cougarguard.com — unofficial BYU Cougars / LDS sports, football, basketball forum and message board  

Go Back   cougarguard.com — unofficial BYU Cougars / LDS sports, football, basketball forum and message board > non-Sports > Current Events

Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Old 01-06-2016, 04:05 PM   #1
BlueK
Senior Member
 
BlueK's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: Dallas, TX
Posts: 2,368
BlueK is on a distinguished road
Default Jury service

I've been picked to be part of my county's grand jury for the next six months. That means starting yesterday, for one day a week until the end of June I'm going to be at the courthouse for most of the business day helping to decide if there is enough evidence to send felony cases to trial. It was interesting seeing how the process works. Mostly drug cases and burglaries. At least on our first day almost all of them met the standard to push them to the next step. But I did feel good about how we were able to end the legal nightmare for someone who was clearly falsely accused.

Last edited by BlueK; 01-06-2016 at 08:46 PM.
BlueK is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-07-2016, 03:09 AM   #2
MikeWaters
Demiurge
 
MikeWaters's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2005
Posts: 36,363
MikeWaters is an unknown quantity at this point
Default

wow, that's a huge time commitment. I could never do that with my job, I don't think. My employer would not allow that.
MikeWaters is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-07-2016, 01:41 PM   #3
BlueK
Senior Member
 
BlueK's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: Dallas, TX
Posts: 2,368
BlueK is on a distinguished road
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by MikeWaters View Post
wow, that's a huge time commitment. I could never do that with my job, I don't think. My employer would not allow that.
By law they're supposed to allow it. But when I was summoned the judge did give people the opportunity to explain their situation in cases where serving would create too much of a problem. For example, one guy was the owner and basically the only full time employee of his business. The judge excused him because it would have really hurt his business to be away from it one day every week. Another example would be someone who travels for work, etc. In my case I knew my job is flexible enough to figure out a way to deal with it, and we have. This jury includes a guy who owns a real estate business, a doctor, as well as a pretty diverse group of white and blue collar professions, and a couple of older retired people.

Last edited by BlueK; 01-07-2016 at 03:00 PM.
BlueK is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-07-2016, 05:24 PM   #4
MikeWaters
Demiurge
 
MikeWaters's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2005
Posts: 36,363
MikeWaters is an unknown quantity at this point
Default

well it sounds like it will be interesting, and I'm glad good people of sound judgment such as yourself are stepping up.
MikeWaters is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-07-2016, 08:25 PM   #5
Archaea
Assistant to the Regional Manager
 
Archaea's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: The Orgasmatron
Posts: 24,338
Archaea is an unknown quantity at this point
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by MikeWaters View Post
well it sounds like it will be interesting, and I'm glad good people of sound judgment such as yourself are stepping up.
It would be interesting, but the time required means only those with flexible schedules or who don't need to work can afford to serve.
__________________
Ἓν οἶδα ὅτι οὐδὲν οἶδα
Archaea is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-27-2016, 08:27 PM   #6
BlueK
Senior Member
 
BlueK's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: Dallas, TX
Posts: 2,368
BlueK is on a distinguished road
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Archaea View Post
It would be interesting, but the time required means only those with flexible schedules or who don't need to work can afford to serve.
It's been an interesting experience. Every week there are 3-4 cases on average that don't rise to the level of probable cause that we end up throwing out. I like the way Texas does this. Most states don't use a grand jury or only use it pretty sparingly. Seeing firsthand how it works makes me feel like it does what it's supposed to.

Last edited by BlueK; 04-27-2016 at 09:47 PM.
BlueK is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Bookmarks

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


All times are GMT. The time now is 10:53 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.2
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.