Anyone have Federal Jury duty...

[jeep]

Dureing the selection process i was asked if I could follow an order of the court . I told them it depended on what that order was and if i agreed with that order or not needless to say I was sent home.

My only issue with jury duty is that you miss out on X amount days of pay and when the bills are due they dont want to hear sorry I had jury duty.

Now if the courts paid you your wages that you make at work then sure id be there but untill that happens Ijust dont see me serving jury duty

[regger]

I know this is an old thread but it's also a useful one so here's my input for anyone travelling from >50 miles. I'm in Lancaster County so it's kind of a pain reporting to Federal jury duty but it's a civic duty and I'm rarely called. I'm reporting again in a few weeks but this is what I've done in the past. Take advantage of hotel accommodations and also take advantage of the SEPTA rail line if you're coming from out this way. They give you a list of nearby hotels. Some hotels require 48 hours to cancel (e.g., the Marriott) and some allow cancellation as late as 6PM the night before reporting (e.g., Holiday Inn Express) which is where I make reservations. This is important because you have to call at 5PM the night before to see if you have to report the next day or not. I drive to the Thorndale SEPTA station (the westernmost point of SEPTA) and call from the parking lot. I suggest taking a check made out to SEPTA to place in the payment board in the parking lot (I can't remember how much per night, maybe it's on the website). If I'm to report then I deposit the check, take the 5:36 train and get to Philly early enough to walk from the Jefferson Station to the hotel in daylight, otherwise I just call the hotel to cancel my reservation and drive back home. If I waited to call from home and had to report I wouldn't get to Philly until dark. As far as the jury duty itself, well, to be honest I dreaded it and desperately hoped not to be chosen (I've got this serious anxiety thing where I can't sit still in any place where I know that I can't get up and walk around) but borrowing a Xanax from my wife (I know, but that's all that would get me through it) takes care of that. To my horror I was chosen once, but sitting in that courtroom, it was great - it really was. A Perry Mason set, except that's a real judge, real attorneys, a real defendant facing 20 years...I can say that we all took it extremely seriously, we bonded in the jury room, and as much as something like that can be enjoyed, well, I'd say don't sweat it, it can really be a memorable experience. The judge came to the jury room when it was all over to thank us, tell us we reached the correct (guilty) verdict, and answer any questions we had. All involved continually expressed their appreciation for our service. You won't regret it.

[scruff]

I got a federal questionnaire in the mail 2 months ago. Then it was reported at the same time that Bill Cosby's lawyers requested a large pool of potential jurors from Western PA. Haven't heard anything since.