Trial Roster-Prosecution Plaintiff: Fill & Download for Free

As many have said jury duty is not profitable. It doesn’t “pay” well and it can be boring. It can also be very enlightening. There are a few things that will get a person excused. That list varies from court to court, so I cannot tell you what they may be. In most states, people over a certain age can be excused and some may not be called back. However, those are some of the people who actually have time on their hands and life experience to be a good juror. I encourage people to go through at least one jury duty/jury selection process to get a better idea how the system works. Not only that, but remember that our Constitution affords the right to a trial by jury. If not enough people are available to be selected for a jury, then that Defendant’s trial gets carried over to another term. What if YOU are the one person who makes that jury pool come up short and an innocent man or woman has to sit in jail for a few more weeks or maybe a few more months. Maybe a victim has to hang on for a few more weeks or a few more months waiting for justice because not enough people would be bothered to take time out of their lives to serve on a jury. Last but not least, imagine it was you or your family member waiting for justice and you couldn’t get to trial because there were not enough people willing to serve on a jury. That is agonizing.In our jurisdiction, if you get called for jury duty and complete the selection process (whether you get picked to serve or not) you can’t be called for another four years. If you get another summons in that time, you just call the clerk’s office and tell them. They WILL verify it though. Getting a deferral to another term of court might mean that instead of a roster of all civil cases, you get a roster of all criminal cases and maybe one of those would be particularly heinous. Our judges are pretty good about deferring someone to another term of court. Our clerk of court is pretty good about it too if someone had a good reason- a long planned vacation, a single mom with no childcare available. Our clerks and judges will usually let the juror know when the next term of court will be scheduled so they can make plans.I encourage you to sit through a jury selection to see what the attorneys ask and how they select a jury. I have been in a juror pool several times for civil trials, but never selected as a juror. I have been in a juror pool only once for a fully criminal docket, and I was not chosen then either, likely because I work in the legal field and I knew or was related to a key witness in almost every case. One of the lead detectives on almost every case on the docket that time is my neighbor. Anyhow, it was very eye opening to see that justice really is NOT blind, especially not color blind. And you need to ponder what a “jury of your peers” looks like? Are they old or young? Rich or middle class or even poor? Are they black or white or hispanic or asian? Are they male or female? You want a good mix of people to choose from. You may learn something you never thought would be so valuable.But for the grace of God, it could be you that needs a jury panel and you will be hanging on waiting for a panel of people who didn’t elect to be so selfish that they would lie and say they would render a guilty verdict or they would render a verdict just for one side because they don’t want to take time. You want the opportunity to be able to select a jury of your peers no matter which side of the able you sit if you are the Plaintiff/Defendant Prosecution/Defense. Remember that the justice someone is waiting on may depend on your willingness and ability to serve.I know it sounds like a civics lesson, but seriously- jury duty is a serious thing. It’s not just something created to be a pain in your butt. There are real human beings depending on your ability to step outside of your happy little comfort zone for a few days to see if you will serve or even be called to serve. Someone is grateful for the people who show up and are willing to help be a part of the justice system.