What I’ve Learned from Being Neutral

Side view of the author gazing to her left on a beach with mountains and houses in the background
Photo by E.

The idea for today’s post came from Sarah F. Thanks for the suggestion, Sarah!

Unlike most of my fellow citizens, I had to sit out the recent election cycle. I voted, but I did not display a yard sign, put a bumper sticker on my car, contribute to a campaign, or like any candidate’s Facebook page. As a federal judicial employee, I’m prohibited from engaging in any political activity at any level. I’m not permitted to campaign on anyone’s behalf, nor am I allowed to publicly endorse any candidate. I cannot like a partisan post on social media, or attend rallies, and in most cases, I can’t participate in issue advocacy. At least for as long as I serve in my current role, you will not see any politically focused posts on this website.

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In Defense of Jury Duty

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People often tell me about the jury summons they received or their experiences serving as a juror, usually with a groan.  If they’ve been summonsed, they want to get out of it, and if they’ve been called to serve in the past, many express relief that the case was resolved before trial or that they weren’t selected and got to go home after a few hours.

I’ve never served on a jury myself, and I probably never will now that I’m a lawyer.  Most American adults, in fact, will not be called for jury duty.  According to one source, less than a third of American adults have ever served on a jury, and the number of federal jury trials is declining.

I have, however, worked in several courts and sat through a number of jury trials.  In this post, I hope to demystify jury duty and maybe even convince you to be excited about your next jury summons.  My discussion will mostly center on the federal courts, as each state does things a little differently.

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