(Credit: CBS)
CROWN POINT, Ind. (CBS) — A prospective juror in a fatal drunken driving crash case who left during jury selection has been ordered to stand in front of the Lake County Courthouse the next two Mondays with a sign that says, “I failed to appear for jury duty.”
Court officials did not release the man’s name, but the 22-year-old told Judge Thomas Stefaniak Jr. he wasn’t thinking when he left after lunch during jury selection Dec. 5 for the trial of Jeffery Cleary of Valparaiso, the Post-Tribune reports.
“I’ve never been in trouble before,” said the man, who acknowledged he didn’t follow the judge’s instructions during the jury selection process.
“Help me understand what it is about my words, ‘You’ve got to come back,’ that you don’t understand?” Stefaniak said. ”I’m at a loss to understand why you did what you did.”
“I wasn’t really paying attention,” said the man, who is unemployed.
Stefaniak said the man was “the very person who should be on a jury. You’ve got nothing else to do.”
Stefaniak ordered the man’s name be put back into the juror pool, and told him to show up in court at 7:30 a.m. Monday and Feb. 6 with the sign and walk in front of the courthouse until the bailiffs release him.
Cleary was convicted Dec. 14 on lesser drunken driving charges but jurors deadlocked on the higher level felony counts in the 2010 death of Philip Amsden, 63. Prosecutors said he had a blood-alcohol level of more than 0.15 percent when he crashed into a truck, crushing Amsden, who was repairing a flat tire near the Ridge Road ramp to Interstate 65 in Hobart in 2010.
(Source: Sun-Times Media Wire © Chicago Sun-Times 2012. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
114 Comments
Do you really want someone like this to be on a jury deciding someone’s fate?
January 24, 2012 at 12:04 pm
Jury of one’s peers, my friend. It his constitutional right. Not to mention, his drunkenness determined others ill fate.
January 24, 2012 at 3:57 pm
No you want somebody that knows THIS !! ———
http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&frm=1&source=web&cd=1&ved=0CCIQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fnhjury.com%2F&ei=jy8fT6yyK8bTgQe3rJCvDw&usg=AFQjCNGJa5o38OPp3TuO0SU9ChWRBSzC5w&sig2=NClt2mS_WtAfEMT1ycJw7w
January 24, 2012 at 4:26 pm
Having done participated this in NYC. Not being selected. I’m amazed anyone does any time in this nation.
January 24, 2012 at 4:30 pm
I would be glad to go in his place. I want to be on as many criminal drug case juries as possible. Where can I volunteer. I’ll do my duty and help put those drug dealers (code words again) in prison.
January 24, 2012 at 4:42 pm
funny i serve 2 times every year and I NULLIFY illegal laws every time.
especially drug dealer (code word for Americans)
January 24, 2012 at 8:56 pm
Beautiful. About the only reason to sit on a jury these days.
Any advice on surviving voit noir?
FIJA.org
January 24, 2012 at 9:03 pm
Sorry for the spelling the bastarrd software here took out my markup. Gotta love the censors.
January 24, 2012 at 9:06 pm
just say Jury Nullification, they hate that. it dismisses you.
January 24, 2012 at 4:50 pm
I got out of jury duty once by looking at the “defendant” and giving a mean Clint “I’m goin’ to hang you” Eastwood look. His lawyer made my day by dismissing me.
January 25, 2012 at 11:08 am
The last time I was called for Jury duty, the prosecuting attorney said it was the greatest duty of free men. My question is: If this is such a great duty, why are prospective jurors brought their under duress?
January 24, 2012 at 6:20 pm
Their and there are distinctly different words and are not interchangeable. You have forfeited your credibility and ought not opine in an ostensibly adult forum…
January 24, 2012 at 7:08 pm
Yes Jimbo made a mistake. I have too on more than one occasion. Whoop de doo Sam. Spelling and grammar have little to do with credibility.
Pick up a copy of Trout’s “Power of Simplicity”. Trout clearly had your type in mind when he wrote the first couple of chapters.
January 24, 2012 at 8:35 pm
Reminds me of the slavery of the draft. Strange how they have to use slavery to get people in a “free” society to do as they command us to do.
January 24, 2012 at 8:39 pm
Hey Chi Sam, take your dictionary and put it where the sun doesn’t shine. You self righteous moron.
January 25, 2012 at 7:36 am
I would find it more fitting for the sexually confused tyrant in a black dress to carry a sign that says ” I support slavery”
January 24, 2012 at 7:45 pm
Is it a free society when a man can be locked in a rape cage for doing something that harms no one? Would you want someone that does not want to be on your jury their judging you?
If I were forced onto a jury I did not want to be on. I might just vote not guilty for the heck of it! Do you think others might do the same?
January 24, 2012 at 7:48 pm
Watch the Red Beckman videos FIJA.org
January 24, 2012 at 7:49 pm
This judge should be in Crook County. Maybe he would give the mouth-breathers the same treatment.
January 24, 2012 at 12:16 pm
Jury duty, what’s that?
S.O.S.
January 24, 2012 at 12:45 pm
You want jurors that KNOW they have the power to judge a bad law.
Good jurors can NULLIFY a bad law.
Check this out —– nhjury.com
January 24, 2012 at 4:29 pm
The judge is a crook. There’s nothing in the Constitution that requires citizens to serve on juries.
He should appeal the abuse of power all the way to the Supreme Court.
Additionally, a person who leaves jury selection because they don’t want to serve shouldn’t be on a jury. This is a good thing!
January 24, 2012 at 1:35 pm
You are incorrect, Jury duty IS compulsory. Read up about requirements before you voice your less-than-knowledgable opinions. You MUST report for jury duty if called, and MAY be dismissed, or given a waiver to not report, but if it is denied you have to serve if picked.
January 24, 2012 at 1:46 pm
Says who? To compel people to serve is unConstitutional.
Show where the Constitutional compels citizens to serve on juries.
January 24, 2012 at 1:50 pm
See the official “Notice of Mismatch” letter from the FEDS here -
http://www.ObamaReleaseYourRecords.blogspot.com/2011/09/failed-e-verify-letter-to-barack-obama.html
Another 6 letter word for Felony…. BARACK!
January 24, 2012 at 2:04 pm
The Thirteenth Amendment states that “Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.”
No one is allowed to compel another person to work if they don’t want to work. It is clear that this juror did not wish to provide free (or practically free) services to the judge. The judge should not be free to throw a temper tantrum and force this guy to again be subjected to involuntary servitude. This is tyranny, plain and simple.
January 24, 2012 at 2:05 pm
Look at it this way. You get a free day off work for it. And you get there you go in tell them your a racist or whatever you need to to let them know hey Im not the droid your looking for and bam your excusaed and you got the rest of teh day off!
January 24, 2012 at 2:06 pm
There is no free day off work if you work in a sales job. The stipend the court offers is such a pittance that it’s insulting.
January 24, 2012 at 2:22 pm
“The stipend the court offers is such a pittance that it’s insulting.”
In Houston, the stipend is $0.50 less than the cost of the parking garage attached to the courthouse.
January 24, 2012 at 2:41 pm
You’d think the “involuntary servitude” part of the Constitution should exempt people from serving on a jury when they don’t want to.
But the US Supreme Court says you have to do it anyway
http://freeliberal.com/archives/003918.php
Soviet-style monopoly court systems are corrupt??? Shocker!
January 24, 2012 at 4:03 pm
Who wants their fate determiined by 12 people too stupid to get out of jury duty?
January 24, 2012 at 4:06 pm
I have served on numerous juries and on every jury are those who would “rather be anywhere else” and then we have the “Willing to serve(as all should be)”. The “rather be anywhere else” could care less about the outcome of a trial and the “Willing to serve” mindless morons believe every piece of evidence presented, especially by a crooked cop, even when the evidence clearly shows no crime committed. No wonder our prisons are overflowing.
Here we have a judge who thinks too much of himself and thinks nothing of wasting valuable court time and taxpayer money.
Judges should realize that forcing people to serve on juries is as pointless as attempting to humiliate them for failing to appear. This is the very reason we have alternate jurors standing by.
January 24, 2012 at 6:50 pm
There are ways of getting out of serving. When asked if there is anyone in the courtroom who has an objection to serving, you raise your hand and tell them straight out that you don’t agree with the the proceedings or why the person was brought to court. That judge cannot berate you for your beliefs, and will dismiss you. I’ve done it twice, when I did not agree with the proceeding.
A person does not have to buy into serving on a jury when they truly do not believe it is in the best interest of humanity. Judging another does have its Karmic drawbacks, no matter what you may want to believe otherwise.
January 25, 2012 at 7:44 am
If you itch your armpits like a gorilla then maybe they wouldn’t have selected you?
January 25, 2012 at 11:47 am
You are correct, nothing in the Constitution requires jury duty. I guess the judge should brush up on the Constitution.
Pretty soon we will be required to vote, or face fines or jail time.
January 24, 2012 at 6:59 pm
if you live in connecticut you are!!!! I know I LIVE HERE
January 25, 2012 at 8:04 am
Do you want to be on a jury that couldn’t convict the drunk driver of felony counts for killing the guy changing his tire?
Do you want to be on a jury that found Casey Anthony NOT GUILTY for murdering her baby?
Too many idiots are already on jury duty.
January 24, 2012 at 1:48 pm
It doesn’t take an idiot to find Casey Anthony not guilty. It takes a jury of 12, that sees no actual evidence for her guilt, to find her not guilty. Get over yourself.
January 25, 2012 at 8:46 am
In the words of the judge, “the very person who should be on a jury. You’ve got nothing else to do.” Because JUSTICE is meant to hang on the decision of unemployed 22 year olds with nothing better to do.
January 24, 2012 at 1:52 pm
We the unemployed people of Indiana…..
January 24, 2012 at 1:57 pm
Considering that LAW & ORDER are now an ILLUSION, why would anyone want to waste their time with a sham?
January 24, 2012 at 2:05 pm
Exactly.
January 24, 2012 at 6:18 pm
Jury duty is so easy to get out of.All You have to do is tell the judge You can spot a guilty person just like that!
January 24, 2012 at 2:09 pm
They are likely to toss you in jail for contempt.
Judges are above the law,it’s a disgrace.
January 24, 2012 at 6:17 pm
Is it illegal to show up for jury duty drunk?
I once got dismissed from, what I think was, an armed robbery case because I told them my favorite part of the Constitution was the Second Ammemdment.
January 24, 2012 at 2:12 pm
Nothing more arrogant than a sitting judge perpetuating the fraud that it is the legal system.
January 24, 2012 at 2:19 pm
Judge made the mistake of refusing my request to be excused because i don’t hear good…No problem, i just voted “not guilty” all week….F ‘em…
January 24, 2012 at 2:20 pm
12×12= 144 Feet of hung jury men.
January 24, 2012 at 2:31 pm
The judge ought to read the 8th amendment of the Constitution, which specifically forbids punishment that is meant to cause humiliation.
January 24, 2012 at 2:35 pm
For Christ sake, no it does not. Perhaps YOU should read it. It says” Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.” Didn’t see humiliation in there anywhere. Isn’t all punishment humiliating? It may be a little unusual, but perhaps better than spending the night in jail for disobeying judge, which I am sure was his alternative.
January 24, 2012 at 3:39 pm
Where is a law written a punishment for leaving slave duty is public humiliation?
The judge is making up punishment for his jollies. He’s a criminal tyrant of the lowest order.
It’s based on ‘contempt of court’ where he judge can issue any punishment he wants, even jaling you for ever without recourse. It stems from when the judge was a representative of the king, we don’t have kings any longer and ‘contempt of court’ should be abolished.
January 24, 2012 at 6:24 pm
It may not be illegal to show up to court drunk, just ask the Judge, I am sure he had a few before this all started.
January 24, 2012 at 2:35 pm
ATTENTION: YOU WANT TO SERVE ON A JURY. It’s the last place where your voice counts and YOU can change the LAW. You will be told by the judge that you have to vote based on the LAW, but that’s not true. You can vote based on your conscience, and you can vote NO if you so choose. Jury Nullification is an important way to overturn laws and keep the system in balance. In fact, if it wasn’t for jury nullification, we’d still have Alcohol prohibition in this country.
January 24, 2012 at 2:37 pm
Thank you that is absolutely correct!
January 24, 2012 at 2:45 pm
and not a single f*ck was given.
January 24, 2012 at 2:39 pm
http://www.liveshot.cc willingly carries sign: “I SERVED IN VIETNAM”
January 24, 2012 at 2:50 pm
Jury duty is a farce.. just a tool of the neo-nazi police state called the USA used to let the people think they still have control.
January 24, 2012 at 2:54 pm
Jury full of incompetent fools is not justice
January 24, 2012 at 3:28 pm
“I wasn’t really paying attention,” said the man, who is unemployed.
Now we know why he is unemployed…
January 24, 2012 at 3:31 pm
Pretty sure you meant 0.15 and not 0.15 percent which is 0.0015 well under the usual 0.08 legal limit
January 24, 2012 at 3:41 pm
The article said BAC 0.15 which means 0.15 percent of your blood is alcohol.
This is very drunk. Twice that would almost surely resutl iin unconciousness or worse (coma or death)
January 24, 2012 at 4:14 pm
You are absolutely correct. Another fact is that if there is an immediate need for a juror, people may be literally brought in from the street to serve.
January 24, 2012 at 3:44 pm
Oops….this comment was in reply to Willing to serve (as all should be).
January 24, 2012 at 3:51 pm
There are plenty of ways to get out of jury duty if that is really what you want to do.
Of course there is the classic “if he wasn’t guilty, why did the cops arrest him?” tactic.
If you don’t have a problem being labeled a “racist”, there are numerous statements you can make, but be careful. In front of an activist judge, it may cause more trouble than it’s worth….. He may try to “discipline” you. Not saying it’s legal or right, but it can be pretty tough trying to battle a judge.
You have to be careful because judges love to make an example of people. But just a little smarts can go a long way. If, for example, it’s a case that has been in the news, try pointing out how happy you are to get on the jury because you’ve been following the case closely, VERY closely, and already know how you’re voting. That is almost guaranteed to get you tossed. And they can hardly fault you for being an informed citizen…..
January 24, 2012 at 3:45 pm
Bahahaha I think this is the funniest thing yet. Here is the hypocrisy of the situation…. People think it’s ok if a parent is at their wits end with an unruly child to make him or her hold a sign that says “I don’t listen or I am a thief” and people don’t complain about that. Here an individual thinks it’s ok to walk out on Jury Duty, which is a duty required to all citizens to do, and you guys think the punishment is just horrible. I think the punishment fits the crime. Kudos to this Judge for making this moron responsible for his actions. One don’t leave work at lunch and not come back. Oh and this is far from bulling.
January 24, 2012 at 4:08 pm
Judges intepret law not make it. Where is the law that says the punishment for leaving slave duty is public humiliation?
January 24, 2012 at 6:30 pm
Yes, judges interpret the law; however, where do you get that this is slave duty? Slavery was abolished. Get your head out of the clouds.
January 24, 2012 at 6:38 pm
Yes John Locke I agree – omnipotent gender confused men in black dresses are the bane of our society.
January 24, 2012 at 8:43 pm
Chrissy, you are commanded (literally )to appear under threat of imprisonment for an undetermined amount of time(slavery by another name) at the whim of a crazed lawyer in a black robe with god-like powers.
Then when you do go he/she will ask you inane questions with zero relevance to the case, to “get to know you better” and if you act in any way other than delighted to be questioned like a two year-old you will get contempt and off to jail for as long as the crazy lawyer in a black robe wishes to torture you. It isn’t their business what I do for a hobby, job, what I had for lunch last Tuesday, what car I drive or other questions like that. The only questions relevant are do I know any of the people involved, including lawyers, if I was tried or convicted of a similar crime, and if I have a bias of any type.
It is criminal. If there were limits to a judge’s power I might, MIGHT feel differently because judges CAN throw around contempt charges like a farmer tosses seeds in a freshly plowed field, with impunity.
January 25, 2012 at 6:01 am
walk around with this sign = cruel and unusual punishment
January 24, 2012 at 4:22 pm
Well, during the O.J. Simpson trial, the media stressed that the court was seeking “twelve ‘ignorant’ jurrors. The got them! :)
January 24, 2012 at 4:39 pm
Then make the dumb axe hold a sign that says, “I am a stupid liberal.” I am irresponsible, non-productive and lazy and I sponge off of society. Loser.
January 24, 2012 at 4:41 pm
Does any individual possess the RIGHT to command another individual that he or she MUST be at a certain place at a certain time or face violent reprisal? Well, if that right does not exist for an individual, then it can not be GRANTED TO, or magically transferred to, any other individual or group. The dumbed-public better stop gorging themselves on poisoned food and water and start learning what their Natural Law RIGHTS are (and what they are NOT) before they themselves get eaten by this growing POLICE STATE.
January 24, 2012 at 4:43 pm
“Does any individual possess the RIGHT to command another individual that he or she MUST be at a certain place at a certain time or face violent reprisal?”
You must never have been married to ask something like this, huh?
January 25, 2012 at 1:15 pm
That’s probably why he’s unemployed…just keeps leaving after lunch.
January 24, 2012 at 4:43 pm
The guy should never have appeared in a court room in the first place. Americans don’t go to court.Court is a structure imposed by the King of England. We are not English and are not under any Admiralty Law or UCC code. Tell the judge to stuff it up his ass and stand on Common Law.
January 24, 2012 at 5:04 pm
The guy is unemployed so he won’t be missing anything when he holds up the sign for two days. And he’ll never be selected to sit on a jury for the rest of his life – when called for jury duty he just has to tell his story and show complete disdain for the system, and he’ll never be selected to stick around for a trial.
January 24, 2012 at 5:49 pm
the corrupt legal system can go to hell. i do not go to jury duty either. they are the enemy of the people.. the judges and lawyers are monsters.
January 24, 2012 at 6:14 pm
Well said.
January 24, 2012 at 6:32 pm
BRAVO !!!!!!!!!!!! Take a bow !!!
January 24, 2012 at 6:58 pm
Shouldn’t the judge in Georgia do the same thing if Pres. Obama fails to show for his court appearance on his qualifications for being President……..
January 24, 2012 at 6:56 pm
LOL !!!!! Amen to that!!!!
January 24, 2012 at 7:00 pm
Jury duty is involuntary servitude. Unless you volunteer.
But the tyrant err judge will throw you in prison for “contempt of court”. Which is also unconstitutional. Any contempt of court charge should be a separate trial by jury instead of just throwing someone in prison for however long they want.
January 24, 2012 at 7:25 pm
Exactly. If contempt-of-court is a jailable offense, then there must be a jury trial to investigate and decide the charge for or against the defendant.
January 24, 2012 at 10:21 pm
People, if you don’t want to do jury duty, DON’T GO. Sure, it’s against the law. So is speeding. They know that many of the jury summons they send will go to the wrong address, to the address of someone who died, to someone on vacation, whatever. If you don’t want to bother, DON’T GO.
January 24, 2012 at 8:01 pm
Don’t register to vote or if you do use an old address for plausible denyability for a jury summons.
January 24, 2012 at 8:46 pm
“DON”T GO” works just fine. They always try to sucker me into replying and filling out the form they send me every time I register to vote at a new address. I just toss it and forget it and they just seem to forget me.
January 24, 2012 at 9:12 pm
Jury duty is a scam. We are made to believe that this is an important part of our judicial system. No Sir it is not. Mainly because, as any lawyer will tell you that this part is the most ridiculous part of the system. Cops will lie to a jury in a minute just to assist the DA’s office “kill” rate.
Refuse jury duty and you are doing America a huge favor. Look at how you are treated if you refuse, unacceptable.
Sven
January 24, 2012 at 9:55 pm
Check out the Fully Informed Jury Association at www dot fija dot org.
And by the way, every time you make a new law, YOU MAKE NEW CRIMINALS WHO MUST BE TRIED UNDER THAT LAW — which means that you have to kidnap some more jurors. Government is like a frkn cancer. More laws = more violators = more trials = more juries = more kidnapping of jurors. Do I think that “jury duty” is a “civic responsibility?” Bullshirt.
January 24, 2012 at 10:15 pm
“That government is best which governs least,”
{Lincoln? Jefferson? I forget.]
==========================================
“Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.”
—- Lord Acton
===========================================
“Extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice; moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue.”
— Karl Hess, libertarian speechwriter for AZ Republican US Senator Barry Goldwater
January 24, 2012 at 10:25 pm
American Court
Faded Flags, ragged in the sun,
The Stars & Stripes fly tattered.
Americans sit, waiting to be judged,
The Bill of Rights lay sadly battered.
A Judge in Black, the Cops in Tan,
we Citizens, shamed and weak.
Justice died,…so long ago,
court payments begin this week.
Everyone pays, The State needs the bucks,
the Law keeps the cash rolling in.
Morality and law have no real value,
Visa validates The People’s sin.
The Dollar is King, The Court is aware,
the Fine Schedule just went up.
Judge and State, hand-n-hand,
all involved, beyond corrupt.
RJ. O’Guillory
Author-
Webster Groves-The Life of an Insane Family
January 24, 2012 at 11:00 pm
”I’m at a loss to understand why you did what you did.”
“I wasn’t really paying attention,” said the man,
Yet another example of the dumbing down of America. I bet if the judge said “Free XBox” he would have paid attention to that.
January 24, 2012 at 11:21 pm
Stefaniak said the man was “the very person who should be on a jury. You’ve got nothing else to do.”
Nothing else to do? Like look for a job?
January 25, 2012 at 1:22 am
“slacker”? What the Hades ever happened to journalistic objectivity? Which is degraded more the press or the judiciary?
January 25, 2012 at 1:43 am
I showed up for grand jury selection in a western state I was living in, in 2010. Out of about 450 people called in, only about 350 showed up, if I understood things right. Of that number, only about a third were initially selected. We were filed out by number, down a hall, up to the next floor through elevators, then down another hall. At the end of this hall, a woman facing the filing of jurors going down this hall, who was sitting in a chair, worked busily with a cell phone. Just around the corner, where the procession filed by down to the courtroom, a man was standing with a cell phone busily at work on it. At the time I did not think enough about it, but those two were probably taking video. They probably took that home, and perhaps used facial recognition software to find out who the jurors were. Shortly after going in the courtroom, about 29 jurors, the first ones in procession, were selected, and the rest instructed to go home. The judge gave a nice big speech about how much he appreciated their showing up, and the service those selected would perform, and the importance to the justice system. All the while, somebody in all likelihood was just down the hall, violating rules about cell phones in the building at the least, and probably using cameras. Don’t know what the grand jury case was about, must have been something important. I should have called those two on the carpet, and demanded to see if their phones had cameras. Probably at the time, in the back of my mind, I figured this courthouse probably knew about it.
January 25, 2012 at 1:58 am
Dumbazz. Just write “Return to Sender” on any jury duty notice you receive!
But…then again…I have all my mail sent to a mail drop, so what works for me might not work for everybody else.
January 25, 2012 at 3:50 am
They don’t want the guy on jury duty – they want his money. Through all the fines and fees associated with jury duty court (yes, there is a jury duty court and it’s filled up every day) the city will rake in tens of millions of dollars every year . If he didn’t want to do jury duty he should have shown bias during the interview process, wasted the court’s time and they never would have called him again. Somebody’s doing this for media attention – they got it. Never be fooled, the jury system is more about MONEY than JUSTICE.
January 25, 2012 at 6:02 am
Thank you, Absolutely correct.
February 1, 2012 at 8:38 pm
If you want out of jury duty all you have to say is ” if the Prosecutors have thing they have the evidence to bring charges than he must bne guilty”
January 25, 2012 at 7:57 am
Is the United States preparing for martial law? With the announcement of military drills in LA and drones being deployed in New York, one can only put the pieces of the puzzle together.. A new information media outlet has just been born. More information that Drudge and many other outlets. http://www.presswarp.com Putting the pieces of the puzzle together.
January 25, 2012 at 8:07 am
If jury selection was really about being judged by your peers they would just take the first 12 people who show up rather than going through jury selection.
January 25, 2012 at 9:32 am
I steal forks from restaurants
January 25, 2012 at 9:56 am
We are the 99%. The 1% look better to me every day.
January 25, 2012 at 11:44 am
Pingback: the IDIOT » jury ‘slacker’
damn, don’t any of you mofos shut up.
January 25, 2012 at 12:42 pm
When I was first called to jury duty I was asked several questions and responded “yes” to most of them. Questions such as “Do you have any friends or relatives who are alcoholics?” and “Do you have any friends or relatives who are felons?” etc. I was on the jury – a drunk driving case. The jury listened to the case and on our first vote decided “Not Guilty” without a single “Guilty” vote. I will willingly serve on a jury any time I am selected. If I am ever charged with a crime I do not want my fate decided by a judge who, in all probability, believes he or she works for the prosecution. Being a citizen has costs above and beyond taxes.
January 25, 2012 at 12:49 pm
We have three idiots here. The prospective juror. The drunk driver. The judge. ” The very person who should be on a jury. You’ve got nothing else to do.” Say judge, isn’t the purpose of the legal system to seek justice? How is putting this man on a jury going to further that end? This is one very concise example of why people hold our legal system in low esteem.
January 25, 2012 at 1:00 pm
The gestapo still exists in this country.
January 25, 2012 at 1:02 pm
Pingback: Judge Forces Juror Slacker To Wear Sign Stating ‘I Failed To Appear For Jury Duty’
Isn’t this unconstitutional? Cruel/unusual punishment. I guess those rules don’t apply to this judge.
February 1, 2012 at 8:29 pm
I really like and appreciate your article. Want more.
February 5, 2012 at 12:03 pm
I’m not a lawyer, but I’d guess that’s a good way to get arrested for:
Public Intoxication
Disturbing the Peace
Obstruction of Justice
Contempt
Any other charge they invent!
January 24, 2012 at 4:08 pm
You + are = you’re… it’s a rather simple concept. But thanks for your intelligent humor…
January 24, 2012 at 7:10 pm
Ahhh look, I scroll down a few inches and see you + are at it again. Have you nothing better to do with your time than play the role of an English tutor?
January 24, 2012 at 8:39 pm