Jury Duty vs. Paintball

[Glickman]

you have another option..


give up a YEAR of your life to mandatory armed forces training


ah wait, this is the "good ol USA" where the government is allowed to say where we live and dont, and can move our houses.


bam.. 2 birds one stone :)

[dj89]

You go, they ask you if you have a raeson why you can't go on the dates. You tell them you are going on a vac, (paintball) and you have been waiting for it, They may let you off. Some are fun to go to, other just suck.

[VFX_Fenix]

Appear as the summons indicates. Call after the time they list on your letter to see if you actually are going to be called (there's a phone check in # to clal the day before).

Go in, answer their questions when they call you to the stand. Admittedly if you have any personal feelings about the topic you should voice them as they can give you a bias (if you actually have these personal feelings or not, that's your call) and the lawyers don't want a biased juror.

[jenarelJAM]

Appear as the summons indicates. Call after the time they list on your letter to see if you actually are going to be called (there's a phone check in # to clal the day before).

Go in, answer their questions when they call you to the stand. Admittedly if you have any personal feelings about the topic you should voice them as they can give you a bias (if you actually have these personal feelings or not, that's your call) and the lawyers don't want a biased juror.

actually, they all want biased jurors, they just can't agree on which ones

[Jaan]

In my state, if you show up for jury duty regardless if you're called or not you won't be served for another 3 years at least. I've never been called when I've shown up ... usually what happens is that if they have enough people for a jury then the case is settled out of court just before going to trial. See, if they can't get enough people then a lot of times the case might be dismissed and some petty chriminal goes free, or an innocent victim gets screwed by an insurance company. That's how the game is played.

Just go and be honest if you're called. That's the most important part of your civic duty IMHO, to be as honest and inpartial as you can be. The last time I went it was a drunk driving case involving a young man who was pulled over for "marked lanes violation". When the judge asked if anyone had a problem with this, I went up and told him the truth ... that I knew the officer and that when I was a teenager driving in that town, me and my friends were pulled over dozens of times by that officer for the same reason. He uses that excuse to pull over every teenager he sees driving around on weekends. Needless to say I didn't have to serve (c:

[Lohman446]

I'm under the impression your job has to let you go for jury duty and has to pay you for that time off.

If your an FTE, not a contractor - then they are required to let you go.

No...

Your employer is required to allow you to attend and may not take adverse actions against you for attending (ie firing you).

They are not required to pay you for the time off (at least in MI) though some employers do.

[Yamz]

Now first it has been a while since I have felt the need to post anything but this topic demands attention. Second I got deployment orders to return to Iraq and get shot at.

Reasons not to go
1 I have to get shot at (again)
2 I dont make enough money to get killed
3 I dont want to leave my wife
4 I am not a big fan of IEDs (improvised Explosive Device)
5 The weather sucks

Reasons to go (all more important than the not to)
1 Its my Job to protect the nation I love
2 My troops depend on me
3 I refuse to make another man die in what could be my place
4 I came into this job knowing it would not be easy and that it was going to be dangerous
5 I am an AMERICAN fighting to keep YOUR freedoms
6 Freedom has a price the protected will never know
7 FREEDOM IS NOT FREE

The fact that you would think of ignoring your summons makes defending america that much harder. Nothing makes defending this country harder than the protected americans not even wanting to do their civic duty while we are gone.

BU2 Michael "Yamz" Yamarino USN SEABEES

[edweird]

do your duty...

after all the chances your going to get sequestered(sp?) are slim.

[warbeak2099]

I can't wait to turn 18 and serve on a jury. In NY you can actually sign your name on something so you have a better chance of being called. I'm definitely doing that. I don't know why, but I'm like looking forward to it.

[slade]

Reasons to go (all more important than the not to)
1 Its my Job to protect the nation I love
2 My troops depend on me
3 I refuse to make another man die in what could be my place
4 I came into this job knowing it would not be easy and that it was going to be dangerous
5 I am an AMERICAN fighting to keep YOUR freedoms
6 Freedom has a price the protected will never know
7 FREEDOM IS NOT FREE

ok... i really dont mean this to sound like an attack on you, but i actually know next to nothing about the war (heh, i should probably try to find out more...) but i always hear people say stuff like "fighting for our freedoms" but no explanation whatsoever... what freedoms of americans are being violated that you are fighting for?

again i dont mean it to sound like an attack on you, i respect the fact that you serve, its just a phrase i always hear tossed around...


ehh, oh yeah no political discussions on AO... thats not too political, is it?

[Jaan]

ok... i really dont mean this to sound like an attack on you, but i actually know next to nothing about the war (heh, i should probably try to find out more...) but i always hear people say stuff like "fighting for our freedoms" but no explanation whatsoever... what freedoms of americans are being violated that you are fighting for?

When I asked my little brother that he said he went so his son wouldn't get blown up on a bus.

If you asked me when I wasn't feeling too PC I would say the fight is to keep us free from oppressive religious wing nuts. What a scam huh? Yeah sure, blow yourselves up and you'll get 10 vir ... make that 30 virgins in the afterlife. I gaaaaawooonteee it! Yeah yeah that's the ticket. Hey, I like my virgins right here on planet earth, and wearing mini skirts too, not with thier heads all covered up sheesh.

[warbeak2099]

Well, basically the war in the middle east is about bringing free market economies to dictatorial states. That way, the standard of living will rise dramatically and we will be able to wipe out terrorism more easily. You see, terrorism breeds on poverty. People who have no where else to go are stirred up by these fanatics making speeches against the western "infidels". Kind of like Hitler in the 1920's and 30's. People who are destitue will listen to anything as long as it gives them a place in society. These impoverished middle easterners want to fit in somewhere. Terrorism gives them a kind of place in society. It gives them a purpose. Their poverty has stripped them of everything else, they have nothing to lose.

Well, if you give these people a free market economy and allow them to make enough money to support themselves and their family, they won't NEED to turn to terror. Now they do have something to lose. Why abandon my higher quality lifestyle to go live in caves and blow myself up? They have something now, they have a purpose. We're improving these people's lives, and at the same time protecting ourselves and the rest of the world from terrorism. And that's exactly what we need to do to the rest of the middle eastern nations that are under tyrannies.

Look at Turkey and Isreal. They are succesful, progressive countries. And they're proud of it. They are hated and despised by other middle easterners because of their progress. They in turn hate other middle easterners. My father has a friend from Turkey. He says that these terrorists are lazy good-for-nothings who turn to terror for a living instead of doing an honest day's work. Well, if we give the terror-stricken nations a standard of living that is on par with western society, then what do they have to be jealous about? They won't have any reason to harbor these radical, angry feeling towards us. Plain and simple, you wipe out poverty and dictatorships, you wipe out terror.

[Lohman446]

Look at Turkey and Isreal. They are succesful, progressive countries. And they're proud of it.

I would think that Israel is not the greatest example of successfully preventing terrorism through the war for "hearts and minds"

I think that we had compelling reasons to go into Iraq, that being said I think that those reasons were overstated and we were mistaken in how compelling they were. I think the reasons were wrong (in hindsight) but that the people who made the decisions truly beleived them. I did at the time and think it was the right decision.

That being said I can look at historical attempts in the middle east to influence governments there or to occupy them and look at the results adn tell you that occupation of the middle east, or setting up a government will not be successful in the long run. I highly doubt any government we set up will last for more than 50-100 years before it is overthrown without our military intervention.

Regardless of my beleifs on the war I support our soldiers who put there lives on the lin bravely and slefishly every day. We are committed and our soldiers risk there lives every day with there discretion and prove the honor of the American military to the people over there. Will it help? Sadly it may for a generation, but you have to look at my thoughts above as to long term. Either way, the soldiers have my full support for what they do and my gratitude for doing it.

[slade]

Look at Turkey and Isreal. They are succesful, progressive countries. And they're proud of it. They are hated and despised by other middle easterners because of their progress. They in turn hate other middle easterners.

umm... ok i may not know anything about iraq because i dont watch tv or read the newspaper and my parents... just no. if i ask my dad something he just goes on about how democrats bribe people with drugs to win elections. and my mom isnt really any better, just left wing. but i do know about Israel from history classes, and unless my teacher just randomly decided to make up a semester of material, all the other middle eastern countries hate Israel (and thus the united states for backing them) for taking over land owned by arabs for the past three thousand years and making their own country because "god gave the land to them".

and from what lohman is saying, it sounds like the war is going to be another vietnam...

[Athius]

Dear AO. I come to you for your wisdom.

I just received a Jury Duty notice in the mail. I know a lot of times people just toss these letters in the trash when it clearly states that it is illegal to not respond to these things. But I don't have time to do Jury Duty and I have several games scheduled for the dates I most likely have to serve.

Why I don't want to serve:
-Jury Duty pays only $15 a day for my time
-Can't afford to miss work
-Work doesn't compensate for Jury Duty (even takes from my PTO)
-Up coming PB Games
-Just don't want to

Possible consequences:
- May be fined $1000.
- May serve 5 years in Jail.
- May have to do both jail + fine.

My questions:
- Should I just ignore the letter and trash it?
- Respond to the letter and make up some excuse to get out?
- Just do it and become more in debt due to the lack of $$$ for serving jury duty?

Any response would be greatly appreciated. Please share if you have any experience with this. Thanks.

~Shingo~

Like George Carlin said: "Tell the judge that you can spot guilty people by just looking at them."

And about jury duty as a duty that you are doing for your country? That is the most dumbest thing i ever heard.

This thing of doing your duty for your country is so dumb since you are not doing it for your country you are doing it for some stupid politician who doesnt care if you die doing it. Unless your country is getting invaded now that is were you do your duty to your country and home.