Don't judge me but I have a friend who doesn't vote. She received a jury summons

[nirvana555]

today. I thought you had to be a registered voter to get the summons.Does anyone know how she would have been summoned?

[Lil Missy]

1. You can be a homeowner, or other pools they select from.

I've been called 3 times. I'm both a homeowner and registered to vote.

[cyberswede]

2. Do they use driver's license lists now, too? nt

[Lil Missy]

4. They could I suppose. n/t

[Scruffy Rumbler]

3. Maybe from having a state ID or property taxes?

My partner doesn't vote and he was summoned at the beginning of the year.

[elleng]

5. Depends on the State.

Driver's license?

[nirvana555]

7. Thanks guys! She does have a drivers license so we thought that might be it..N/T

[okaawhatever]

6. Probably either property tax rolls or drivers license. Tell her it's time to start voting now. In

my old hometown when they didn't have enough people for a jury trial (it was a military town and sometimes a lot of them would be gone) the sheriff's department would go to the mall and find people. You can't say you have anything pressing to do. Every once in a while when they went out there it would be on the news.

[orleans]

11. damn! that would keep me away from the mall

(not like i'd need the threat of jury duty to steer clear - i hate malls)

[struggle4progress]

8. In my state, the jury pool list is obtained from several sources, including drivers license lists

[Jenoch]

9. In my state, the jury pool is only selected from

registered voters. My father used to joke that the way to get out of jury duty is to tell the judge that if someone was innocent, they would not have been arrested.

Personally, I would like to serve on a jury, as long as it took only a couple of days.

My mother once got a postcard notifying she was being called for jury duty. My father called the county and told them she was 76 years old and had dementia. She was excused from seevice. I still miss her.

[CottonBear]

10. You do not have to be registered in many counties and cities.

Jury duty is a civic responsibility. It typically takes only a few hours or days.

I have been called many times for traverse jury duty but I was never chosen. I have only served once on a jury. It was a grand jury in my county. we met one morning a week for three months. Very interesting experience.

[Chan790]

16. I've always wanted to serve on a Grand Jury.

Of course, I think really wanting to serve on a jury is probably a disqualifier in voir dire for most trial attorneys.

[CottonBear]

19. In a grand jury, one only hears the prosecutor's charges to indict.

So, it is a very important charge: do we, the jury, choose to indict or not based on the evidence presented by the DA? If, indicted, then the case can (but does not always) proceed to trial. The person being charged is not present. Only the prosecution is present.

All of us took our duty very seriously. People's lives were in the balance. We had only had one perspective (that of the DA and his witnesses: the narcotics agents, fraud investigators, undercover cops, uniformed police, sheriffs deputies, etc.)

It was very interesting and compelling work. One did not want to make a mistake.

Of course, the DA and the DA's staff wanted an indictment for every charge. We, however, did not give them one for every charge.

It was extremely important to consider if the charges compelled an indictment.

(BTW, I love the original Law and Order. Being on a Grand Jury was like being in an episode in real life with total strangers' real lives in the balance.)

[Autumn]

12. If she has a car or drivers license they use those also.

[LynneSin]

13. That thing about voting is a bit of an urban legend

I think states started to realize that people weren't registering to vote because they didn't want to be summoned for Jury duty.

[sarge43]

14. New Hampshire: Driver licence

Get out of jail card: Active duty military, 70 years old and over, served within last three years.

[dr.strangelove]

15. jury pools are made up from various rolls

Some counties use tax rolls, others use DMV and other government issued ID rolls. It varies. I would tell her to go and perform her service. As an attorney, I can tell you we wish we had more jurors. Often the pool is not quit a fair representation of the public because it is weighted to include retired persons and unemployed persons without children. A fair cross-section is a better pool to start with IMO. I'd like to see more young people in the juror pools. But regardless, she should serve her term on jury duty.

[CottonBear]

21. Thank you for encouraging citizens to be jurors.

I have sat through at least 6 jury selections. I was amazed at the excuses my fellow citizens gave for their requests to be excused from jury duty.

The jury should be a fair cross-section of the community.

I have only once been excused from jury pool selection and that was when I was the sole caretaker for an infant child who I was exclusively breastfeeding. My jury duty was delayed until a later date. I would have served if I could have.

[greatauntoftriplets]

17. My mother's caregiver got a jury duty summons.

She wasn't even an American citizen. It is probably done by drivers license.

[malthaussen]

18. Different states do it differently.

Where I live, they do voter registrations at the DMV, and getting a driver's license will put you in the jury pool even if you don't register to vote.

-- Mal

[nirvana555]

20. Thanks to everyone! She actually wants to go but she's has a really different take

On life. Her philosophical views could very well eliminate her from being selected.

[CottonBear]

22. The Prosecutors and the Judge will question each candidate. n/t