> Because of the way the legal system works, a "jury of your peers" is
really a jury of those who had nothing else to do and could afford to come
to court for the $10-12 a
>day often paid to jury members or who didn't know how to get out of jury
duty. Juries members are likely people with a low educational level. It is
very unlikely they will be doctors and nurses."
I feel compelled to respond to this attack on the US jury system,
especially for our non-US LactNetters, who might think we are weirder than
we actually are. In the US, all registered voters (and in some state,
anyone with a driver's license as well) are put in the pool for potential
jury selection. When trials are coming up, the court sends out notices to
many people, and they must show up to go through preliminary screening.
Very few exceptions are made that would allow one to get out of jury duty,
regardless of the inconvenience to you, your employer, or your family. I
have gotten out of jury duty because of pregnancy (need to go vomit during
the trial would cause unreasonable delays) and because of breastfeeding
(you don't have to serve on a jury if your absence would leave children
under the age of 10 without anyone to care for them). You can't get out of
jury duty simply because you have an important job, or are wealthy. Often
people are called down to the courthouse and end up not being needed,
because they always call more than they need. You are out one day of work,
but that is all, and then your name is put back in the pool. People may be
called once a year, or more often, or less often. It's been at least 5
years since I was called, and longer for my husband, who did actually serve
on a jury trial involving a drunken-driving charge with injuries to the
motorcyclist who was hit by the drunk driver. My husband has a Ph.D.
Recently, one of the MD psychiatrists where my husband works had to serve
on a jury in a trial that ended up taking two weeks. It was an enormous
problem for the mental health agency to cope with the lack of one of their
psychiatrists for two weeks, but they had to scramble and make do.
I would have to say that ALL of the statements said by the other writer
(top) about the jury system in the US are completely false. Juries often
include people with college degrees, advanced degrees, doctors, nurses,
business people, and housewives. It is NOT easy to get out of jury duty --
it isn't a matter of being smart enough to know how to get out of it.
Also, it isn't a matter of who can "afford" to be paid only $10-12 per day.
Most employers do NOT penalize employees who have been called for jury
duty by docking their pay or making them take time off to serve on the jury
-- so they get the $10-12 in addition to whatever their usual salary is.
"A jury of one's peers" does not people matched exactly for race, religion,
educational level, or socio-economic status -- it means a jury of people
drawn at random from your community, who are your "peers" whether you like
it or not. End of rant.
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Katherine A. Dettwyler, Ph.D. email:
[log in to unmask]
Anthropology Department phone: (409) 845-5256
Texas A&M University fax: (409) 845-4070
College Station, TX 77843-4352
http://www.prairienet.org/laleche/dettwyler.html
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