And so, I'm released.

[kyburg]

It was a criminal case, involving the refusal to take a chemical test for sobriety at a checkpoint - at least, that's as much as I got, and I'm damn glad I got released.

I did not want to sit on that jury. This was one of those times when Self said "you know too much to be impartial" and I said as much.

Both Jim and I are the kids of ER nurses. Jim still works in hospitals.

I have a ton of directly-related family with substance-abuse issues.

And some dumbass wouldn't take a breath-alyzer or a blood test when he got caught DUI.

Oops. Bias showing.

So glad I can go back to my life and so on - but so help me, I'd rather sit a murder case than one involving intoxicated drivers. Lesson learned for today.

(Of course, I'd be dismissed on a capital case immediately - I'm against the death penalty and won't apply it to anyone.)

Sleep tonight good. Yay.

Comments

[dabroots.livejournal.com]

I remember being quickly taken out of consideration for a jury because I answered affirmatively (and truthfully) to questions of whether or not I had family members working in law enforcement or who had spent time in prison for dealing drugs. You shouldn't have been on that jury. What kinds of screening questions were asked?

[kyburg.livejournal.com]

Oh, pretty leading ones, all told - anyone you know have an alcohol/substance abuse issue? Been arrested? Etc.

You belong to any activist groups that support changes to the legal system (MADD, ACLU, etc.)?

Um. Hand UP!

[joggingguy.livejournal.com]

That's what lawyers here will tell you. Never take a breath-alyzer or a blood test if you get stopped. You may lose your license, but at least you likely won't get convicted of a DUI due to lack of evidence.

[kyburg.livejournal.com]

I'd like to know what the penalty for not doing that in California is; when you accept your driver's license, it is understood that you are waiving you right to refuse those tests when you are suspected of driving under the DUI.

Yeah, that's what I thought this guy was trying to pull.

jury duty...

[n6vfp.livejournal.com]

I've got my next jury duty scheduled on March 29th. I've served on a murder case and we surprised the prosecutor by acquitting the defendant because the prosecution raised more doubt than the defense. It was so bad, witnesses were contradicting each other, the arresting officer couldn't keep his story straight, and all the case hinged on the testimony of a woman who was drunk at the time the alleged crime took place. Even the judge praised us for our decision. It was a clear case of a 'rush to judgment' where a guy who had had some run ins with the law as a teenager was being prosecuted because the arresting officer had labeled him a 'troublemaker'. BTW, the jury included a sheriff's captain (retired) and a former prosecutor... they had run out of potential jurors and had to seat what was left in the jury pool.

Re: jury duty...

[kyburg.livejournal.com]

Did you do it in Riverside or Orange county?

Re: jury duty...

[n6vfp.livejournal.com]

I did jury duty in Norwalk for the murder trial, Riverside for another murder trial, and Orange County for a few civil cases.

[lesliepear.livejournal.com]

Glad you did your duty, but didn't serve. Last time I was on jury duty, I could have sat on a child molestation case (and the accused looked sleazy) - I used my honest excuse (I had an important, non reschedulable doctor appointment the following week) and got out of there ASAP!

[kyburg.livejournal.com]

I think I could have sat that jury - seriously.

This one, not so much.