Wednesday, May 9, 2012

M&F Gets Called to Jury Duty

What its like and how to get out of it! Earlier this week, M&F's chief editor Greg got summoned down to the Beverly Hills Courthouse for Jury Duty, so he brought the camera along to document the experience. The 2nd and 3rd shots are pics of the line for elevator. The courthouse had two elevators, but one was broken (again according to the local workers), and so everyone had to wait about 15 minutes before packing into the elevator like sardines. Didn't know if taking pictures was allowed or illegal, and there was literally a sheriff standing behind us in line, so they aren't the best pics. Once we got to the right floor, there was a note taped on the door saying to open the door to the jury waiting room was on the left. However, there was nothing but a brick wall to the left. Turns out, the jury waiting room was down the hall through some double doors, and then on the left. It was a simple thing, and maybe its not a big deal, but it seemed indicative of how the court system tries to get things straight, but bumbles its way along. There was no one in the jury room. It was completely empty, and filled with motivational posters from the 90's saying things like 'Movtivation/Harmony/Teamwork/etc. In the back corner was a pleasant lady who told each person who showed up that there were no new trials starting that day, so our jury services would not be needed. Wish they could have told us that before we showed up! The lady also explained that Jury Duty is selected from voter registration and the DMV files. So its almost impossible to get out of it, and if you drive in California, you can expect to get called in every so often (the rules state that you should not be called more than once a year--but sometimes there are mistakes). The top pic is the lonely hall of the courthouse on the way out. In retrospect, hope the legal system does work, better than the broken elevators.

2 comments:

  1. The way to get out of jury duty is to tell them you have a bias against cops (don't trust them) during jury selection. It helps if someone in your family has been arrested.

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  2. I stated i had to work and couldnt take time off because I was the chief breadwinner of my family. still awaiting for them to re schedule or say it still needs to be fulfilled. NOthing yet and it has been over a year,

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