Jury Duty Yay!!!

[RyanGSams]

Well, today was the first time i was called for Jury Duty, and I was selected. I have never done it before and the paper they send to the house said most trials last 1-2 days. Well after we were selected, the Judge says the case is going to last 7 days. So i am pretty pissed off as I am missing work for at least 4 of those days which will leave me out of about 900 dollars in wages for missing work. But its OK they are paying me 40 dollars/ day. Plus on top of driving to Hammond from Portage... Which is about a 30 minute drive.

As I was sitting on the jury bench, I was hoping to not get picked, but answered questions truthfully. After I got picked I do feel a sense of pride for serving as a Jury since its my Civic Duty as a citizen.

EDIT: With lots of info:

End of Trial was today. We were instructed we had to be Unanimous of our decision.

The Trial was between the School Town of Munster and Joseph Hunt.

Joseph Hunt accused The School Town of Munster and 4 school officials that they had allowed Hazing to be carried out in the boys swim program while it didn't happen in the girls swim program.
The hazing he said to have happened was his freshman year (2010) at a swimmers house for a pre-sectional hair cutting and dyeing party held only by the team. He said was dragged into a bathroom and had his hair forcibly shaved against his will. This wasn't reported for over a year so about early Feb 2011.

His sophomore year, he didn't go to the same party as the previous year. So the next day at school 3 boys on the swimming team was alleged to have grabbed him and attempted to shave his head while being held horizontally about 3 feet in the air. He was able to wiggle free and fell to the ground. He alleged his back and neck have been injured since then which was Feb 2011 when the event occurred. He didn't see a medical professional about the incident for about 6 months after the event. He did see a doctor in between then to have a athletic physical done.

Here is an article from Friday in the NWI Times. Munster schools hazing trial continues | Northwest Indiana Crime and Court | nwitimes.com

Joseph Hunt described the types of hazing he experienced, including having his head forcibly shaved by another swim team member at a party in 2009 when he was a freshman; being struck with a plastic bat by swim team upperclassmen and being covered in a waterproof ointment that caused skin blistering.

The waterproof ointment that caused skin blisters is Icy Hot ointment for sore muscles.

Here is a case review that I believe the Judge or his assistants put together before the case ended up in trial.

J.H. v. SCHOOL TOWN OF MUNSTER by PHILIP P. SIMON, Chief District Judge | Leagle.com

PHILIP P. SIMON, Chief District Judge.
It's often been said that high school is the best four years of your life. But for one young man, Plaintiff J.H., high school was anything but. J.H. was a student at Munster High School and a member of the high school swim team during his Freshmen and Sophomore years. J.H. soon discovered, however, that hazing was rampant on the team and much of it was directed at him. After enduring this physical and emotional mistreatment for two years, J.H. ultimately quit the team and left Munster High School early. He brings this § 1983 action against both the school and various school officials in their individual and official capacities, for the following claims: discrimination based on gender under the Equal Protection Clause and Title IX; retaliation under the First Amendment; and a negligence claim under Indiana state law. Defendants now seek summary judgment on all claims. (DE 73.) For the reasons discussed in this Order, that motion will be GRANTED-IN-PART and DENIED-IN-PART.

There is more to this case, but most of the information is contained in the two links above. Take the NWI Times link with a grain of salt.

Like this paragraph is wrong in the article.

Another incident involved being picked up by an upperclassman in the school locker room and held 2 or 3 feet in the air while his head was shaved with clippers.

His head was attempted to be shaved, but the boys were unsuccessful in doing so.

The deliberation process wasn't quite as bad as I thought it might be. The judge did a great job outlining what the rules of laws were and how they were to be used in this case. Most of the jurors were basically on the same page. Took us about 2 hours to deliberate and get a verdict.

If you have any questions I would be happy to try to answer them to the best i can remember.

 

[KellyinAvon]

7 days? That should be interesting. The closest I came was being selected for a Court-Martial panel (what the jury is called in the Military Justice System) back about 2000. The defendant went judge-only the morning it was to start. The guy must have listened to his lawyer, the panel was stacked with enlisted troops and I heard later it was a drug case. The E-Corps take a very dim view of such things.

 

[Woobie]

Thank you for your service! Yes it sucks, but if we want this system we enjoy, everyone needs to pull their weight. We get to participate in the legislative process every two years when we vote. We can serve in the executive through military, law enforcement, etc. service. But it is a bit more rare privilege to serve in the judicial system. Enjoy it, but don't tslk about it till it's over. I served as a juror on a rape trial last year. It left me a bit disturbed for a while, but I was glad to have served, and the process is definitely interesting.

 

[varadatt]

Wouldn't mind jury duty for a few days. Never even received a letter to go in for the selection process. One good thing about my job is they will pay the difference so I wouldn't lose any money while serving.

 

[bacon#1]

I was selected a few years back. It does kind of stink missing out on the wages. I will admit being a part of the whole judicial system was very interesting and learned alot. I look back at it now and glad I got selected.

 

[Flyingbrian]

Wouldn't mind jury duty for a few days. Never even received a letter to go in for the selection process. One good thing about my job is they will pay the difference so I wouldn't lose any money while serving.

My work does the same. Wouldn't mind a few days jury duty

 

[RyanGSams]

7 days? That should be interesting. The closest I came was being selected for a Court-Martial panel (what the jury is called in the Military Justice System) back about 2000. The defendant went judge-only the morning it was to start. The guy must have listened to his lawyer, the panel was stacked with enlisted troops and I heard later it was a drug case. The E-Corps take a very dim view of such things.

Yea, 7 days. Its not a real interesting case. Which makes it even worse I feel. I was kind of hoping the defendant or plaintiff would elect bench trial instead this morning.

Thank you for your service! Yes it sucks, but if we want this system we enjoy, everyone needs to pull their weight. We get to participate in the legislative process every two years when we vote. We can serve in the executive through military, law enforcement, etc. service. But it is a bit more rare privilege to serve in the judicial system. Enjoy it, but don't talk about it till it's over. I served as a juror on a rape trial last year. It left me a bit disturbed for a while, but I was glad to have served, and the process is definitely interesting.

Right, that's why I am not so disappointed I did get picked. Its just part of life being a U.S. Citizen and I am happy to do my duty as one. I don't plan to talk to anybody about it. Its not interesting enough to even feel like I need to tell people.

Wouldn't mind jury duty for a few days. Never even received a letter to go in for the selection process. One good thing about my job is they will pay the difference so I wouldn't lose any money while serving.

That's nice your work pays the difference. I don't see my work ever doing that. But maybe something I can bring up in the next contract talks with my union. This 7 days is going to suck when i get my check in 2 weeks and I only have 40 hours instead of atleast 80 hours on it.

I was selected a few years back. It does kind of stink missing out on the wages. I will admit being a part of the whole judicial system was very interesting and learned alot. I look back at it now and glad I got selected.

Yea, this is my first time ever being in a court room aside from being married and the two environments do not compare (obviously). The only time I saw a courtroom was in movies and tv shows. And they make the trials seem to go by fast. I am glad I got selected other than the wages.

 

[yepthatsme]

I never get picked for jury duty. I keep pointing at the guy and telling them "Yep, he looks guilty as h*ll."
Then they say, "That's not the defendant, that's his lawyer."
And I tell them, "Yep, he sure does look guilty as h*ll."
Then for some reason, I'm excused. I can't quite figure it out.

 

[RyanGSams]

I never get picked for jury duty. I keep pointing at the guy and telling them "Yep, he looks guilty as h*ll."
Then they say, "That's not the defendant, that's his lawyer."
And I tell them, "Yep, he sure does look guilty as h*ll."
Then for some reason, I'm excused. I can't quite figure it out.

Ha-ha that's pretty funny. They are all guilty!

 

[M67]

In moments like these, I'm reminded of the movie "Let's go to prison". Lots of good quotes in that one

"The three scariest words in the English language: Trial By Jury"

[video=youtube;q5uztpW5xjU]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q5uztpW5xjU[/video]

 

[RyanGSams]

In moments like these, I'm reminded of the movie "Let's go to prison". Lots of good quotes in that one

"The three scariest words in the English language: Trial By Jury"

[video=youtube;q5uztpW5xjU]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q5uztpW5xjU[/video]

Never heard of that movie. Looks hilarious!

 

[T.Lex]

Please post back about the trial (if you want) when you are done, but avoid deliberations. As a former practitioner of the Dark Art of Trial Advocacy, I'm always interested to hear about jurors' experiences.

Thank you for your service.

 

[1911ly]

i have been called 3 times for jury but never selected. I was disappointed. I was looking forward to it.

 

[MuttX7]

I was on a jury during a civil trial. It was pretty interesting. The plaintiff was trying to play the system and get a big judgement, to his surprise he only got about 2.5% of what he asked for.

 

[Cameramonkey]

That's nice your work pays the difference. I don't see my work ever doing that. But maybe something I can bring up in the next contract talks with my union. This 7 days is going to suck when i get my check in 2 weeks and I only have 40 hours instead of atleast 80 hours on it.

Tell me again how awesome today's unions are and how they help the little guy?

I'm in a merit shop and Im pretty sure mine covers the difference. Well, not for me personally because I'm salary, but still... The hourly guys are covered.

/threadjack.

Bravo to you for doing your civic duty and not doing whatever possible to get out of it.

 

[RyanGSams]

Please post back about the trial (if you want) when you are done, but avoid deliberations. As a former practitioner of the Dark Art of Trial Advocacy, I'm always interested to hear about jurors' experiences.

Thank you for your service.

I will post about the case after the trial is over.

 

[RyanGSams]

Tell me again how awesome today's unions are and how they help the little guy?

I'm in a merit shop and Im pretty sure mine covers the difference. Well, not for me personally because I'm salary, but still... The hourly guys are covered.

/threadjack.

Bravo to you for doing your civic duty and not doing whatever possible to get out of it.
Snip

In my mill without the union we would be making 50% less than we are now. I know in my shop it works. Company is shady and likes to screw the union guys whenever possible.

Anyways, I look at it as a service for my country. I wasn't able to serve in the military so this is another shot I get to so something for my country.

 

[dsol]

I was on a jury during a civil trial. It was pretty interesting. The plaintiff was trying to play the system and get a big judgement, to his surprise he only got about 2.5% of what he asked for.

That or a "jury nullification" chance if they overcharge or some other type of prosecutorial BS are the only reasons I would want to serve on a jury. I always said if I went to trial for something I didn't do, I would hate to have my fate in the hands of 12 people too stupid to get out of jury duty. After being falsely charged and having to sweat out a bunch of crap before everything was dropped, I changed my mind and hope now to be the asshat that would screw up an over enthusiastic prosecutor from railroading someone... or upset the woman suing for millions after she spilled coffee in her lap.

 

[Indy-Mike]

I served on a murder trial jury a while back and it was a great experience. We did convict the guy, and after, the prosecutor and judge thank us and then proceeded to tell us of all of the info the was excluded from the trial, it made the verdict even more right. It was a drug the deal that went bad and he executed the guy by pouring gasoline on him and setting him on fire. Hope he's still in jail.

 

[MuttX7]

That or a "jury nullification" chance if they overcharge or some other type of prosecutorial BS are the only reasons I would want to serve on a jury. I always said if I went to trial for something I didn't do, I would hate to have my fate in the hands of 12 people too stupid to get out of jury duty. After being falsely charged and having to sweat out a bunch of crap before everything was dropped, I changed my mind and hope now to be the asshat that would screw up an over enthusiastic prosecutor from railroading someone... or upset the woman suing for millions after she spilled coffee in her lap.

This guy was rear ended, no doubt about it and the guy who hit him admitted it. The plaintiff had arthritis in his hands and said that his hands were on the wheel in such a way that the impact caused his arthritis to become worse. He was taking cortisone shots for the pain but the doctor had advised he needed surgery to correct the damage and rid him of the pain. There were a couple of problems with this. He flipped houses and used power tools. Instead of having pain at the end of the day, he was only able to use the power tools ( one of which was a machine that is used to remove linoleum) half a day. His attorney also accidentally let him tell us this was the second time he was rear ended and had won a judgement in that case as well. The kicker was he while he had the money to pay for the surgery, he was going to wait 2 years until he was of age to retire and let Medicare pay for the surgery. He was suing for $130,000 and was offered $13000. We gave him around $3200 which was enough to pay for the shots until he hit retirement age. Both he and his wife were pissed.