How to Avoid Jury Duty

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We have to wear these big buttons, originally uploaded by nickgraywfu.

How I Got Excused from Jury Duty (a DUI case)

The best advice I heard about avoiding jury duty was to give the answers that you know the prosecutor or defending attorney is looking for. Can you be impartial to this case? No, I made up my mind ten minutes ago.

In our case, which was an underage DUI, things were complicated for the defense. Four out of the fourteen prospective jurors had previous DUIs. Three potential jurors had close family members (a sister, a grandmother and a grandfather) killed by drunk drivers. And quite a few people morally objected to drinking. Nearly everybody KNEW someone who had gotten a DUI. I even went to high school with the deputy officer that arrested the accused drunk driver.

The defense has a disadvanage in all cases, and I think they always get to strike more potential jurors than the prosecutor. Since everybody seemed to have some sort of negative history with alcohol in our group of potential jurors, I decided to paint a picture of a carefree peer who could sympathize with the accused. Surely the prosecutor would add me to his strike list!

• When asked if I thought it was illegal or wrong to drink alcohol and drive, I asked, "How many beers are we talking about?"
• I was the first to raise my hand when asked if a friend or family member had ever had a negative experience with law enforcement. When later questioned, I simply said that "A few of my college buddies got burned by the cops for underage drinking."

I was promptly excused. Still, the process of jury selection for a misdemeanor consumed almost seven full hours! Make sure that you bring a book.

Update 1 - I almost forgot. Before the selection process began, we had to watch a short video produced by the State of Georgia explaining the concepts and terms of jury duty. The video, the judge and even the bailiff went out of their way to apologize for the seeming inconvenience of jury duty to our budy American lives - but it has its important historical and social roots.

One funny segment of the video showed a few warnings... Do not talk to the press, Do not make phone calls from the jury room, and my favorite- Do not investigate on your own. This last scene showed an elderly woman approaching a door with big, yellow "Crime Scene" tape and trying to open the door. I couldn't stop laughing!