Wednesday, January 07, 2009

Jury duty

I got a jury summons today - summoned to appear for jury service on January 26. This is the second time I get called. So now I've spent some time going online and reporting - again - that I'm not a citizen. You are not allowed to be a juror if you're not a citizen. I don't know the statistics - how likely is it that you named gets called? Last time was May 2007 - it's only a year and half away - could it be that often that you might get called?

I must admit, I'm a bit curious what it would be like...

(photo from United States Postal Service (ie "Posten"), who released this "Jury duty" stamp in 2007 to "draw attention to important social causes")

7 comments:

Ally said...

I was a bit sad that I had to opt out of jury duty because I don't have childcare for my children. It's going to be cool to get a chance at some point.

Indie said...

Hi, I discovered your blog by accident, but I have to comment: I thought our jury summons were directly related to our registration to vote. I could be wrong.

Anonymous said...

I spent four days at the court house, not being picked.
I was asked a lot of questions by two attorneys, who ultimately didn't pick me. Might have had something to do with my opinions for gun control and against violence in general...
Interesting process to say the least.
The worst part about it is the endless waiting. You can only read so much after all. Laptops are allowed, which helps.
I've been told that your name gets picked from the DMV.

Petchie75 said...

Är det egentligen inte ofattbart att de amerikanska myndigheterna inte har bättre koll på vem som är medborgare eller inte?? Så skulle du i praktiken kunna låtsas som ingenting, och gå dit?

M said...

I'm not either a citizen but I've received jury duty notes at least three times. Just call the 800 number and send in the form. But I agree, pretty funny that we keep getting these forms! Perhaps they get them from the DMV register...

Liz said...

I have recieved jury summons 4 times and I, too, only have a green card. Someone told me they get your name from the DMV and/or the IRS. It does scare me that the agencies don't have joined databases... I, too, would really like to be a juror as long as it wasn't a violent crime or a crime against a child. It'd be interesting, I think.
Gott Nytt Ar!

JaCal said...

Ally - it sure would - I'm really curious about it - it's a major foundation of the American society as well - I really would like to see for myself.

Indie - I've heard different things - it might actually be both the DMV and the vote registration. I guess most people do have a driver license to be able to get around - otherwise you would wonder if that would be a good base of the population. In Sweden I actually have many friends without a license (those living in Stockholm where you don't really need a car for example).

Petra H - I guess so - but I would commit a serious felony if they would find me out. They really don't have any centralized system - as we are used to in Sweden in particular. That I think has both advantages - and disadvantages. Maybe they don't store/ask about citizenship since you are obliged by law to obtain a local driving license (at least in California) if you're staying for an extended period of time - regardless of citizenship.

M - I did it over the internet and was supposed to get a confirmation - I never did so I'm calling in again.

Liz - oaoh - four times! I wonder what will happen if I become a citizen - how often I would be called.. Gott Nytt År too!