Don’t Skip Jury Duty.


DC Police
Originally uploaded by F1.4

No really, don’t skip jury duty in DC. You run the risk of arrest and a $325 fine. It’s a heckuva lot cheaper to go. Most folks, when prompted with the threat of arrest and a hefty fine do their civic duty instead, but wouldn’t it just be easier to do it the first time?

I live and work in the District of Columbia. I write at We Love DC, a blog I helped start, I work at Technolutionary, a company I helped start, and I’m happy doing both. I enjoy watching baseball, cooking, and gardening. I grow a mean pepper, keep a clean scorebook, and wash the dishes when I’m done. Read Why I Love DC.

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4 thoughts on “Don’t Skip Jury Duty.

  1. Whatever. IF DC Courts didn’t waste so much of our time, it would be an honorable civic duty.

    As it is, with hours of waiting, random dismissals, unknown ending time, and that’s just to see if you’ll get into a jury pool, its not worth it unless you have some crap job you dislike.

    For those of us who have a life, and too much going on, Jury Summons disappear unopened and unread. And before you warn, read the whole article – only those foolish enough to respond and then skip out are targeted.

    The straight-to-trash folks are still penalty free.

  2. The last time I was called for jury duty I sat at the table next to the window and worked for half a day using my MacBook Pro and a 3G data card. Then I was called into a pool and (eventually) not selected, and then the day was over. One day, once a year, is really not so great a burden.

    But yeah, their lists are terrible. I got called for jury duty exactly eleven months after my first time. I had to find the little card with my juror number on it (no mean feat), write the number on their return card, and send it in. I arranged for time off from work, having never heard I’d been released. The day before my scheduled jury duty, I checked my home voice mail from work and had a message from the DC Superior Court, left at 2:45pm, saying I didn’t need to report the next day. I got the mailed notice three days later. At least I found out before 8am the day of, but still.

  3. I showed up for Jury duty and had actually just signed my new lease in Arlington that week. She asked if my address was current (after standing in line for an hour and change) and I said no and explained it. Was dismissed immediately. Just had to fax a copy of the lease.

  4. “its not worth it unless you have some crap job you dislike.
    For those of us who have a life, and too much going on, Jury Summons disappear unopened and unread.”

    For someone who gets irate about people not respecting YOUR rights to take their picture, it’s pretty cheeky to not respect one of the foundations of our democracy. Let us know if you still find it “not worth it” if you are ever faced with a trial and they cannot make up a jury of your peers because they are all too busy having a life.