I knew absolutely nothing about criminal law. And, of course, I later told my criminal law professor this and he got a big laugh out of it.
 
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I have been debating whether I should say this but I happened to be one of 10 or so out of 100 or so who were selected to be on a grand jury. That is a one day per month commitment for a year.

I didn’t have problems with hearing as it happens in a small room and the relevant people spoke with authority.

It actually worked out probably for the better. The other potential jurors were to be slated for 5-6 criminal trials that each would take 3-5 days. Looking at the numbers, the odds seemed pretty good to be on one. That would have been tough as I have a deadline next week.
 
05C40 said:
When I was in law school in Pittsburgh, I was called for jury duty and was seated as an alternate. The judge left me sit through the entire trial, including closing arguments, but dismissed me before deliberation. I actually asked if I could sit through through the deliberation if I promised not to say anything. The judge looked at me with one of those over the top of the glasses looks and said, "No."

Needless to say, I was effusive in my praise at what an educational experience it was and recommended to my professors that the school should implement as a requirement volunteering for jury duty. I was informed the local county used to allow people to volunteer for jury duty, but all the local unions had negotiated that the companies pay full salary for jury duty and the result was all the personal injury case juries were packed with union members. The insurance defense bar in that county insisted that "volunteering" for jury duty be abolished and it was.

ETA: During voir dire, the prosecutor asked of I would be able to set aside what I had learned about criminal law in class and only apply the judge's instructions. I said I could. The defense attorney asked who my criminal defense professor was and I told him. The criminal defense attorney turned to the judge and said that he could assure the court that I knew absolutely nothing about criminal law. And, of course, I later told my criminal law professor this and he got a big laugh out of it.
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Pretty certain you or another attorney has told that criminal law professor story previously.

It’s still funny.
 
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