Why is it illegal to not want to be on jury duty?

Question

I recently read this:
BARNSTABLE, Mass. - A Cape Cod man who claimed he was homophobic, racist and a habitual liar to avoid jury duty earned an angry rebuke from a judge on Monday, who referred the case to prosecutors for possible charges.:

The guy answered the questionaire in a way that would indicate that he would not be impartial as a member of the jury and now he's a criminal? Makes me feel so much better about our legal system.
Those questionaires are designed to insure people get an impartial jury. If someone really doesn't want to be a jurour do you think they will be impartial if they feel like a hostage?

Answer 1

How did he lie? He told the judge his personal feelings on Homosexuals and black people, and ADMITTED that he could be labeled a Liar. Sounds like he got in trouble for telling the truth.

His mistake was the "labeled a liar" speech he gave the judge. I too wrote ridiculous and shocking information on my juror form, but the case was ended when defendants plead (according to some, they wet themselves in seeing a jury pool "not to their liking"). I remember writing in response to a question about trusting the judicial system "The injustice system is racist, biased and unfair towards working class people". Somehow, I doubt they would have picked me.

Answer 2

The simple answer is 'civic responsibility'. In order for the judiciary to operate they must have a pool of 'peers' from which to draw from to decide cases that come before the courts. Back in the day, these peers were our neighbors and towns folk. The country's grown, but the philosophy has remained the same.

But being on a jury is both a serious responsibility..sometimes a deadly serious responsibility..and it's no fun at all. NO ONE wants to be on jury duty. It takes time from work, from wages, vacation time and you get nothing for it other than the thanks of the court. As a result, if a person WANTS to be on a jury, you have to ask yourself why. Seriously, why? Are they unemployed or are they...not right in the head. Ask yourself just what sort of person would seek out jury duty and then ask yourself if this is the sort of person you want to pass the verdict.

So why should this guy get out of doing his civic duty when all the rest of us are duty bound to serve in this necessary and critical capacity. Courts can't function without juries and unless folks are 'forced' to serve, few would and those who would would be either unemployed or whackos.

Answer 3

First, it is not illegal to want to not serve on a jury.

However, it is a civic duty. Like it or not, jury trails are a key component of the legal system. Jury duty is like paying taxes, you may not like it but you have to do it in order to keep the country moving.

Second, the questionaire is a sworn statement and therefore he may have committed perjury or at a minimum be found in contempt of court.

The court system is usually very leniant about letting people who have valid reasons to get off or at least delay jury duty. But "I don't want to", is as useless an excuse for skipping jury duty as it is for skipping paying taxes.

Answer 4

Websters defines PEER as: equal to another in abilities, qualifications, background, and social status.

I sat on a jury once.....ONCE, and I will NEVER do it again.
The jury box did not consist of the plaintiff's "peers" by a longshot. The plaintiff was an uneducated, non-english speaking landscaper...the jury box consisted of 1 person with a college education, 1 flight attendant with some college, 1 psych tech, and the rest of the box consisted of retired immigrants or welfare recipients. How this jury consisted of the plaintiffs peers is completely beyond me because I for one do not consider myself a peer of this particular plaintiff. Nonetheless, the other jurors I sat with....God help me if I am ever on trial for my life because I will SOO be in trouble.

I don't blame the Cape Cod man one darn bit and I would do whatever I could to not have to sit on a jury again. None of the people I sat with wanted to be there (I know I sure as heck didn't), none of them paid attention to the jury instructions, none of them paid attention to the evidence....everyone wanted to just "go home." Although I took my service serious, I hated it, and nothing is worse than being stuck in a room with 11 other people who don't care about the rules or what's at stake...they only care about going home.

Answer 5

because no one wants to take from their personal routine time to participate in it and also, in my case, I have been called like every other year for over 15 years and my hubby nor neighbors have been called to serve. It is like they keep calling the people that are easy to get over and over...till I just refused to go on year and they never did anything to me. it should be voluntarily done, not forced. I lost a bit of money being forced to participate so much for that little money they give you...I could have earned more working overtime at work.

Answer 6

It is part of our duty as American citizens, everyone is entitled to a jury by their peers. If he doesnt want to be on jury duty get the hell out of America, there are lots of countries where you dont "have" to serve on a jury. someday he may need to go to trial and he would certainly appreciate having American citizens that are responsible on the jury.

Answer 7

A desire to not serve vs. committing perjury are two different things.

He committed perjury. Do you think the ends justify the means?

It is amazing how many negative votes the responders are getting when they point out that lying is court is a crime. Think about what that means...these people condone lying in court.

Answer 8

Its not illegal to not want to be on a jury, but to knowingly lie to get out of Jury Duty is.

Answer 9

It's not illegal to not want to do it. It's illegal to lie to avoid it. Strange how many people want all the benefits of our system of laws, but don't want to take part when asked to perform a simple civic duty.

Answer 10

Wow that is sad! So much for freedom hugh? Why don't they just hire professional jurors to do the job?