Osler's Razor

It seems difficult for anyone to become accomplished at voir dire in federal court. Have you ever done voir dire in state court?

-B
 

I agree with B. I've participated in jury selection in the Eastern District of Virginia and you don't get a whole heckuva lot of choices. It's done by the Judge and its over real quick.

--If you REALLY want to be on a jury, move to the District of Columbia. The pool of qualified jurors (no ex-cons) is woefully small, and everyone who is a resident gets a call about once every three years.
 

I have been picked four times, and all four times I was living outside of the US, which is, of course, a sound reason for not being selected. My mom went down to the courthouse each time to tell the judge exactly where I was--Spain. My wife, a Spanish national, has been selected once, but our son was a toddler and she was sent home.
 

I was called to jury duty here in Waco last year--over the Christmas holiday. I called and rescheduled, and then when it was finally my turn, I got the little recorded message that said I wasn't needed. I too have been thwarted in my desire to sit on a jury!
 

I just remembered that I got called to jury duty right before I began law school. It was a state criminal case in which the parties and the court agreed that the defendant was not competent to stand trial, but that after commitment and treatment, he would likely become competent. But at the time, Texas law required a jury to make the finding of incompetence, so the judge told us what was happening and instructed the jury to retire to the jury room and return a verdict of incompetence. I was an alternate, so I was excused at that time.

Curiously, the law in Texas changed while I was in law school. If no party disputes the defendant's incompetence, no jury trial is required to make the finding-the court can do it.

-B
 

My one brush with jury selection happened this past summer, right before starting here. I was put into the room where we had awaited our mock trial results in my senior year of high school. I couldn't enjoy my nostalgia though, because the bailiff was making very bad jokes and it was 7:30 am. When we finally went up to a courtroom, we waited outside for an hour, then were dismissed because there was a problem with the interpreter. Back in the jury pool room, we were dismissed altogether. So close yet so far.
 

I was called once in Detroit and then the attorney came and LOOKED AT a whole group of us. Apparently he did not like what he saw, because later on we were told to go home. Also I once was a witness in a trial. SOOOO different than Court TV....haha
 

Hey, Tyd-- that was me! I sent you all home because the panel was kind of confused looking.
 

Ummm, rumor has it that the case settled. Is that true? I hope not, because about 60 PC students are trying to attend that particular voir dire.