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Posted by littletinyfish on Aug. 3, 2010 at 11:35 a.m. (report)

I was selected for Jury Duty once. The worst part was they put back to back episodes of According to Jim on the TV.

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Posted by IeTradeForYou on July 26, 2010 at 1:09 p.m. (report)

Think it's time for the Court system to move into the 20th century. With email and cell phones, people could be notified to report as-needed for selected morning or afternoon sessions. Think more people would dread the proposition less knowing that the system values their time.

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Posted by Dusty_Bottoms on July 26, 2010 at 11:00 a.m. (report)

I served for the first (and only, so far) time when I was 35 or so. Said to plan for two days. The first day, we watched two movies and I got called up to the courtrooms once but they reached a deal so they sent us right back down. At 2:30, they said "Okay, you're done, go home. And also, you don't have to come back tomorrow." I'd say I got off pretty easy.

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Posted by pnclement on July 26, 2010 at 8:13 a.m. (report)

On your "winning" the wrong kind of lottery -- being picked to serve on jury duty. I hope you aren't serious comparing it to the lottery or the "pure chance" of good fortune, literally, to whom ever wins a lottery?

Jury duty is not just a "duty" we all should do. It's also a basic right afforded each of us -- regardless of whether or not we have to avail ourselves of that right -- in our constitution. So it's no small potatoes that you're talking about. When I served on jury duty, in Family Court, I and my fellow jurors had to decide whether or not a birth parent, the mother, should have any future contact with her own flesh & blood or not. The mother had more than enough of her own personal problems to deal with, and wasn't doing good on any level, and it became our job to make the best decision for all parties involve, especially for the child, who was too young to say yea or nay about the issue. It was serious and it deserved our full attention and time -- even if we weren't being compensated well in doing so. Something's in life are way more important to do than what the money for doing so is. Just duty is one of them. So I hope you'll rethink your attitude on jury duty and do a good job of it for the low pay.

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Posted by whyme1 on July 26, 2010 at 7:48 a.m. (report)

I just finished 7 days of jury duty. Milwaukee county pays $19.00 a day. The deputies were great, and I was fortunate to be with 13 other friendly Milwaukee county residents that were like me, fulfilling their duty. As far as the trial, I wish I could say it was a pleasant experience. From day one, with each witness, my hope was that the next witness would be the one that not only put the defendant at the scene, but saw him without the mask and with the gun that killed a young 21 year old man. That never happened, and despite knowing in the very depth of your soul, the defendant was guilty, there was not enough physical evidence to convict. So writing Not Guilty, was the heartbreaking. I felt that I truly had let down the DA office who presented the best case they possibly could with what they had, and the family of the victim. Through you, I would like to apologize to that family from the bottom of my heart. This has been an emotional experience that I will never forget. I left the court house on July 20th, and cried all the way home. So like you was this "winning" a lottery? In my case, only the loser that we could not convict is likely feeling that he had the winning ticket. The only part of all of it that made this bitter pill easier to swallow, was when I looked this young man up on line and saw his numerous charges throughout his young life, and found that he also just finished another trial where he was found guilty and is facing a prison term. He also has another case pending, and hopefully, there will be justice there also. So as the saying goes, he may have won this battle, but he didn't win the war.

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