Foolproof method for getting out of jury duty

[RonHiler]

I've never served on a jury, though I've been close twice now.

I think this probably only works for criminal cases, as that's the only type I've been considered for. But it works every time.

Just tell them you have a scientific background. They can't get rid of you fast enough.

I had jury duty this morning. The case was armed robbery. I was selected as the second alternate. The judge asked his question about my job and my wife's job, if I knew any policemen, and if I could be impartial and so on and so forth.

Then the defense started. They ignored me (I guess I hadn't said anything interesting enough to catch their attention). Then the prosecutor got up. She got to me last, and we only talked for a very brief time, but it came out that I had been a scientist for a while (kind of in an offhanded way, I wasn't trying to get out of serving, honestly).

Then they started dismissing jurors. They started off with the people who obviously didn't want to be there (the whiners). So during this I moved up from alternate to actual juror. It was no sooner had I planted my butt in the jury box chair that I was dismissed. By the prossecution, no less. They must not have had much of a scientific case, I guess. There was literally nothing else I said that could have prompted my dismissal. Unless they just didn't want educated white men on the jury or something.

This is pretty much a carbon copy of what happened the last time when I was a prospective juror for a rape case (four or five years ago), except that time I was dismissed by the defense, and they were much more focused on my knowledge of DNA (I have degrees in Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, and they didn't like that one bit).

To be honest, I was a little dissapointed (being a robbery case, it was only 3-5 days long, and I'm not SUPER busy right now, so it was good timing as far as being away from work for a bit). While I may someday be on a civil trial case, I kind of doubt I will ever get to serve on a crimial case. As soon as it comes out I have a science background, away I go, heh.

[Pix]

Two words: "jury" and "nullification."

[PygoraMom]

'educated', intelligent, logical, common-sense thinking, hopefully 'white' doesn't have too much to do with it, 'men'. They should have just asked your mother

[RonHiler]

Yes, but you are hardly unbiased