heartbeatocean said:

most of the time nothing happens, though, because I have been called time after time and not been selected to come in. So if I'd ignored it, nothing would have happened. But you take a risk.

Still we move, mail gets lost, whatever, I doubt you'd do jail time.

NDRU said:

Here in NYC, they don't play. They WILL jail and fine your ass.

TonyVanDam said:

I dunno... I was dead. They killed me, remember?

I'm sorry, I really have no info to share. I probably should have just stayed out of this thread.

squirrelgrease said:

I was a juror on a high profile trial for the mayor of Washington, DC back in 1991. We were sequestered for 9 weeks! The nice thing about it was that the government really tried to make us very comfortable during that time. They put us up in a hotel where each room had a steam bath/sauna/Jacuzzi; we had three hot squares a day plus snacks and cocktails; every weekend they would take us on shopping sprees or you could go home for "conjugal visits" with your spouse; however, a marshal had to escort you wherever you went. I had a cat at the time, which would bite the tip of his tail completely off. I had to take him to the vet and the marshal drove us, and had to stand there with me during the entire exam and treatment.

The bad thing about it was dealing with some folk who were just downright annoying. But it did give good insight into how the judicial system worked and how the nation perceived our verdicts.

But to answer your question about not showing up, the judge will issue a warrant for your arrest. I talked to one juror before the trial started and he said he ignored the notice to appear because he was a teacher at an upscale private boys school in the district and thought it wasn't that important for him to appear. The marshal went to his school and took him right out of class! Funny thing about it, we elected him foreman!

I thought I would not be picked because I usually kept to myself and was not very gregarious. Everyday at the "holding room" where prospective jurors would sit before being called for the voire dire, I would go to a quiet area and read. When I was called before the judge for my voire dire, he asked me if there was any reason why I would not want to serve. I said, "Your Honor, I don't mean to be facetious, but I have two cats at home, and I'm their only care giver." He said, "Oh, so you're afraid that they'd eat each other?"
Didn't work. Next thing I know, I'm sitting in the jury box with 14 other folks and the judge said, "Gentlemen, we have a jury!" One young guy behind me, the youngest of all the jurors, shouted, "OH SHIT!"
[Edited 2/9/10 7:29am]

squirrel....
were you allowed to go home after court? or were you stuck in a hotel? how long did it last?

I was summoned twice for jury duty..dont know how i managed to get out of it. but i kinda wish i hadnt.

heartbeatocean said:

But you had to actually go in? Don't you just call the # and they say "you are not needed, thank you." That's what's happened to me year after year.

The reason I don't want to do it is that I lose income and it strains my relationship with my employer and clients. I wouldn't mind otherwise, I suppose. Although I've got plans of my own.

heartbeatocean said:

You might be able to request a pass because of this. I mistakenly got called for jury duty within a year of going in (not selected); it was accompanied by a form you could fill out stating why you felt you should not have to serve. One of the choices was that it would cause finanical hardship.

In NY, there is also a number to call that can postpone your date -- I did that a couple of times when called during a super busy work month.

Regardless, I wouldn't skip anymore jury duty summons. You never know how it might come back to bite you -- the government is often incompetent, but when they get their shit together they don't play.

Shyra said:

You were a juror for Marion Barry's drug trial?

NDRU said:

No

Once about ten years ago, when I lived in SF, I had to go in and sit in a room for a couple of hours, then they let me go. This week was the first time living in East Bay that I actually got called to go in. But I showed up late.

meow85 said:

It can be a fascinating process, and extremely draining emotionally. There's a lot of boredom involved no matter what kind of case you're on and you don't get paid enough to cover parking and lunch/dinner, etc. Your employer has to let you serve and give you the time off, but is under no obligation to pay you for it. So, depending on your employer, you usually have to use sick/holiday/vacation time.

I was foreman on a murder trail and while it was wonderful to see the inside of the process, it was harrowing to say the least. My trial involved two kids who were accused of murdering another kid. The whole thing was just completely sad. Jurors are not allowed to talk about the trial at any time, even with spouses. You can't watch the news or read the paper. We were sequestered during deliberations and our cell phones were taken away. You become very isolated from your family. On top of all that, it was a gang related killing and threats were made prior to the trial, so the jurors had to be surrounded by deputies at all times once the court was in our hands. And the deliberations... man... that was a nightmare in itself.