Ever been to court?

[afc wimbledon]

Originally Posted by BsFaninCGY

I was served a witness subpoena for an upcoming court case and am curious about a few things. The accused is up on charges of theft - so I imagine this won't be a marathon of a case. That said, I'd like to get an idea of how long I might be required to stay in court that day. I'm required to be there mid-afternoon - so would it be safe to assume I'll be out of there within a few hours? Or could it go well into the evening?

Also, is this something I need to dress up for? Shirt and tie sort of thing?

My court experience is limited to what I see on TV, so I have no idea what to expect...

Afternoon sessions start at 1.30 and are done by 4 generally, they don't run late, you just have to come back another time, wheels of justice grinding exceeding slow and all

[oilfan69]

Originally Posted by Nufy

I went once...

It wasn't a pleasant experience.

Now I manage a Cinnabon in Omaha.

It's all good man.

[BsFaninCGY]

Thanks everyone. I'll make sure I bring a phone charger!

[dissentowner]

Originally Posted by Muta

Ok, then maybe you should try standing up in court, testifying in front of an attempted murderer being charged in the middle of a gang-related court case, where your personal information is read out to the courtroom as as witness.

If you haven't been in that position, maybe it's best not to comment. Hindsight sure is easy from behind a keyboard and monitor isn't it?

That is rough man, that is a pretty terrifying situation for sure.

[afc wimbledon]

Originally Posted by BsFaninCGY

Thanks everyone. I'll make sure I bring a phone charger!

No cell phones in court

[Cecil Terwilliger]

Originally Posted by afc wimbledon

No cell phones in court

I believe this is incorrect. Cell phones can't be used and are supposed to be turned off but are permitted.

[afc wimbledon]

Originally Posted by Cecil Terwilliger

I believe this is incorrect. Cell phones can't be used and are supposed to be turned off but are permitted.

Turned off and in your pocket, sheriffs get very shirty if you pull them out

[Cecil Terwilliger]

Originally Posted by afc wimbledon

Turned off and in your pocket, sheriffs get very shirty if you pull them out

Well I doubt he was planning on charging his phone while he's on the witness stand. I'm guessing he's talking about having it available if he has to wait for several hours.

[MBates]

For what it is worth, I can tell you the judge and lawyers are always talking throughout trials about what are the best ways to complete the case with minimal disruption to witnesses.

Police witnesses often get less consideration in the sense that testifying is part of their paid job duties, but even for them we juggle things around to accommodate as best we can.

The problem is that trials are very dynamic and fluid. The plan you started with is often not the one you executed by the time you are at closing argument. Slightly different testimony or an unexpected ruling on a line of questioning with one witness can significantly change what is needed from subsequent witnesses.

Add in things like computer and other technical problems that arise with electronic evidence, ordinary life events like illnesses, car troubles and on and on - sometimes it seems remarkable we ever get any case done at all never mind on time and as originally scheduled.

It's kind of like trying to put together a jigsaw puzzle where several times a day someone comes and kicks the table and scrambles up the pieces.

None of this is an excuse to treat witnesses rudely or be indifferent to how difficult it can be for them to spend hours or even days waiting to testify. But hopefully it gives some perspective that most people in the system do actually care...its just there is often little that can be done to make it better.

[afc wimbledon]

Originally Posted by Cecil Terwilliger

Well I doubt he was planning on charging his phone while he's on the witness stand. I'm guessing he's talking about having it available if he has to wait for several hours.

Having watched several people take calls half way through criminal court I thought I'd better point it out, invariably someone is booted out of youth court for checking their facebook, the funniest was the kid that tried to take a selfie in front of the bench as he came in having been called for age and notice.

[Buff]

I had a similar experience as Locke.

My license plate was stolen from my vehicle so I had to report it stolen with the police. A month later I received a subpoena to go to court as a witness. Apparently they caught the guy who stole it, or he had it in his possession anyway.

I showed up at court to talk to the prosecutor and he went over my police statement and said he may ask to call me to the stand and I had to wait outside the courtroom for them to call me in. I was there early because he wanted to talk to me to prepare for the case so I waited an hour before he went into court. I saw the prosecutor go in, and come out about an hour after going in. I waited another hour and I went back to his office but he wasn't there. I was told to wait around for him. I waited another hour and saw him go back into his office so I went to talk to him. He was surprised I was still around and even more surprised that nobody told me to go home... but he was the only person I talked to. He informed me that the suspect made a plea on another charge if all the other charges he was facing would be dropped.

I think I wasted about four hours for nothing! There was no regard for my time. I voiced my displeasure and was told that I had no reason to complain, it was my duty to he there.

[lazypucker]

Sorry to be a little off topic - but I was being summoned for jury selection, and I have to go in at the end of November.

Anyone have any experience on that? What to expect? What to do? How to act? etc?

[llwhiteoutll]

Originally Posted by lazypucker

Sorry to be a little off topic - but I was being summoned for jury selection, and I have to go in at the end of November.

Anyone have any experience on that? What to expect? What to do? How to act? etc?

Do you want to serve on a jury or not, that’s what you need decide first.

[psyang]

Originally Posted by lazypucker

Sorry to be a little off topic - but I was being summoned for jury selection, and I have to go in at the end of November.

Anyone have any experience on that? What to expect? What to do? How to act? etc?

I got extremely lucky the one time I was called for jury duty. I put the wrong date in my calendar, and discovered the error a couple days after the date had passed. I called in, ready to take my medicine (had heard the consequences can be bad), but they told me that jury selection had been cancelled that day, and I was off the hook. I was pretty happy after that.

[lazypucker]

Originally Posted by llwhiteoutll

Do you want to serve on a jury or not, that’s what you need decide first.

I don't think you have a choice, when they call you up you have to attend, right?

The "ME NO ENGLISH" routine probably won't work....

[Weitz]

What happens if you are summoned (for jury or as a witness) and you are out of the country during that time? Can you just not go? Will the pay you reschedule your vacation?

[llwhiteoutll]

Originally Posted by lazypucker

I don't think you have a choice, when they call you up you have to attend, right?

The "ME NO ENGLISH" routine probably won't work....

You have to show up, but you can get tossed from the pool pretty easily.

Back when my company was willing to pay my full salary for me to sit on a jury, I would have done it. Now that I’m a contractor, there is zero chance that I sit on one.

[rohara66]

I was selected for jury duty for today actually. Received the paperwork in the mail maybe 2 months ago.

My work does not pay for jury duty so I applied to be exempt based on that fact and submitted the paperwork several weeks ago. I called to follow up on my exemption application to make sure it was received and accepted and they told me I would only be re-contacted (by mail) if it was not accepted. The lady on the phone has zero access to any updates on anyone so I have to put my trust in Canada Post that they didn’t lose my exemption application or lose my exemption denial paperwork from the courts. Seem very archaic considering everything is sent via unregistered mail.

Also you do not receive any pay to attend jury duty until after 10 days of service (or something like that) and then you receive a whopping $50/day! You do not get fed lunch and you find your own transportation to get there every day. You civil duty does not even pay you minimum wage… cool beans eh!

[Nufy]

Originally Posted by lazypucker

The "ME NO ENGLISH" routine probably won't work....

No but you could probably get a job in their call center...

[CaptainCrunch]

So I guess jumping into the jury box while screaming "Flash selfie" while pulling our your cellphone is a bad idea.

do you think the judge would mind.

Or staring at the defense attorney and saying loudly "I must paint you"