My Los Angeles County Jury Duty ExperienceBy: Nick Baicoianu: March 16, 2006 Disclaimer: Nick Baicoianu is not an employee or representative of L.A. County Courts—all the information here is from his personal experience and is NOT in any way official. Everyone dreads it – that notice in the mail from the County Jury Commissioner requiring you to show up for jury duty. Here's one juror's experience. The basic procedure is this: after you fill out the form you need to call the court's jury line (800) SRV-JURY. It's an automated system where you can get info on your jury service. You are assigned a date for you to report for service, though you can postpone your service for up to 90 days from that date via the automated phone system (no excuse required!). You must call in the weekend before the summons date to see if you need to come in. After you enter your juror id and pin numbers, you will be told whether you need to show up on your summons date. If you don't have to report that day, you have to call back the following day after 5pm to see if you have to serve the following day. If not, repeat the process until you are instructed to show — my summons date was a Monday, but I didn't have to report until Thursday that week. The BasicsLocationI reported to the C. Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center in Downtown Los Angeles (320 W. Temple St. - at Broadway). Depending on where you live, your court will vary; if you live more than 20 miles away from your summons location, you can request a transfer to another court. Parking
TimeMy summons required me to be at the juror assembly room at 7:45AM–I didn't make it there until 8:15 and there was no problem. Definitely be there by 8:30 to get the introduction and turn in your summons. Important Information
SuggestionsWhat to Bring
What to WearThe jury literature recommended dressing as business casual, though I saw many people with just collared shirts & jeans. Definitely no tank tops, cutoff tops, or anything else you wouldn't wear around your mother. TimelineIn the Jury Assembly Room
Employer CompensationMake sure to fill out the field "Employer pays for ___ days of service". If you don't, it will be assumed that you can serve an unlimited amount of time with pay! There are some special cases regarding employer compensation:
If your employer won't pay for jury duty, you're not off the hook. What Happens When You're CalledInitial procedureI was part of a group of 50-60 people called into a courtroom for the jury selection process. At this time the defendant and attorneys for both sides are seated in their traditional locations. The court clerk gives a general introduction about how the selection procedure works and what to expect. Prospective jurors are instructed to sit in the audience section of the court while the clark calls up 24 jurors by id number (some judges do this to increase the speed of the process). I was up in the first group. The judge enters the courtroom and talks about what is expected of us as potential jurors. He describes the case before us: the defendant is accused of intent to sell a narcotic substance (cocaine). The judge reads out the defendant's, prosecuting attorney's, and defending attorney's names and the names of witnesses who may testify in the case, asking us if we personally know any of them. Judge's QuestionsThe judge then asks us to answer some basic questions (listed on the wall) about our occupation, marital status, number of children, what their occupations are (if adults), and whether we have any prior criminal or civil jury experience. He then queries prior jurors on the type of case and charges, and whether the jury reached a verdict. We are then asked some general questions on our personal experiences with the law; are we victims of serious crimes, have we or anyone we know been accused or convicted of a serious crime—instructing us to raise our hand and provide a more detailed answer. The judge asks a few more detailed questions of each applicant's answer, and asking us if our experience will interfere with our judgement on the case. Case-specific QuestionsBecause this is a drug case, we are also asked if we or anyone we know has had a substance abuse problem, and if so whether it will interfere with our judgement on the case. The judge asks if any of us is involved in and anti-drug or pro-legalization organizations, and separately whether we feel drugs should be legalized. Attorney QuestioningDuring the whole question & answer process the attorneys are taking notes on the jurors' responses. Judge Lomelli instructs the attorneys to begin their questioning. The defense starts by questioning a juror who mentioned her father's drug addiction to crack cocaine, asking probing questions into whether this experience will affect her judgement. The prosecutor begins by asking more detailed questions of the jurors regarding drug legalization. She questioned a few other jurors who mentioned an antipathy towards law enforcement including a woman who claimed she'd "never call the police" if she was in trouble. Juror EliminationHaving finished their questioning, the attorneys return to their seats and the juror elimination procedure begins. Alternating between prosecution and defense, the attorneys ask individual jurors to leave based on their answers to all the questions – it's a quick process and I'm eliminated within minutes. By the time I leave, about 10 jurors have been eliminated. Those who leave are instructed to return to the juror assembly hall for another potential assignment. Location InformationBeing in the middle of downtown Los Angeles, the criminal courts building is located near many food establishments and interesting locations. Most are within walking distance, or you can take the metro DASH Line B (25¢) to get there. Food
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