I finally get a jury summons, sent to my address here in New Mexico and guess where the summons is coming from? Marion County, Indiana. 
Dudes! I haven't lived in IN for over a year and a half!
I've always been interested in serving as a juror but in my years I've only ever received one, back in the early '90s and when I called in that morning I was told I was no longer needed.
Definitely not equal. I lived in CO off and on for 15 years, NM now off and on for 20, and IN for 9. I leave the state and now I get a summons?? π
@elbutterfield @see_the_sus I'm in Aus, and I've never been summonsed for jury duty. My spouse has, and had to decline. Because we work in court transcription, neither of us is allowed to be on a jury.
@Nimthiriel @see_the_sus That makes sense. I am a teacher, so every time I was summoned I had to design lesson plans for the substitute, and if I got called back I would be scrambling to make a week's worth of lessons. It was pretty crazy. Not the kind of job you can just close the door and walk away from.
@elbutterfield @see_the_sus Oof, as a former teacher, I'm absolutely feeling this. Taking leave from teaching often felt like more effort than just coming in and working sick.
@Nimthiriel @see_the_sus Boy, you've got that right!
For years when I was a working photojournalist, I often wondered if I was called for jury duty if I'd be disqualified as being potentially "prejudiced."
@see_the_sus @Nimthiriel I don't know but I would think you would make a great juror with all that knowledge and understanding of the way of the world.
Oh I agree but oftentimes that can be seen as a threat to the defense.
@see_the_sus @Nimthiriel True. You never know whether you will be accepted or excused. It could go either way.
@see_the_sus @elbutterfield In Australia it's more about the whole jury being as average as possible. Our selection is extremely random here. Like, there's no interrogating the jury, the defendant can only object to three potential jurors without giving a good reason, and they're just paraded in front of them so it's in case they recognise each other or something.
@Nimthiriel @see_the_sus Wow! That's very different from the voir dire here. I wonder which one yields a fairer jury?
Iβm curious as well. Fascinating!
@see_the_sus @elbutterfield I'm happy to provide more details on how our juries are chosen if anyone is interested :)
Iβm always intrigued by how other countries do their βstuff.β π
@see_the_sus Neat! :D So like I said, ours is all about being as average as possible. So they randomly mail out jury summonses and if you're not precluded (like I am), you go in and sit in a jury pool and are given a number. When a court sends note that they're ready for a jury, the numbers are literally pulled out of a box and if you're selected, you go up to the court. If not, you wait for the next session to be ready and your number to be drawn.
@see_the_sus ^^ Once you're up in the court area the group is known as a jury panel. The judge tells you about the trial and how long it will take and examples of acceptable reasons for excusing yourself. Then numbers are again drawn from a box until they reach the required number. As the number is drawn, you can say either "Present" or "Excuse". If you said "excuse" the judge will ask you to write down the reason which the tipstaff/bailiff will hand to them, and they'll probably excuse you.
@see_the_sus ^^^ Once that's done, the people who didn't excuse themselves walk past the defendant and give their name and occupation. The defendant, with help from their solicitor, can object to three of the people they see without giving a reason but beyond that, they have to give a good reason as to why they object to that person.
I made a mistake in the earlier explanation, the panel is just given a roll call and they say "present" or "excuse", their numbers are drawn here at the end.
@see_the_sus ^^^^ The final thing that's done is the jury are sent into their room with the tipstaff who explains daily court procedures to them and they are instructed to select a foreperson, which is simply someone who speaks on behalf of the group if necessary.
And that's it! This is for a normal criminal trial. Things can be different for civil trials, or in towns with very small populations where everybody likely knows everybody else.
How many people make up the jury?
@see_the_sus It's usually 12 for criminal trials, 6 for civil trials. During Covid they'd empanel up to 14 in crim, in case of absence due to illness.
oh interesting, same as here.
Does this mean a person has to drive to the courthouse and sit and wait on the off-chance they may not get selected?
Do people get paid for jury duty, like they do here? Every state is different about how much it pays and naturally, it doesn't equal what a person, if working, gets from their job.
@see_the_sus Yes, and I believe yes. Usually if you're not selected to be on a jury panel within a day or two, you get excused and are replaced, I think.
Ugh, that would drive me bonkers. When I lived in Boulder, CO, (northwest of Denver), all you had to do was call in the morning and they'd tell you if you were needed. I only know this because I got one summons, way back in the early 1990s.
@see_the_sus At least here in Melbourne, the major courts are all in the same part of the city centre and very accessible by public transport. But yeah, it would also drive me absolutely bonkers to show up and find out I'm not needed! Though the courts seem to do their best to be as efficient with people's time as possible
@elbutterfield @see_the_sus We do have a voir dire here, but only under special circumstances, if both sides agree and the judge orders that it's necessary if it's uncertain what evidence will be elicited from a jury.
@see_the_sus I get jury summons regular as clockwork every two years. I don't believe it when they say everybody is called equally.