It varies from state to state.Rob A. wrote:...apparently in the US you have to sit in the "selection pool" for awhile...Mr. T. has been there for a few days, but I guess the lawyers on both sides would veto him... probably the whole trial would be about what Mr. T. is likely to decide...
Here in New York, what happens is that you get a questionnaire that you have to fill in and send back to the local commissioner of jurors. Eventually, you'll get the summons telling you what week your juror service is. Service is one week or one trial (that is, a trial on which you're actually serving as a juror) -- you have to call the commissioner's office each evening to find out whether or not they'll be needing any jurors the next day. When I got my summons back in 2003, they didn't need any jurors the entire week, so I just had to listen to the prerecorded messages saying they didn't need any jurors, and then call the office at the end of the week to get the four-year exemption.
I got called again last September, and this time I did have to go to the county courthouse for juror selection. However, just before the case was set to go to juror selection, which would have taken all day, the lawyers for the parties settled. Thankfully, they didn't need any jurors the rest of the week. And for the hour and a half I spent at the county courthouse, I got the princely per diem rate of USD40.
The other good thing is that here in New York, exemptions are now up to six years, so I can't be called again until the end of 2014.
