Jury Duty
- Thread starter UNSTUCK
- Start date
Spork
Tin Foil Hat Equipped
- Location
- Saratoga Springs, UT
I did it about 3-4 years ago, guy with a DUI. Didn't help his case when he took the stand and said he had 5-6 drinks right before he walked out the door.
Ironically, I had to do jury selection a couple weeks ago. There was 25-30 of us, and they did the examination, and then picked 6-7 people (I don't remember how many exactly) but alas I wasn't picked. I was ok with it, but by the end I was kind of intrigued and would have been willing to be a juror. At least I am out of it now for 2 years. Oh, and the $18.50 check for half the day of sitting there was suuuure worth it...
UNSTUCK
But stuck more often.
Our jury selection process was kind of strange. It was over zoom. There was about 50 of us. Basically it came down to not having scheduling conflicts, and not having covid. I only raised my hand one time, when they asked if I had ever been a involved with a trust or receive an inheritance. They never asked me a direct question.
Can't really talk about it, so keeping it general... This trial is scheduled to last two weeks! It's a civil suit so it's not cut and dry guilty/not guilty. We have to decide who gets what and how much. The trust is worth a LOT of millions. Close to 30 total beneficiaries that all seem to hate each other (including threats of a hitman), multiple law suits between them. Oh, and a rabbi with sticky fingers.
As a juror, am I allowed to yell at the lawyers?!?!? They spend 20 minutes asking the same question 20 different ways! They read a statement off a will, "XXX get this" and asks the witness what that means....over and over again. The best parts is when the witness catches the lawyer and makes a comment that makes the lawyer look flat out stupid. I laughed out loud twice yesterday. Not sure I'm supposed to do that.
RockChucker
Well-Known Member
- Location
- Highland
The lawyers want to keep it confusing so they can get their sizeable piece of the inheritance that is rightfully theirs by being the leeches off the people who really should get all the money?
Kiel
Formerly WJ ZUK
Had jury duty about 5 years ago, accessory to murder trial. Pretty much, SUV full of gang member buddies is driving around, passenger said hey..... pull up over here. Guy rolls down the window and shoots, kills a guy. This was the trial for the other 3 guys in the SUV. I was the last guy to be eliminated. I was pretty happy about that.
DaveB
Long Jeep Fan
- Location
- Holladay, Utah
I have been called in for jury duty for medical malpractice, burglary, drunken driving, and business sale. I missed the jury selection for the Arthur Gary Bishop murder trial by one day. I would have never been selected for that one because I couldn't have raised my hand for the question "could you presume the defendant innocent". The malpractice case was called off while they were starting jury selection but I wouldn't have been selected because I have brothers who are doctors and dentists. In the burglary case they sent everyone home who had a technical sounding job or was educated and selected all middle aged housewives who were of the age to be the mother of the defendant. I knew the guy was guilty without hearing any evidence because they had 20 witnesses against and none for. They were simply looking for sympathy. I got released from the drunken driving case because I had too many law enforcement family members. I did get selected for the business sale lawsuit because they were looking for people who could understand mountains of business documents. They said it would take two weeks but it ended up going 8 weeks. I learned to despise the tactics of lawyers. I could have gotten out of the 8 weeks if I had answered one question differently. They asked if anyone was a professional mechanic. I didn't raise my hand but should have answered that I did it as a hobby. As part of the trial a mechanic explained what the business owner asked him to do for a truck with a rod knock to make it look like the truck was good. The lawyers on both sides ended up butchering what the mechanic said (or purposely explaining it wrong). If you ever get selected and you hear some one say on the stand " I don't recall" that is the way they get away with not telling the truth on the stand. In the business sale case it was amazing how the two guys couldn't remember anything when it was against them and could remember the smallest detail when it was against the other guy.
Tonkaman
Well-Known Member
- Location
- West Jordan
I have been summoned to jury duty 3 different times.
The first time I wrote a letter to the court explaining that it was horrible timing with work/life and that I couldnāt afford to go financially or professionally. The court simply replied that it was required by law and that I had no choice. So obviously I just ignored their response and never showed up.
The next two times Iāve skipped the asking permission part and gone straight to standing them up. Works every time!
The first time I wrote a letter to the court explaining that it was horrible timing with work/life and that I couldnāt afford to go financially or professionally. The court simply replied that it was required by law and that I had no choice. So obviously I just ignored their response and never showed up.
The next two times Iāve skipped the asking permission part and gone straight to standing them up. Works every time!
UNSTUCK
But stuck more often.
Day 2:
One defense witness spent the entire day on the stand. Heāll be back on it again tomorrow. Starting to feel bad for the guy. Easily half the day was wasted in frivolous banter between the lawyers and the judge. Iām burned out already. Seven days to go. š¤®
One defense witness spent the entire day on the stand. Heāll be back on it again tomorrow. Starting to feel bad for the guy. Easily half the day was wasted in frivolous banter between the lawyers and the judge. Iām burned out already. Seven days to go. š¤®
UNSTUCK
But stuck more often.
Day 3:
Now you might ask what does cleaning a battery have to do with jury duty. Well Iāll tell you. The judge informed us that we would have a long lunch today as he had to leave the courthouse for another meeting during lunch. So at our next break I asked my wife if she wanted to pick me up and take me to lunch. She did and we got some food. With about 15 minutes before I needed to be back we got in her Armada to leaveā¦ā¦ nothing but clicks! Hmmmmm. I open the hood to see the battery covered in corrosion. I head to the back to grab her jumpers only to be informed she took them out to make more room back there!!!! Now Iām starting to panic. I start walking up to cars around us looking for a jump start. As I walked up to one guy he immediately assumed I was going to ask for money. š Now I know what it feels like. A guy had a jumper box he gave me. I ran back to the car and hooked it up. The box started flashing ālow batteryā. I told her to start it. I have never seen an engine turn over so slow, but after a second it fired up! I have the box back and we raced out of there. We made it back to the court house in record time and I joined the other jurors just a couple minutes late. The entire time I was trying to get help jumping it, I was on the phone with the courthouse trying to let them know my situation. I got bounced around ten different recordings and was never able to talk to anyone. Very frustrating.
Anyways. Another 8 hours into this case and I still feel the same as I did day one. While the defendants did not act perfectly in their capacity as trustees, Iām on their side.
And the battery is now fully serviced and on the charger. š
Now you might ask what does cleaning a battery have to do with jury duty. Well Iāll tell you. The judge informed us that we would have a long lunch today as he had to leave the courthouse for another meeting during lunch. So at our next break I asked my wife if she wanted to pick me up and take me to lunch. She did and we got some food. With about 15 minutes before I needed to be back we got in her Armada to leaveā¦ā¦ nothing but clicks! Hmmmmm. I open the hood to see the battery covered in corrosion. I head to the back to grab her jumpers only to be informed she took them out to make more room back there!!!! Now Iām starting to panic. I start walking up to cars around us looking for a jump start. As I walked up to one guy he immediately assumed I was going to ask for money. š Now I know what it feels like. A guy had a jumper box he gave me. I ran back to the car and hooked it up. The box started flashing ālow batteryā. I told her to start it. I have never seen an engine turn over so slow, but after a second it fired up! I have the box back and we raced out of there. We made it back to the court house in record time and I joined the other jurors just a couple minutes late. The entire time I was trying to get help jumping it, I was on the phone with the courthouse trying to let them know my situation. I got bounced around ten different recordings and was never able to talk to anyone. Very frustrating.
Anyways. Another 8 hours into this case and I still feel the same as I did day one. While the defendants did not act perfectly in their capacity as trustees, Iām on their side.
And the battery is now fully serviced and on the charger. š
UNSTUCK
But stuck more often.
Day 4:
Longest week of my life. The intrigue of jury duty is officially over. We lost a juror due do food poisoning so we are down to 9.
Best part of today was watching a 91 year old lady make the lawyer look stupid. Sure wish I didnāt have a mask on then so they all could have see how much I was laughing.
Longest week of my life. The intrigue of jury duty is officially over. We lost a juror due do food poisoning so we are down to 9.
Best part of today was watching a 91 year old lady make the lawyer look stupid. Sure wish I didnāt have a mask on then so they all could have see how much I was laughing.
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DaveB
Long Jeep Fan
- Location
- Holladay, Utah
Now you understand how I felt after 8 weeks......
Lawyers make their money based on time. The longer they can drag it out, the better. That is why our system is so screwed up.
It cost me $20,000 last time I got sued. That was just to have a lawyer dig through some papers, take some calls, and then submit the paper that WE found that he had missed. We were released from the suit, no court visit, no meeting the other attorneys, no anything. Just paper submissions. $20,000.
It cost me $20,000 last time I got sued. That was just to have a lawyer dig through some papers, take some calls, and then submit the paper that WE found that he had missed. We were released from the suit, no court visit, no meeting the other attorneys, no anything. Just paper submissions. $20,000.
ID Bronco
Registered User
- Location
- Idaho Falls, ID
similar to all of my interactions, but cheaper than some of mine. I was constantly making points and getting docs that they had and should have known about.Lawyers make their money based on time. The longer they can drag it out, the better. That is why our system is so screwed up.
It cost me $20,000 last time I got sued. That was just to have a lawyer dig through some papers, take some calls, and then submit the paper that WE found that he had missed. We were released from the suit, no court visit, no meeting the other attorneys, no anything. Just paper submissions. $20,000.
UNSTUCK
But stuck more often.
Day 5:
The lawyer for the trust and trustees was on the stand most of today. He makes $295 an hour. It was the greatest show Ive seen in a long time. He flat out owned the plaintiff's lawyer. Every single question was answered with a bunch of blabbering nonsense. Think Billy Madison -āthe puppy that itās puppy wayā. He wasnāt going to give her anything. A very direct yes or no question was answered over the course of minutes. She was desperately trying to keep her composure, but was obviously struggling. Her final question: ādo you have any idea what this case is about?ā We took a break after that. I said to the juror next to me that that lawyer was either worth absolutely nothing or every bit of $295 an hour.
On cross with his lawyer, ( the trusts trial lawyer) he was very open and easy to talk to and fed us a wealth of information.
On redirect, he closed right up again.
Yeah, he was that good.
The lawyer for the trust and trustees was on the stand most of today. He makes $295 an hour. It was the greatest show Ive seen in a long time. He flat out owned the plaintiff's lawyer. Every single question was answered with a bunch of blabbering nonsense. Think Billy Madison -āthe puppy that itās puppy wayā. He wasnāt going to give her anything. A very direct yes or no question was answered over the course of minutes. She was desperately trying to keep her composure, but was obviously struggling. Her final question: ādo you have any idea what this case is about?ā We took a break after that. I said to the juror next to me that that lawyer was either worth absolutely nothing or every bit of $295 an hour.
On cross with his lawyer, ( the trusts trial lawyer) he was very open and easy to talk to and fed us a wealth of information.
On redirect, he closed right up again.
Yeah, he was that good.
UNSTUCK
But stuck more often.
Soā¦.. One of the big claims against the trustees is that they are mismanaging funds from the trust. The beneficiaries claim they are needlessly spending money. At some point I expect we will hear they want a bunch of money back.
One of the beneficiaries happens to work for the trustees as a go between to the other Bās. She gets paid from the trust for her services. $50/hr, mileage, and reimbursements for trust purchased items on her credit card. She lives in Cali. She is expensing her two weeks stay here for the court case.
She was on the stand today and the defense lawyer was asking her opinion of trust expenses. She said in her position she is able to see all the needless money that gets spent so she knows first hand of the corruption.
The lawyer then goes back to the desk and grabs an envelope. He ask her if she knows what it it. She says it looks like the expense envelope she turned in last night with the receipts from the first week of court.
He reaches in and pulled out a handful of receipts. The first one is $150 for dinner in park city. She tried to explain that park city is expensive and it was a normal expense for that area. He didnāt buy it but went along with it. He pulled out another receipt. This was for two tee shirts purchased from a park city shop. She came unglued yelling how she didnāt know how that got put in the envelope. He pulls out another one. A pair of pants from a park city store. Now she was really yelling. Trying to explain it. Saying she just grabbed a bunch of receipts from her purse and put them in the envelope without looking at them. Her lawyer is objecting to the whole thing. The judge finally calms everyone down and then orders the jury to leave the court room while they clear up what just happened.
We were brought back in and told the envelope was improperly entered into evidence and that we were to forget the whole thing happened.
Yeah, right. š
One of the beneficiaries happens to work for the trustees as a go between to the other Bās. She gets paid from the trust for her services. $50/hr, mileage, and reimbursements for trust purchased items on her credit card. She lives in Cali. She is expensing her two weeks stay here for the court case.
She was on the stand today and the defense lawyer was asking her opinion of trust expenses. She said in her position she is able to see all the needless money that gets spent so she knows first hand of the corruption.
The lawyer then goes back to the desk and grabs an envelope. He ask her if she knows what it it. She says it looks like the expense envelope she turned in last night with the receipts from the first week of court.
He reaches in and pulled out a handful of receipts. The first one is $150 for dinner in park city. She tried to explain that park city is expensive and it was a normal expense for that area. He didnāt buy it but went along with it. He pulled out another receipt. This was for two tee shirts purchased from a park city shop. She came unglued yelling how she didnāt know how that got put in the envelope. He pulls out another one. A pair of pants from a park city store. Now she was really yelling. Trying to explain it. Saying she just grabbed a bunch of receipts from her purse and put them in the envelope without looking at them. Her lawyer is objecting to the whole thing. The judge finally calms everyone down and then orders the jury to leave the court room while they clear up what just happened.
We were brought back in and told the envelope was improperly entered into evidence and that we were to forget the whole thing happened.
Yeah, right. š
UNSTUCK
But stuck more often.
Day 7:
After a long weekend we were back at it. We had two "expert witnesses" today that really didn't help sway me either way. They were both on the plaintiff's payroll. One guy made it seem like you need to have a Phd to be a trustee and if you don't and you screw up (while doing your best to honor the wishes of the decedent) it's all your fault.....and maybe it is. I just don't feel like you should be totally liable. The take away here is if you love your family and friends and want them to be set up when you pass, make a random, off the street, CPA or lawyer your trustee. Give them nothing but a flat fee to do the job. And unless you are a lawyer or CPA do not accept the position of a trustee, no matter the relation to the trustor. Best just to give everything to your dog.
Best part of today: the plaintiff's rested their case! This is supposed to wrap up on Friday, but I'm not sure if that means deliberation wraps up on Friday or not.
Worst part of today: My company graciously, "...pays for the time spend on jury duty". That's according to our policy book. Jury duty is 9am to 5pm. They will deduct my $50/day of jury pay from my pay check. Well I go into work each morning before 5am and work till 8:40ish before running over to the courthouse. So in my mind, last week I had 40 hours of jury duty, minus my $50/day and about 18 hours of regular pay. I saw my electronic time card was adjusted today to show 7.5 hours of jury duty each day last week. Nothing else. I'm debating not going in tomorrow or Friday, as now I work for free. My boss has really worked himself into a pickle on a large project and I need to be there to help out. Hmmmmmmm.
After a long weekend we were back at it. We had two "expert witnesses" today that really didn't help sway me either way. They were both on the plaintiff's payroll. One guy made it seem like you need to have a Phd to be a trustee and if you don't and you screw up (while doing your best to honor the wishes of the decedent) it's all your fault.....and maybe it is. I just don't feel like you should be totally liable. The take away here is if you love your family and friends and want them to be set up when you pass, make a random, off the street, CPA or lawyer your trustee. Give them nothing but a flat fee to do the job. And unless you are a lawyer or CPA do not accept the position of a trustee, no matter the relation to the trustor. Best just to give everything to your dog.
Best part of today: the plaintiff's rested their case! This is supposed to wrap up on Friday, but I'm not sure if that means deliberation wraps up on Friday or not.
Worst part of today: My company graciously, "...pays for the time spend on jury duty". That's according to our policy book. Jury duty is 9am to 5pm. They will deduct my $50/day of jury pay from my pay check. Well I go into work each morning before 5am and work till 8:40ish before running over to the courthouse. So in my mind, last week I had 40 hours of jury duty, minus my $50/day and about 18 hours of regular pay. I saw my electronic time card was adjusted today to show 7.5 hours of jury duty each day last week. Nothing else. I'm debating not going in tomorrow or Friday, as now I work for free. My boss has really worked himself into a pickle on a large project and I need to be there to help out. Hmmmmmmm.