Jury duty and Citizenship

[Brother Hesekiel 2,235]

They send jury summons out randomly. Even my brother, who's only a tourist (with a California driver license), got one while he was here on vacation, many years back.

I have received quite a few of those letters in my time. I always threw them into the trash except the last time when I marked "not a USC" and sent it back, about 8 years ago. Since then I have not received another one, so apparently something in the system is indeed working as it should.

The "US citizen" issue is among the most sensitive ones and also has a huge impact (loss of green card) if pursued. I don't think the O.P. is in trouble here, and if I were in his shoes I would not wreck my brain until I assume I recall having marked that box, when I most likely did not.

Some things are better left alone, for peace of mind and other things. The human brain is easily fooled to deliver what the unconscious expects.

[gary9891 10]

Hi Guys.

I got a question regarding <Jury duty> i am a green card holder, and before i got my GC i received a letter from jury duty telling me that i have to go to the Curt for jury duty and for sure i dont know at that time what is jury duty and i did went there. and for sure i stayed there no body called me so i had to leave, and the Second time i recieved another jury duty Letter telling me i have to go to the Curt for jury duty so i did, and on that time i was GC holder, and then finally some body there told me if u not American Citizen u dont have to be here, so i dont know that anyways .... my question is .. by going to jury duty is that counting as Voting things ??? i mean Voting in a federal/local election ???? i just remembered this i am getting worried now. because when i went to the curt i think i have had to sign my name there ???

would u explain to me if this counting as voting or not ... because i am filing for my citizenship so i dont want them to say u voted before ... see what i mean

sorry but newbie in this case...

Thanks alot.

You have nothing to worry about. In my state of Florida, potential jury candidates are selected by Driver License info from the DMV. During the initial process at the court house, the court official asks if anyone IS NOT a citizen. These people are not eligible to serve and are excused.

Do not ignore a jury request and go to the court. I am sure they will ask for ineligible people (non citizens) to simply identify themselves and are excused. Ignoring a summons for jury can lead to legal trouble.

You did the right thing by going.

[Sand 5]

Hi 'Ant+D+BabyA' Again.

Well as i said before. i cant remember the first time. but for sure the second time i did i wrote NOT U.S CITIZEN.. this is the second time, but i cant remember the first time. well My Spouse call today and they going to check if i have record there they will send me copy if not i will not recieve any. but some times this people dont know what they doing so therefore i am going to the curt so i can check my record there .

Oh by the way the first time all what they ask me is My Driver License

Edited January 5, 2010 by Sand

[Dakine 26]

Correct me if I'm wrong but I've never seen info where a immigrant would be informed or made aware of they should not do jury duty until you study for US citizen.

[lucyrich 19]

Correct me if I'm wrong but I've never seen info where a immigrant would be informed or made aware of they should not do jury duty until you study for US citizen.

I've served on jury duty a few times. In my county, they always hand out a questionnaire which you are required to fill out. It has checkboxes for questions like "Are you a US Citizen y/n", "Have you been convicted of a felony y/n" (in my state, convicted felons cannot serve on juries), "Can you read and speak English y/n", "Are you a resident of xyz county", "Are you over 18 years old?", and probably some other basic questions I've forgotten.

If you showed up at the office of jury selection in the morning in response to a jury summons, I can't see where that would present any problem whatsoever. But if you filled out a questionnaire and answered "Yes" to the question "are you a US Citizen?", that could be a serious problem. If you didn't understand the question and there was no intent to deceive, it might not be an absolute show-stopper, but I'd still recommend a consultation with a qualified immigration attorney.

[Brother Hesekiel 2,235]

A qualified immigration attorney cannot help refreshing the I.O.'s memory from many years back. What's he supposed to do? File a motion to review questionaires given out to potential jurors way back when and thus opening a coffin that's closed tightly for so long?

I thus stand by the last paragraph of my previous post. Unless the I.O. clearly recalls having mistakenly marked "US citizen" he better stops trying to convince himself that he did.

[NycBra 4]

A qualified immigration attorney cannot help refreshing the I.O.'s memory from many years back. What's he supposed to do? File a motion to review questionaires given out to potential jurors way back when and thus opening a coffin that's closed tightly for so long?

I thus stand by the last paragraph of my previous post. Unless the I.O. clearly recalls having mistakenly marked "US citizen" he better stops trying to convince himself that he did.

Agreed.

[SuperDuper! 230]

They send jury summons out randomly. Even my brother, who's only a tourist (with a California driver license), got one while he was here on vacation, many years back.

I have received quite a few of those letters in my time. I always threw them into the trash except the last time when I marked "not a USC" and sent it back, about 8 years ago. Since then I have not received another one, so apparently something in the system is indeed working as it should.

The "US citizen" issue is among the most sensitive ones and also has a huge impact (loss of green card) if pursued. I don't think the O.P. is in trouble here, and if I were in his shoes I would not wreck my brain until I assume I recall having marked that box, when I most likely did not.

Some things are better left alone, for peace of mind and other things. The human brain is easily fooled to deliver what the unconscious expects.

We disagree Bob. It seems very intentional the way jury notices are sent out. If you have a DL and are a voter, then your name is culled from those two data bases--one confirms the other. Plus, they want you to think it is "patriotic" to do jury duty, and voters seem to be more patriotic than non-voters. Then again, the Grinch factor may play into it, too!

Ar5CmVGlFv0

[jjbandero 39]

Hi All,

Just to share my experience with jury summons, I've received two from the State of California in the last five years and this was as a result of the state using the DMV database as a tool for selection (I'm not a registered voter). I've responded to both notices by either writing or calling the court to tell them to mark me as a non-USC.

I consulted with a lawyer at the company I work for and he advised that I should always respond timely to such summons as it failure to do so may result in a bench warrant being issued for your arrest. I don't know how likely this might happen and in which states as it could depend on individual judges, but why chance it?

Cheers

JJ

[SuperDuper! 230]

Hi All,

Just to share my experience with jury summons, I've received two from the State of California in the last five years and this was as a result of the state using the DMV database as a tool for selection (I'm not a registered voter). I've responded to both notices by either writing or calling the court to tell them to mark me as a non-USC.

I consulted with a lawyer at the company I work for and he advised that I should always respond timely to such summons as it failure to do so may result in a bench warrant being issued for your arrest. I don't know how likely this might happen and in which states as it could depend on individual judges, but why chance it?

Cheers

JJ

In theory, it is true. In the real world, it just won't happen. Here's why.

In any county at any time, there are hundreds or thousands of FELONY bench warrants outstanding, with very bad guys on the loose.

There is just not money or resources to hunt down but only the most felonious and dangerous individuals.

Therefore, Jury duty scofflaws are at the bottom of the list of people to throw in jail.

Oh, BTW, most all jails and prisons in US are OVERFLOWING already with seriously bad guys, so no room for jury duty dodgers and jaywalkers.

What happens? occasionally a judge will get mad, and crackdown on the jury duty dodgers, and bring them into his court and ask why they did not respond to the jury notice. 9 of 10 times, the penalty is for the scofflaw to do maybe 10 consecutive days of jury duty.

Really, this is the reality and financial constraints. So many people just file the pesky jury duty notice in the round file, but do what makes you feel best, but dont say that the jury duty police are going to do a 5am raid and take in the scofflaws. That has never happened in our lifetime.

Cheers and good luck, mate.

[antda 13]

Hi Everyone,

Sand-I'm glad that you are going to get this sorted out by checking the record at the courthouse. I agree, sometimes government workers around here don't know what they are doing, so as residents/citizens, we have to be pro-active here, and check our own records, just in case. Don't want to end up in trouble with one governent agency, such as immigration, just because of another government agency's errors, such as the courts/judicial system. I agree, it seems kind of flawed of the system that they only wanted to see your driver's license, and nothing else, which does not prove citizenship status there, and could have gotten you in trouble, if someone else didn't point out the mistake there. Hope this will get sorted out soon for you, especially before you apply for citizenship and before you become a US Citizen. Better to get it sorted out now, than to have it affect other things later on!

Hi 'Ant+D+BabyA' Again.

Well as i said before. i cant remember the first time. but for sure the second time i did i wrote NOT U.S CITIZEN.. this is the second time, but i cant remember the first time. well My Spouse call today and they going to check if i have record there they will send me copy if not i will not recieve any. but some times this people dont know what they doing so therefore i am going to the curt so i can check my record there .Oh by the way the first time all what they ask me is My Driver License

Lucyrich-Likewise, I've filled out those similar questions before too, on a jury summons that I received before (from Canada though). And based on those answers, you would think that if someone checked of "no", that they would be disqualified, and nothing further would be asked of them. I guess not then? I agree, that there wouldn't be a problem in showing up for a jury summons, as by law one is required to do such. But to actually on purpose say "I am a US Citizen", even though you are not, is "misinterpreting" oneself, and that is when you would run into problems there. So yeah, it's best of the OP gets this sorted out and makes sure that is not the case, before they end up in even more trouble....

I've served on jury duty a few times. In my county, they always hand out a questionnaire which you are required to fill out. It has checkboxes for questions like "Are you a US Citizen y/n", "Have you been convicted of a felony y/n" (in my state, convicted felons cannot serve on juries), "Can you read and speak English y/n", "Are you a resident of xyz county", "Are you over 18 years old?", and probably some other basic questions I've forgotten.

If you showed up at the office of jury selection in the morning in response to a jury summons, I can't see where that would present any problem whatsoever. But if you filled out a questionnaire and answered "Yes" to the question "are you a US Citizen?", that could be a serious problem. If you didn't understand the question and there was no intent to deceive, it might not be an absolute show-stopper, but I'd still recommend a consultation with a qualified immigration attorney.

Jj-Likewise, the same thing happend to my husband (who is a US Citizen) too. He received a jury dury notice, but he was (and still isn't) a registered voter. So I think it was just a random thing, and that the DMV database might be used as a selection tool too...

Hmm..That got me wondering...Will I ever get a jury duty notice here in the USA too (I'm now a US Citizen)...Lol..if that is the case, I really hope they don't send it to the wrong address..as the address on my driver's license is "non-existent"...lol....

And yes, you did the right thing there, by telling them that you are a non-USC. And hopefully, you don't receive any more notices after that!

I agree too, that if you don't respond to such a jury summons, regardless of immigration status, that one could get in trouble because of such!

So, don't throw out those jury duty notices, everyone! Don't take the chance of not responding!

Respond accordingly...And be truthful there!

Lol..I responded to my jury duty notice for Canada (though I got it late, as it had to be forwarded from someone else in Canada) ...Just told them I lived in the USA...(and submitted evidence of such)..No problems with that...

And yeah, I wasn't going to chance that one either..as on the notice it said.."fine and/or imprisonment for not responding"....Ouch!

Hi All,

Just to share my experience with jury summons, I've received two from the State of California in the last five years and this was as a result of the state using the DMV database as a tool for selection (I'm not a registered voter). I've responded to both notices by either writing or calling the court to tell them to mark me as a non-USC.

I consulted with a lawyer at the company I work for and he advised that I should always respond timely to such summons as it failure to do so may result in a bench warrant being issued for your arrest. I don't know how likely this might happen and in which states as it could depend on individual judges, but why chance it?

Cheers

JJ

Good luck to all, jury notices and immigration journeys!

Ant

[Sand 5]

But i have 1 question regarding Jury Duty Form. and N-400 Form. On N-400 form it says Have to Ever Claimed to be a U.S Citizen? Now if i check No. and On Jury Duty Form I checked Yes. how Immigration can find out?? i dont want to do it but i said IF.... now about the Jury Duty Form. all the information i wrote there it will stay there at the curt house or can be shared with other Like Immigration ???? and if i go and remove my record it still will show that i did it before????

Oh let me add something too. and last time when i told them i am not a U.S Citizen then maybe they removed my record but i am not sure what do u think ?

Thanks alot.

Edited January 5, 2010 by Sand

[NickD 202]

But i have 1 question regarding Jury Duty Form. and N-400 Form. On N-400 form it says Have to Ever Claimed to be a U.S Citizen? Now if i check No. and On Jury Duty Form I checked Yes. how Immigration can find out?? i dont want to do it but i said IF.... now about the Jury Duty Form. all the information i wrote there it will stay there at the curt house or can be shared with other Like Immigration ???? and if i go and remove my record it still will show that i did it before????

Oh let me add something too. and last time when i told them i am not a U.S Citizen then maybe they removed my record but i am not sure what do u think ?

Thanks alot.

I don't know what to think, and we have 50 states with 50 different sets of laws and procedures for the same stuff, like applying for a drivers' license. Recall in Wisconsin they asked my wife her citizenship status, are you a USC? She checked the lawful permanent resident box and with that, they wanted to see her green card. We ran into problems with that because her conditional card was expired and they said, what in the heck is a one year extension notice? So they would not issue her a license. I fought with the governors office on this issue for a week when they finally agreed to give her a license.

When she did receive her USC, I brought here certificate in, they didn't want to see it, just said when her license expires to have her check she is a USC. Don't you require proof of that, I asked. No was the reply. Then can an illegal come here and check that USC box? Didn't get an answer.

Are you saying you were asked, even on the form that are you a USC? And are you saying you checked, yes? You seem concerned that you will get caught, feel you will be far better off to report it and get it over with. If this is the case.

[Brother Hesekiel 2,235]

If he reports that he claimed in writing on court papers to be a USC, the "get it over with" might be loss of LPR status and a one way flight ticket. That's your advise?

[NickD 202]

If he reports that he claimed in writing on court papers to be a USC, the "get it over with" might be loss of LPR status and a one way flight ticket. That's your advise?

Word is advice, what is your advice? In reality, no crime was committed, and those letters for jury duty are scary to start with, but in this country, perjury receives the most negative attention with that one way ticket out of here. But I really don't know if he claimed to be a USC or not.