Jury Pool

[mirkwood]

Hmph, got dumped into the pool of potential jurors.  This so called "random" selection process also nabbed my son at the same address.  Hmmmmm.

 

Anywho, I'm sure the prosecution will want me if I get selected and the defense won't.

[Still_Small_Voice]

I thought law enforcement officers were not allowed to serve on juries.  Is that different in Utah?

[LDSGator]

I was summoned a few weeks ago for jury service. I didn’t get chosen to serve, and thank God for it. It was a for a really gross case and I had zero interest in hearing the details. 

[NeuroTypical]

3 hours ago, mirkwood said:

Anywho, I'm sure the prosecution will want me if I get selected and the defense won't.

Heh.  I'd show up in full uniform - that might be your quickest way out of the room.

I just finished 6 hours of jury selection last week.  Nothing I said or indicated disqualified me, but that stuff did get me put 2nd last in the initial lineup, so I had almost zero chance of actually ending up on the jury.  So I had to wait the whole day until the jury was sat, before they let me go, like they were always going to.     

[mirkwood]

No, several of my coworkers have ended up in the potential selection pool too.  Three have been dragged into the Q&A for actual jury selection.  Two of them were picked but the suspect plead before it went to trial.  I'll get an email or letter next month if they drop me into that pool.

[mirkwood]

I can't imagine why a defense attorney would ever want an officer in the jury.

[estradling75]

24 minutes ago, NeuroTypical said:

Heh.  I'd show up in full uniform - that might be your quickest way out of the room.

I just finished 6 hours of jury selection last week.  Nothing I said or indicated disqualified me, but that stuff did get me put 2nd last in the initial lineup, so I had almost zero chance of actually ending up on the jury.  So I had to wait the whole day until the jury was sat, before they let me go, like they were always going to.     

I got called, selected, saw the whole case (It was a robbery) and then told to not come in for deliberations.  I was some kind of alternate in case someone couldn't finish the deliberations or something like that.

 

[Ironhold]

My county is allowing people to claim exemptions if they have conditions that would make them more vulnerable to Covid. 

I'm heavy-set and have high blood pressure (my *resting* BP is 140 / 92), and so if I do get called up I can try to claim an exemption on this basis. 

[Just_A_Guy]

I got called up about 5 years ago, shortly after being hired by the Child Protection Division, for a jury pool on a juvenile rape case.  Got into the courtroom and it turned out I was casually acquainted with the defense attorney, had argued cases in front of that judge, and had met the prosecutor during a job interview (for which I was not hired) about three months previously.

For some strange reason, neither side wanted me on that jury.  

Edited June 30, 2022 by Just_A_Guy

[Vort]

I've been called or interviewed or whatever it's called for two juries. The first time I was rejected by the defense counsel; the second time, it was the prosecution. Both peremptory challenges. Looks like I'm an equal-opportunity offender.

[Jamie123]

16 hours ago, mirkwood said:

I can't imagine why a defense attorney would ever want an officer in the jury.

Unless the defendant was himself an officer.

[Jamie123]

It's weird - when she was still of the right age, my mother was forever being called on for jury service, whereas my dad was never called once. Neither have I ever been called. Nor (I believe) has my brother, though that may be because he's a cop.

[SilentOne]

It seems like I get a notice that my name has been selected for jury duty and be prepared to go in, and then I end up not called in and thank you, you have fulfilled your civic duty for the next two years every two years or so.

Except this last time I was told to be prepared to webconference in on a given date within a given time range until I got a new email a day or two before then saying the case has been resolved so you don't actually have to, thank you for your willingness to serve, you have fulfilled your civic duty for the next two years.

[mirkwood]

7 hours ago, Jamie123 said:

though that may be because he's a cop.

No, we are not exempt.  We should be while still working IMO.

[Just_A_Guy]

1 hour ago, mirkwood said:

No, we are not exempt.  We should be while still working IMO.

You guys are allowed to carry your service firearm in the courthouse, aren’t you?

I mean, it could make for very . . . efficient jury deliberations.  

[LDSGator]

52 minutes ago, Just_A_Guy said:

mean, it could make for very . . . efficient jury deliberations.  

Dude if that’s how you think, I’m putting you on retainer just in case things get nasty at the compound 😉 

[Jamie123]

On 7/1/2022 at 5:37 PM, mirkwood said:

No, we are not exempt.  We should be while still working IMO.

I've said this already, I know. But if I was a police officer and I'd been accused of a crime of which I was innocent (or if I was a lawyer acting on behalf of such a person) I don't think I'd object to there being someone on the jury familiar with the realities of being in the police force. Jurors are supposed to represent the same peer group to which the accused belongs.

Edited July 4, 2022 by Jamie123

[Carborendum]

2 hours ago, Jamie123 said:

Jurors are supposed to represent the same peer group to which the accused belongs.

I'm not sure I'd like that idea if I'd been accused of malpractice (errors and omissions).  You poll 10 engineers on the proper procedure for any calculation, and you'll get 12 answers.

I'm disappointed at the level of ignorance among engineers.  Luckily, they usually make up for it by being extremely conservative in their calculations.  And that extreme measure almost guarantees that any engineer would be found guilty of malpractice.  

So, no, I don't like the idea of having a juror giving his "expert opinion" to jurors when I don't have the chance to rebut.

[mirkwood]

6 hours ago, Jamie123 said:

But if I was a police officer and I'd been accused of a crime of which I was innocent (or if I was a lawyer acting on behalf of such a person).

 

Good point, but if I were innocent I'm likely asking for a bench trial.

[prisonchaplain]

On 6/30/2022 at 7:31 AM, Still_Small_Voice said:

I thought law enforcement officers were not allowed to serve on juries.  Is that different in Utah?

I don't believe this is true. It's a common joke--yeah, I'll just tell them I work law enforcement and they'll let me go! BUT, it's not actually a rule, to my knowledge.

[Carborendum]

8 hours ago, prisonchaplain said:

I don't believe this is true. It's a common joke--yeah, I'll just tell them I work law enforcement and they'll let me go! BUT, it's not actually a rule, to my knowledge.

This may be news to many, but...

It wasn't just a joke.  And it wasn't about "having an LEO in the jury".  It was about the possibility of the officer being involved in the investigation for the trial in question.  In past years (and not all jurisdictions) they were, indeed, allowed an exemption.  Notice I said "allowed".  Police could choose to come into the pool.  But most never did.

One of the reasons for the exemption is that they didn't want the potential arresting officer (or other involved officer) being in the jury pool and contaminating the potential jurors.

Imagine an officer was involved.  But most of the leg work and paperwork was done by others.  So, the LEOs name never came up as part of the investigation.  They get brought into the jury pool and he begins talking about it with the other jurors.  Or, he doesn't talk to them directly, but during the screening process, he happens to let something out about the defendant to the lawyers questioning him.  Other potential jurors in the room hear it; they're contaminated; they have to start all over with a new pool.

The exemption was eventually done away with (the box for LEO exemptions disappeared from the summons form) and was handled by other means.   They realized that being an LEO shouldn't be a "get out of jury free card".  But if there were a legitimate reason for it, and somehow it was missed in the processes, they could bring it up to the judge and ask for a special case exemption.

So, AFAIK, all jurisdictions will treat LEOs as any other juror unless they were somehow involved in an arrest or investigation, etc.