Yep...I got summoned for Jury Duty. I served last week. It was not exactly something that I was looking forward to having to do, but as it turns out it wasn't too bad after all. Today, I wanted to share some Jury Duty essentials with all of you!
1 - Pack lots of snacks!! Healthy ones if you can manage it. The day(s) are really long especially when you are just waiting and waiting and waiting! Bring something to read, too!!
2 - Make sure you know where you are going and how to get there before the morning you must report. I may or may not have started out on an incorrect train because I simply trusted the directions on the summons rather than checking for myself. Oops! I did eventually get on the right train and made it there just in time to find a massive line for security...which brings me to #3.
3 - Be prepared for a very long line at security! I believe they suggested allowing 15 minutes, but it definitely took longer than that for me. And, don't bring a camera...they WILL confiscate it. I always have my camera in my purse so I thought nothing of it until they forced me to fork it over. I was NOT happy! To be honest, I don't really understand it because everyone has a camera on their phone these days and they don't take those away...ugh!
4 - Be prepared to answer lots of questions about yourself. It's kinda like YOU are the one that is on trial. It is a bit odd especially since you are being questioned in front of so many random strangers.
5 - Bring chargers for all electronic devices. There are outlets everywhere!! Major plus :)
6 - Be patient! It's a long day and the process can be quite repetitive if you are selected in a pool of jurors...which I was twice. Can we say unlucky?
7 - If you really don't want to serve on a jury, you most likely won't be chosen. The legal team doesn't want you to be there if you don't want to be there...trust me on this one! (On the other hand, I did gain a bit of respect for an attorney that has to pick juries on a regular basis...didn't seem to be a fun process for them either.)
8 - Once you complete your day(s) of service (we had to report for two days), you don't have to return for six years! Pretty good deal if you ask me!
Have you ever been summoned for Jury Duty? What are your tips for survival?
Andrea :)
I was summoned right in the middle of finals during college! I eventually got off because of it. It was winter finals, and the judge asked me if there was anyway my professor would let me take the finals after Christmas and I believe my answer was "Um, I'd get an F sir." oops!
ReplyDeleteI'm afraid if I answer the "have you ever been summoned" that I am going to get a summons in the mail today...LOL. I haven't, but I just moved and still need to change my license over.
ReplyDeleteI was summoned once for our local court. I was there for about four hours and then was dismissed. Not too terrible. And then I got summoned for district (I think?) court which was like 50+ miles away. So I applied for a waiver and was approved. Hopefully I'm set for a few years now, too. haha. :)
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