First time jury duty after becoming citizen

[new68 25]

Took my oath earlier this year (few months ago)now received a summons for jury duty.  Anything to be careful about while filing out the jury questionnaire(as a naturalized citizen)? What is the experience like? Thanks. 

[JeanneAdil 7,414]

just answer the questionaire honestly/ u are allowed to put i don't know if that's the case like if it asks about a specific law and u don't understand , say so . the court will explain all to u in requards to the law and what you need to know to reach a decision

 

just for info 

not only is the process different state to state but county to county within a state

 

in NY i served  and no quesionaire  (civil case suing one party for an accident)

in Ga a 2 page simple quesionaire (grand jury)

in Tn  a long one for a murder / rape trial and they wanted to know if i heard of the case and formed an opinion 

 

so state cases ,  civil, criminal, and whether its state or federal have differnent policies for a questionaires

and some only use it to process data following a case

[TBoneTX 48,782]

Congratulations on your oath!

 

50 minutes ago, new68 said:

Anything to be careful about while filing out the jury questionnaire

Look carefully for any exemptions for which you might qualify -- child or elder care, difficulty understanding English, and others.  Check the box by any that apply, and you should be excused.  Keep a copy of whatever you submit!  It's best to return your form (with exemptions or not) promptly, by e-mail scan or fax.

54 minutes ago, new68 said:

What is the experience like?

Others here may vehemently disagree, but I consider jury duty to be close to hell on Earth.

 

Very generally:

If you have no exemptions or disqualifications, you'll receive a date on which to report to court.

Everyone's name will be called, and bench warrants issued for those who are absent.

You'll be called as part of a jury pool for a civil or criminal case.

If your juror number is low, you have a higher chance of being selected as a juror for the trial.

Lawyers for both parties will ask questions of jurors* to see who should be "stricken" from consideration.

     *The process is called voir dire.  Jurors with prejudices or conflicts of interest can be stricken.

If your number is not ultimately called to serve, you may go home.

If you're picked, the trial may be that same day or possibly the next day.

Regardless, you won't be called to serve again for some time (it varies; 1 to 3 years).

 

I've done everything in my power to be legitimately excused from service, and I've always been successful.

 

Others here will advise you further and perhaps otherwise.

[OldUser 11,167]

1 hour ago, new68 said:

Took my oath earlier this year (few months ago)now received a summons for jury duty.  

Congrats

 

1 hour ago, new68 said:

 Anything to be careful about while filing out the jury questionnaire(as a naturalized citizen)?

 

Sure, answer questions truthfully and to the best of your knowledge

[new68 25]

5 minutes ago, OldUser said:

Congrats

 

Sure, answer questions truthfully and to the best of your knowledge

One of the questions asked for occupation. The issue is that I'm not working right now but am starting a job in a week. Should I just say " currently not working but starting a new job soon". The date for the jury duty is Feb so I'll be working then.

[OldUser 11,167]

15 minutes ago, new68 said:

One of the questions asked for occupation. The issue is that I'm not working right now but am starting a job in a week. Should I just say " currently not working but starting a new job soon". The date for the jury duty is Feb so I'll be working then.

Whatever your info you put in there is as of date of filling paperwork, not as of future date.

 

Also, depends how you interpret occupation. Occupation is not same as employment in my understanding.

 

E.g. you can be a doctor by occupation (you studied in that field, worked for 20 years in it) but currently unemployed.

Edited 4 hours ago by OldUser

[JeanneAdil 7,414]

not always excused for 1 duty does not keep u out of serving

in TN on the 3rd day , we were told a plea bargain had been reached but we still had to come every day for the rest of a 2 week period as other cases were still on the docket and i just sat there for the remainder as court had figured the 1st case would be long and no one was prepared for another

 

usually drs and lawyers are exempt from this duty so it falls on the rest of us

[yuna628 9,941]

3 hours ago, new68 said:

Took my oath earlier this year (few months ago)now received a summons for jury duty.  Anything to be careful about while filing out the jury questionnaire(as a naturalized citizen)? What is the experience like? Thanks. 

What happens in jury duty and how long you serve is largely dependent on state requirements, but in general at least here, you fill out a questionnaire, are paid money when you show up, and you will be sitting for a week. Any time in that week you may be called as many times as they like (you are usually required to call a number each day to see if you are required), but in my experience it's only once. It is hard to get out of jury duty in our state and particularly my county. You can only delay it, unless completely exempt. Usually it ends up in a plea deal and you get $30 for several boring hours of sitting. On occasion someone for the county will try and coerce you to donate that money. Sometimes you do get as far as voir dire, and you'll be asked a long list of questions that you may or may not agree with or if you know about the case in question. For me I was called to stand before the judge and the accused and was asked questions regarding the overview of the case, my feelings about guns, property rights, and if I had been a victim of a crime. I was not a candidate, based on my answers to serve on the jury, and was dismissed from service. If you serve your allotted time, you will not be called again for a designated amount of time.

 

Like you, soon after he naturalized, my husband was chosen for jury duty. He was actually quite excited about it, but after sitting for three hours the judge dismissed him for the day. There was then an emergency at the courthouse, so court was cancelled for the rest of the week and so was his term of service. The main thing is to always answer truthfully, make sure you know the rules of what you can and cannot bring inside, and of course certain answers don't usually make you favorable to sit on a jury.