At the tender age of 68 years old,,,

[aarondhgraham]

At the tender age of 68 years old,,,
I finally got summoned for Jury Duty.

I've never done this before so I have no idea what's in store for me.

Without my hearing aids I can barely hear a face to face conversation,,,
With these very expensive, top of the line, amplifiers,,,
I can hear general noises and sounds well enough.

But if someone is wearing a mask I can't make out the individual words.

I tell ye my friends,,,
If I were on trial for something heavy (or light),,,
I would want the jurors to hear clearly every word my defense atty spoke.

Whattaya think?

Aarond

.

 

[Aries]

I don't have any special knowledge, other than my experience of being called for jury duty a couple of times.

I expect you're going to have to report. Your summons should have contact info to call and talk to a court clerk and explain, I'd be a little surprised if they dismiss you immediately for that, but if they have a large enough jury pool available, they might.

If it comes to being queried for a specific trial, at that point it's really up to the judge. They hear a TON of excuses, and the ones I've seen don't immediately just accept whatever someone says... in other words, they try to determine if it's a legitimate excuse or if there's some way to work around it. Some judges are pretty strict, and again it may depend on the size of the potential jury pool.

At some point, lawyers and/or judges will probably query specific jurors, and if you are constantly having to ask them to repeat themselves, or can explain then that you really can't hear them clearly, there's probably a decent chance someone will want you dismissed. I agree, I don't think anyone wants to put those kinds of decisions in the hands of someone who doesn't know what's going on because they can't hear them.

Courtrooms usually have PA's, microphones, etc. so it's possible you may be able to hear better than you expect. But I would think you could go to the court house in advance, and there should be a person or division responsible for organizing and notifying potential jurors you can talk to.

 

[aarondhgraham]

I did have the opportunity to speak to the judge that was handling the orientation session.

He did not excuse me outright but he did say that I needed to mention it to the judge if I'm called up.
They will make physical accommodations such as sitting me nearest to the judge and witness stand.

The clerk said I should mention it to the attorneys if I get the chance,,,
They have the option of not selecting/accepting me.

It's different now then it was a few years back,,,
Now I have two full months of eligibility but they contact me.

Every Thursday I will get an e-mail from the clerk,,,
That lets me know if I need to come in on Monday the next week.

Now I need to rent that movie, 12 Angry Men,,,
Just to brush up on proper jury etiquette.

Aarond

.

 

[Oklahomabassin]

Doze off a few times they will excuse you.

 

[Profreedomokie]

I got picked a few years ago. I mentioned it one night at the PD and one of the officers told me I should call the court because I'm a volunteer with the PD. So I called the court and they told me to forget about it.

 

[gerhard1]

I did have the opportunity to speak to the judge that was handling the orientation session.

He did not excuse me outright but he did say that I needed to mention it to the judge if I'm called up.
They will make physical accommodations such as sitting me nearest to the judge and witness stand.

The clerk said I should mention it to the attorneys if I get the chance,,,
They have the option of not selecting/accepting me.

It's different now then it was a few years back,,,
Now I have two full months of eligibility but they contact me.

Every Thursday I will get an e-mail from the clerk,,,
That lets me know if I need to come in on Monday the next week.

Now I need to rent that movie, 12 Angry Men,,,
Just to brush up on proper jury etiquette.

Aarond

.

I was callled up more than 20 years back in Sedgwick County, Kansas and I explained to them that I had a hearing problem. They were very accommodating, sitting me nearest the witness stand, and told me to speak up if I neeeded to have something repeated.

 

[Aries]

Doze off a few times they will excuse you.

I dunno, I was on a jury with a guy who did that and nobody said boo to him. LOL!

 

[Oklahomabassin]

I dunno, I was on a jury with a guy who did that and nobody said boo to him. LOL!

Lol. Supreme Court Justices are always dozing off. Oh well. Lol

 

[dennishoddy]

Never been called for jury duty yet. Wife got called and served on a murder trial in Osage county a couple of years ago.

 

[foghorn918]

I've served twice