Comments on: If you want to get out of jury duty

By: Richard Nieporent

Richard Nieporent — Thu, 29 Mar 2007 07:54:52 +0000

Speaking of non sequiturs, do you feel better now that you got that off of your chest William? If case you hadn’t noticed this thread has nothing to do with the Libby trial. And no, my comment is not an invitation for you to continue your rant.

By the way you must be the only person on earth who refers to Valerie Plame as Mrs. Wilson. I had to think twice before I realized whom you were talking about.

By: Ima Fish

Ima Fish — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 08:39:20 +0000

If I ever got stuck in a jury pool, it has always been a fantasy of mine to tell the judge and attorneys during voir dire that I was an alien from another planet. And the laws of that planet forbid me from interfering with earthly affairs. I could observe, but not affect the outcome of any decision.

Just to see the look on their faces, mostly.

By: William Nuesslein

William Nuesslein — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 07:40:57 +0000

Eric,

There was a lady on the Libby jury who was very sympathetic for the defendant. The defendant did not take the stand, and there was no testimony about Libby’s character, except that he was a Mr. McGoo with great responsibilities. Her concern seem to come from the air.

According to another juror, the jury developed the case from the exhibits from the evidence on hand. That behavior would be consistent with “hard working”. It is also consistent with a jury having members who did not, or would not, follow the evidence presented during the trial. The man was guilty as sin; It was not a difficult case. And his crime was significant.

Mr. Rove argued that Mrs. Wilson was fair game in a political scuffle, and many go along with that. Some scuffle! Mr. Libby must have been involved with the material fed to Secretary Powell for his February 2002 speech, as that material came from the office of the Vice President. Mr. Libby is NOT a nice guy.

By: Walter Olson

Walter Olson — Tue, 27 Mar 2007 23:38:30 +0000

I think I’ve mentioned at some point that not just one but two friends of mine have told me they’ve carried a book of mine with them to the courthouse because they didn’t want to be selected for jury service. One of them told me he thought the ploy worked; I forget what happened to the other.

By: David Wilson

David Wilson — Tue, 27 Mar 2007 17:48:45 +0000

It would be funny if Walter Olson were called for jury duty.

When I picked juries in New York, people would get out by pretending not to speak English. Then you’d hear them on their cellphone in the hallway speaking English.

By: Ryan Frank

Ryan Frank — Tue, 27 Mar 2007 17:19:54 +0000

Peter – probably, in my personal experience having been called for jury duty in NY is that I tend to get kicked off juries pretty fast. Generally speaking the people that were picked the last time I went were generally people who where older than I (I’m 25) and also did not attend college. This is only my personal experience though.

By: Deoxy

Deoxy — Tue, 27 Mar 2007 16:09:38 +0000

“Is being a regular Overlawyered reader grounds for jury disqualification?”

If the plaintiff’s lawyer is familiar with it, there’s a very high liklihood you’ll not serve on the jury, one way or another (preremptory strike, however you spell that – our system allows FAR too many of those).

By: Peter

Peter — Tue, 27 Mar 2007 15:35:56 +0000

I must be the only person in the country who wants to be called for jury duty. At least once! In my fourth decade, I’ve only been called once– by a state I had weeks before moved out of. But then, I am a scientist so chances of serving are slim, I gather.

Is being a regular Overlawyered reader grounds for jury disqualification?

By: Kelly

Kelly — Tue, 27 Mar 2007 12:15:15 +0000

Working for an insurance company is also an easy out from a personal injury case.

By: Brad

Brad — Tue, 27 Mar 2007 10:55:19 +0000

Tell the Judge that you’re a physicist. You will be ejected from the jury panel at warp speed.

Brad