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  • #16
    Re: Jury Duty

    Been called twice, bot got out of it both times, once I was moving out of state and actually got the summons in the mail it was forwarded to me.

    Other time was recently and I had too many family commitments with my little one's so I got out of that one.

    As for being picked via drivers license? I dont get that I still have my Arizona drivers license which was issued to me 16 years ago and is still good until 2032, dont have a local license, but I was hit with a summons in Hawaii.

    Comment


    • #17
      Re: Jury Duty

      My pool has been delayed until Friday.

      The status voicemail/website seems to be updated sooner than the night before, although that may just have been done since it was a holiday weekend. Maybe it changes more often during the work week.

      It looks like half a dozen pools are on tap this week. Each pool seems to be assigned to a courtroom/trial and would go straight to jury selection with the clerk randomly picking names.

      Two of this week's pools have been canceled, although their members may be summoned again later this year. One pool is starting 7:45 AM tomorrow morning, another has been delayed until Thursday, and two more until Friday.

      Considerable effort seems to have been put into their website FAQs, and even the 16-minute juror video is online.
      http://www.courts.state.hi.us/genera...ion_video.html
      Youth may be wasted on the young, but retirement is wasted on the old.
      Live like you're dying, invest like you're immortal.
      We grow old if we stop playing, but it's never too late to have a happy childhood.
      Forget about who you were-- discover who you are.

      Comment


      • #18
        Re: Jury Duty

        Originally posted by Nords View Post
        - "No slippers, shorts, or tank tops"--?!? Where are we, Wash DC or Manhattan? Sure, whatever, jeans, t-shirt, & sneakers it is.

        I'm bringing a backpack with a warm jacket, books, snacks/water/lunch, and my iPod. I doubt there's WiFi for my laptop but I could catch up on some writing. Should I bring anything else?
        When I went, I wore khaki pants and a button down shirt because I thought it was a business-casual type of dress code. Oops! Everyone else was in jeans or cute capri/trendy shirts.

        I don't know how much of a difference there will be between Texas/Hawaii, and your county and mine, but we had to go through metal detectors and they searched our bags. iPODs were not allowed during jury selection or anytime anyone important was in the room. Laptops were not allowed either. And any devices that were capable of taking pictures or video had to be shut off- including phones. Quite a bit of growling about that one from Moms who were insistent that their children needed a way to get in touch with them. They were given the number of the courthouse and the room number and a fast chance to inform their child or caregiver to contact Mom/Dad at that number instead. CNN or MSNBC will most likely be playing on a TV in the room, and there will be random pamphlettes sitting out, begging to be read. Maybe, if you're lucky, your room will be stocked with magazines including: Parenting, US Weekly, Town & Country, Fly Fishing, Forbes, and a copy of People from November 1996. Have fun!

        Can't think of anything creative this time

        Comment


        • #19
          Re: Jury Duty

          I'm on a jury. I guess the good news is that today's selection business was done by noon, but we start up again on Monday.

          Other good news is that while the jury pool staff starts around 7:45 AM, the judge doesn't need to see us until 9:15 AM. We've also been promised to finish by 4 PM. Easy bus rides... and $30/day plus 33 cents/mile.

          I'll post about it when I'm done-- hopefully by next Thursday or Friday.
          Youth may be wasted on the young, but retirement is wasted on the old.
          Live like you're dying, invest like you're immortal.
          We grow old if we stop playing, but it's never too late to have a happy childhood.
          Forget about who you were-- discover who you are.

          Comment


          • #20
            Re: Jury Duty

            Originally posted by Nords View Post
            Other good news is that while the jury pool staff starts around 7:45 AM, the judge doesn't need to see us until 9:15 AM. We've also been promised to finish by 4 PM. Easy bus rides... and $30/day plus 33 cents/mile.
            You consider the $30/day pay to be "good news?" Man, that doesn't even amount to minimum wage.

            To add insult to injury, the state of Hawaii doesn't even mandate that companies have to pay anyone while they're on jury duty. Understandably, this puts many working people in the situation whereby they simply can't afford to be on jury duty for very long, no matter how civic-minded they are. This issue should be of concern to attorneys. If jurors face financial pressure because their normal wages are reduced to the pathetic pittance that the court pays, one can easily imagine some of them making rash/hasty decisions just to get a trial over with as quickly as possible.
            This post may contain an opinion that may conflict with your opinion. Do not take it personal. Polite discussion of difference of opinion is welcome.

            Comment


            • #21
              Re: Jury Duty

              Originally posted by Frankie's Market View Post
              You consider the $30/day pay to be "good news?" Man, that doesn't even amount to minimum wage.
              Here in Seattle, it's still only $10 a day. Embarrassing. Even the courts dislike that, but every movement to raise it has failed.

              Comment


              • #22
                Re: Jury Duty

                Apparently I need to reset my sarcasm from "subtle" to something a little higher.

                All of that "good news" was the best of a sucky day. I certainly wasn't going to compliment the air conditioning or the judicial bureaucracy. But I don't want to post even about the jury-selection process until we jurors have been dismissed. I'm pretty sure the judge will ask "Did any of you talk about the case over the weekend?" and I want to be able to answer truthfully. I suspect judges have finely calibrated lie-detection antennae, and I don't want to get into "Nords, what exactly did you misunderstand when I said not to talk about the case?"

                After eight years of retirement I find it difficult to contemplate the thought of a "full" workday without a lunchtime nap. And hanging around a courthouse is a bad way to restore one's faith in the American judicial system, let alone in the concept of working for a paycheck.
                Youth may be wasted on the young, but retirement is wasted on the old.
                Live like you're dying, invest like you're immortal.
                We grow old if we stop playing, but it's never too late to have a happy childhood.
                Forget about who you were-- discover who you are.

                Comment


                • #23
                  Re: Jury Duty

                  Originally posted by Leo Lakio View Post
                  Here in Seattle, it's still only $10 a day. Embarrassing. Even the courts dislike that, but every movement to raise it has failed.
                  Interesting. Were those failed efforts to raise the pay legislative bills or ballot initiatives? If by the former, then voters should be up in arms, as the lawmakers themselves are oftentimes excused from having to serve when their name gets picked.

                  OTOH, if it was by the latter, then "the people" have no one to blame but themselves.
                  This post may contain an opinion that may conflict with your opinion. Do not take it personal. Polite discussion of difference of opinion is welcome.

                  Comment


                  • #24
                    Re: Jury Duty

                    Originally posted by Frankie's Market View Post
                    Interesting. Were those failed efforts to raise the pay legislative bills or ballot initiatives?
                    The movements came from within the court system itself - from panels of judges, attorneys and other judicial employees. These panels have appealed to the State Legislature, but have been repeatedly rebuffed - especially at present, when the State's budget is in such severely dire circumstances. Past efforts to increase juror pay have failed, in part because some lawmakers weren't convinced it would have any real impact.

                    Most Washington counties still pay jurors only $10 a day, the same rate set in 1959. Back in 2006, the state Board for Judicial Administration recommended paying jurors about $61 a day.

                    Comment


                    • #25
                      Re: Jury Duty

                      Once upon a time, I got summoned to Jury Duty. It was okay. I was in business for myself, not too much on my desk, so I figured I'd be a good American and go, even though it was all the way in Hilo, and I could get the "Kona" exemption.

                      So I'm cruising early AM past South Point and heading up past Pahala on the way towards the Volcano, sipping my coffee, listening to tunes, looking forward to my first exciting time at Jury Duty.

                      BAM!! Oncoming police car, with RADAR, pops me at 77 in a 55. (I was prolly doing near 90, so I figure the cop gave me a big break.) I pleaded my case to no avail. Got the ticket. No big deal. Ain't had one in several years anyway. Pay a price to live in Paradise.

                      Get all the way to Hilo, only to find out that my day was SWITCHED, to some other day later in the week. So I filed my Kona Exemption, and never went back.

                      Oh Well. At least I tried.

                      PS - I paid the ticket cordially to a nice lady at the courthouse.
                      FutureNewsNetwork.com
                      Energy answers are already here.

                      Comment


                      • #26
                        Re: Jury Duty part 1/2

                        Trial's over in one day, although it took us a bit past 4 PM. More on that later.

                        First I'll post info that may help future jurors, but I don't know whether some of what I've experienced is court policy or just for our particular judge. Your experience may vary.

                        I'm not naming names. If you actually work at the First Circuit Court and you want to discuss my comments in more detail then please send me an e-mail. (If you're on my "Ignore Poster" list then I won't receive your PM.) If my comments piss you off, then that's just tough-- you probably managed to piss me off first, you had a chance to explain yourself to me directly, and you earned this posts's comments by your actions or by your lack thereof. You don't have to explain "policy" or "efficiency" to me because I'm posting this from the perspective of a juror who just wants to be treated like a human instead of a pool number. If you don't want to piss off prospective jurors then you'll have to change the way you do business. But it probably functions marginally enough to avoid mandating change.

                        The Ka'ahumanu Hale (777 Punchbowl, by Restaurant Row) doesn't even unlock the public doors before 7:45 AM. It's easier to show up at 7:55 or even 8 AM to trail the crowd. You won't miss anything, although showing up much later risks missing the first muster in the jury pool room.

                        Backpacks & bags go through a scanner. Bodies go through a metal detector. Laptops & iPods are permitted in the building. The jury pool's phone # is on the website (http://www.courts.state.hi.us/genera...y_service.html). The number to reach a human at the Ka'ahumanu Hale is 539-4360. For now anyway.

                        The juror voicemail works well. The summons (and the website) suggest calling it after 5 PM, but it's updated as soon as they have something to say. If you call earlier then you may get an earlier update. One voicemail may cover several different jury pools, so have your pool number handy. Our trial was delayed for three days (don't know why) but the voicemail kept us informed.

                        The jury pool is in the first room on the left after the scanner. Free coffee & private bathrooms in the back. There's enough room in the bathrooms to change clothes from outdoor shorts & tank tops to warm pants & shirts. The pool room has lots of reading material, cable TV, kaukau shop next door. Free (local) phone calls for those without cell phones. The coffee is good but you may wish to bring your own food or else pay expensive (Restaurant Row) retail prices.

                        The jury pool's bureaucracy makes the military look pretty good by comparison. For people who do this as a living, you'd think they'd change a few practices. But I doubt that they've ever been forced to serve on a jury, so maybe they're blissfully ignorant. There may also be hard legal lessons learned, or perhaps they're aimed at the lowest common denominator of prospective jurors. I would never want to be a professional juror.

                        After hanging around the jury pool room for a few hours I noticed a steady trickle of jurors at the office window with parking problems. Let's just say that parking is so limited, and the rules are so complicated, that it's easy to screw up. It's far better to take the bus or even a cab than to try to park in that area. Even if you think you understand the parking FAQs it's better to eyeball the situation on a weekday (when you have time) than to try to figure it out on Monday morning. I had no trouble with the express buses.

                        The first action upon entering the jury pool room is picking up a pencil and a laminated mileage chart. They give you the data and the tool to enter your mileage on your summons (you're compensated 33 cents/mile). Around 8 AM we were mustered and then we filled out the mileage on our summons. We turned in our summons and I haven't seen it since, so if you wanted any of the information on it (the court phone number or the handy street map) then you should make a copy before going to the court.

                        Next we watched the video-- the same video that's on the website, so don't bother watching the website video. Hold onto your curiosity until court day and enjoy 20 more minutes of your life before jury duty.

                        The clerk in the jury pool room would've benefited from a script. She seemed to have some notes, and she seemed to know what she needed to explain, but words failed her several times. She seemed to be visibly struggling to avoid speaking pidgin, yet if she'd used more pidgin then things would've moved a lot faster. She had trouble answering questions. By the time she was done her "brief" felt like a badly dubbed foreign film, and you wanted subtitles.

                        Each jury pool seems to be assigned to a judge's court. The next person to show up in the pool room introduced herself as an "extern" for our judge. (Hey, "intern" would've communicated what we needed to know, but we were surrounded by legal experts.) The first thing she did was to take her own muster, perhaps in case one of us sneaked out after the video. Then she explained a few things about the judge's courtroom and told us to regroup outside his courtroom where we... took another muster. (You military veterans and kindergarten graduates can see how the rest of the day goes.) We were also lined up in alphabetical order and left standing there for several minutes while she checked whether the courtroom was ready for our appearance. Unless the court likes practicing the muster process, we could skip the first two musters and just work from our summons. Or, golly, we could just all go sit in the courtroom and let them muster us when we're needed. Perhaps this staging outside the courtroom makes business go faster inside, but I'm skeptical.
                        Youth may be wasted on the young, but retirement is wasted on the old.
                        Live like you're dying, invest like you're immortal.
                        We grow old if we stop playing, but it's never too late to have a happy childhood.
                        Forget about who you were-- discover who you are.

                        Comment


                        • #27
                          Re: Jury Duty part 2/2

                          Once inside the courtroom, the judge introduced himself and his staff. He did his best to make us feel at ease, even comfortable & chatty. Do not be fooled-- judges are trained professionals with more job than time, and in the courtroom they are not your friend. They want you to talk, so that they can determine if you're able to serve as a juror, but they have heard it all before. No matter how unique, critical, or inspired your explanation may be-- they've heard it all before.

                          I have difficulty detecting lies, but I've paraphrased some of the reasons that the prospective jurors gave (with very serious facial expressions) for being unable to serve:
                          - "I know (or am related to) a lot of police officers, and the defendants are only here because they're lying scumbag lawbreakers who make life hard for the police."
                          - "The lying scumbag police discriminate against my skin color."
                          - "I work for commissions, and the court's $30/day won't pay my rent."
                          - "If I miss my mandatory workplace training then [insert global calamity here]."

                          The judge validated and sympathized with the explanations, saying that he'd take their reason under advisement and they still might have to serve. One juror actually asked to approach the bench for a private discussion with the judge, and then he was dismissed-- to serve on a civil trial. In other words, to start the process all over again on a different day. Another guy didn't read his summons FAQs closely enough and wore shorts. (Maybe he thought he'd be dismissed for demonstrating his inability to follow directions.) The judge called him out for extra humiliation and told him to wear appropriate attire next day.

                          I'm not a legal expert, but it seems to me that the judge is the wrong person to convince of your unsuitability (or unavailability). He'll either offer sympathy and still make you serve, or he'll dismiss you to another jury pool where you'll have to start all over again. Since you've already wasted several hours to get to this point, don't waste more time on the judge. He certainly won't waste his time on you. Save it for the prosecution or defense lawyers.

                          At one point the judge asked the "extern" for the muster. She said they had 32 present and nine no-shows. (The judge grumbled about bench warrants but hey, why waste time lecturing us? We showed up!) I don't know how many summons originally went out from that courtroom, but I'm guessing 50, so at least nine other people probably promptly informed the court that they weren't able to serve-- for example, military on active duty. Next the clerk randomly pulled 12 of the 32 remaining names out of a tumbler. (So why were we lined up and seated in alphabetical order?!?) The judge verified that they'd been properly summoned-- U.S. citizens, Hawaii residents, not convicted felons. He wanted to know who'd served on a jury or worked in a court or if we knew police officers. Again, he softened us up and got us chatting.

                          The prosecutor & defense lawyer each had 20 minutes to quiz the 12 candidates. (The "extern" held up little timecards to help the lawyers stay on task. Thanks, judge!) They asked more questions about various legal issues. The lawyers each have three peremptory challenges allowing them to eject jurors, no reasons required. This is where an unwilling juror would figure out what annoys (or scares!) the lawyers and give them reason to use a peremptory. Only six jurors (out of ~50?) were dismissed, and only because of the lawyers.

                          Once the lawyers had used up their six challenges, we had 12 jurors. (No one was challenged "for cause" so I don't know what that means.) The judge picked two alternates and the lawyers didn't challenge them either. No one seemed to think that the trial would take more than 1-2 days, so alternates didn't seem very important to them.

                          Apparently the lawyers aren't bothered by military retirees who know police officers and have done legal work. Or maybe they figured that retirees have plenty of time for them. But instead of just 12 chances out of at least 50 to be put on a jury, the actual odds appeared to be 21 out of 32. You don't get those odds at a blackjack table...

                          I'll do another post in a day or two about the trial & deliberations. "Promoting a drug in the third degree" (crystal meth) and paraphernalia (meth pipe). Convicted on both counts.
                          Youth may be wasted on the young, but retirement is wasted on the old.
                          Live like you're dying, invest like you're immortal.
                          We grow old if we stop playing, but it's never too late to have a happy childhood.
                          Forget about who you were-- discover who you are.

                          Comment


                          • #28
                            Re: Jury Duty

                            I just completed my jury duty today. Considering that I was actually seated for a jury in a criminal trial, it was about as painless an experience as could be expected. Nords gave a pretty thorough description of his own experience. And for the most part, his info matches mine. But there were some differences that I will now cite.

                            Originally posted by Nords View Post
                            After hanging around the jury pool room for a few hours I noticed a steady trickle of jurors at the office window with parking problems. Let's just say that parking is so limited, and the rules are so complicated, that it's easy to screw up. It's far better to take the bus or even a cab than to try to park in that area. Even if you think you understand the parking FAQs it's better to eyeball the situation on a weekday (when you have time) than to try to figure it out on Monday morning. I had no trouble with the express buses.
                            I didn't think the parking situation at the Punchbowl St. courthouse was that bad. My jury selection day was Monday morning @ 7:45 am. The first day of the trial was originally set to start today (Tuesday) @ 10 am. In both cases, I drove down about 25-30 minutes prior and numerous parking stalls were available right on the 2nd floor at the adjoining South St. parking garage both days. When I talked to one of the security guards, he told me that ever since the state moved the family court operations to Kapolei, the parking situation at Punchbowl has been greatly eased, for the most part. Now of course, there may be occasional days when the South St. garage gets busy. But this would be the exception, rather than the rule. The security guard's advice? Drive down to the courthouse about a half-hour prior to your reporting time. This will give you enough time to seek out alternative parking (either at the state's Makai garage on Halekauwila St. or at any on-street metered stall not in a tow-away zone) on the off-chance that the South St. garage is filled.

                            In the jury lounge, there were a few people I saw with parking problems. Most of them were parked at Restaurant Row and hence, the type who didn't know how to follow the directions given on their jury summons. They probably also needed someone to hold their hand to guide them to the restrooms and the first floor snackshop.

                            Originally posted by Nords View Post
                            The clerk in the jury pool room would've benefited from a script. She seemed to have some notes, and she seemed to know what she needed to explain, but words failed her several times. She seemed to be visibly struggling to avoid speaking pidgin, yet if she'd used more pidgin then things would've moved a lot faster. She had trouble answering questions. By the time she was done her "brief" felt like a badly dubbed foreign film, and you wanted subtitles.
                            The clerk doing the jury orientation for my pool wouldn't pass for an Oxford Univ. graduate. That said, her less-than-perfect textbook English didn't bother me. Maybe that's because I grew up here.

                            But hey, I remember having problems understanding a govt. clerk in Lousiana who spoke with a Cajun accent. So when it comes to civil servants speaking with local/regional dialects and accents, believe me, Hawaii is far from being alone in this regard.

                            Originally posted by Nords View Post
                            I have difficulty detecting lies, but I've paraphrased some of the reasons that the prospective jurors gave (with very serious facial expressions) for being unable to serve:
                            - "I know (or am related to) a lot of police officers, and the defendants are only here because they're lying scumbag lawbreakers who make life hard for the police."
                            Being related to someone in law-enforcement will only get you transferred into a jury pool for a civil case. It won't get you excused from jury duty entirely. And do keep in mind,..... civil trials can oftentimes drag on for a couple of weeks or more. So if one is looking to get out of jury duty as quickly as possible, taking the "my cousins are cops" route could very well backfire.

                            Originally posted by Nords View Post
                            - "I work for commissions, and the court's $30/day won't pay my rent."
                            - "If I miss my mandatory workplace training then [insert global calamity here]."
                            Good luck having success with any of that.

                            There were several college students in my pool who successfully got deferrals, because they were attending summer school classes. But somewhere down the line, they're all gonna be summoned back.

                            A couple of people pleaded health problems. The judge took them at their word and excused them because their physical condition made it obvious. OTOH, anyone who looks healthy on the outside but has legitimate medical issues would do well to have a doctor's note with them.

                            There was one lady who spoke with an accent. Even so, her English was understandable and it was good enough in order for her to hold down a job as a nurses' aide at a major hospital. Furthermore, she has been a naturalized citizen for over 20 years. Still, the lady kept insisting that her English speaking and comprehension wasn't good enough to serve as a juror. The judge sternly lectured her, told her about her civic duty as a citizen,..... but at the end, excused her. That didn't sit too well with me.

                            Originally posted by Nords View Post
                            Once the lawyers had used up their six challenges, we had 12 jurors. (No one was challenged "for cause" so I don't know what that means.)
                            The difference between a juror challenged for cause vs. a peremptory challenge was explained in the orientation video. Here's the transcript.

                            JUDGE WONG
                            The two main types of challenges are called "for cause" and "peremptory". If an attorney challenges a juror for cause, he or she must provide a reason. If the judge agrees, then the juror is dismissed. There is no limit to the number of challenges one can make for cause. If an attorney claims a peremptory challenge, the juror is excused and the reason need not be given. There are a limited number of peremptory challenges allowed.
                            In my trial, none of the prospective jurors were challenged for cause. But there were 3 people who were excused at the peremptory challenge stage by the public defender.

                            Now for anyone who is still reading this and wants to know the outcome of my trial, I will describe it all in part deux.
                            This post may contain an opinion that may conflict with your opinion. Do not take it personal. Polite discussion of difference of opinion is welcome.

                            Comment


                            • #29
                              Re: Jury Duty

                              The jury panel (12 regular and 2 alternate) was finalized from a beginning pool of 47 sometime before 2 pm. As the presiding judge stated, this was a relatively quick and smooth jury selection. Then at the top of the hour, we were excused and told to report back at 10 am the following day. He said that the trial was probably going to last 2 or 3 days (including jury deliberation) barring any unforseen circumstance.

                              The defendant in the criminal trial was charged with 2nd degree assault and abuse of a family member. During the jury selection process, the public defender kept asking jurors questions about whether they understood the idea of someone being able to use a certain amount of "force" (as allowed by the law) in order to retrieve personal possessions and property from another person. The 3 prospective jurors (all males, BTW) who were eventually challenged by the public defender were all saying that they didn't think it was okay to use force under any circumstances. While they would have been great spokespeople for anti-domestic violence PSAs, it certainly didn't make them ideal jurors as far the defendant getting a fair trial was concerned.

                              OTOH, the prosecutor kept asking the jurors questions to see if they understood the concept of someone being found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. She described scenarios that differentiated between someone who is guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, vs. someone who is guilty beyond all possible doubt. She also wanted to see if the jurors understood that differing and conflicting testimonies given in the trial by all of the witnesses, in and of itself, is not reasonable doubt. Clearly, the prosecutor was preparing us for a "he said, she said" kind of trial, and that it would be up to the jury to figure out who is being more credible.

                              Anyhow, I showed up at the courthouse this morning. The trial was set to begin at 10, and the baliff had the jury panel all lined up to enter the courtroom. After about 5 minutes of waiting right outside the courtroom door, the baliff came out, apologized, and told us that the proceedings was delayed. So we all sat back down and waited. And waited.

                              Then at about 11 am, we were finally summoned into the courtroom. The judge apologized for the delay, but the announcement he gave was welcome news. Without giving any details, he said the jury trial was over, and he thanked us all for fulfilling our civic duty. We were all then excused, if we wanted. But for anyone who wanted to talk to the judge personally and to ask him questions, he would make himself available in the jury deliberation room. There was actually one guy who talked to the baliff afterwards about this, but I would imagine everyone else didn't take the judge up on this offer. We were all, FREE AT LAST! FREE AT LAST!

                              Needless to say, some kind of plea deal was hammered out in the courtroom while the jury was waiting outside.

                              At this point, I would say that Circuit Court judge Glenn Kim acted in a professional manner. There were times when he was stern, but I guess that's a necessity in a day and age when almost everyone looks to get out of serving on a jury. Also too, he always spoke in layman's terms. Anyone who at least graduated from high school and attended a couple years of college should have had no problem understanding the instructions that he gave.

                              Oh well. I'm just glad that I got it all over with. Hopefully, the next summons I get won't roll around for a good long while. <fingers crossed>
                              This post may contain an opinion that may conflict with your opinion. Do not take it personal. Polite discussion of difference of opinion is welcome.

                              Comment


                              • #30
                                Re: Jury Duty

                                This thread is a fascinating read. Thanks go to those who have contributed.

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