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Scary Halloween to all! (Feels more like scary April Fool's Day - US presidential executive orders overturning the Constitution, troops to the borders to protect against mothers and children, etc., etc.)

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Here I am at jury duty. I suppose this might be a good time to get at some of my back log.

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Rats - 'An informative video.' Huh, I'm in one of the largest circuit courts in the world! zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz Ugh, the wi-fi here is wonky, just logged me out. Lester Holt, homegrown boy is on this video - pretty sure I've seen this before, looks ancient. He looks super young.

I really want to get chosen. I love serving on juries. I believe that I would make a great professional juror. I think this is a perfectly okay thing, given proper vetting.

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Informative video still running . . . . zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

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Off to bed. Good luck HK, jury duty is a privilege, even though compulsory here in Aus, not sure about the US. We only use them for the more serious offences. In the US you seem to get what we would say is overly severe sentences, especially for low level impact crime like drug possession of stealing. Sometimes i think we are too lenient here in Aus but at least we abolished the death sentence.

Diane, I can't wait to vote. I wish we had early voting here. Herr Furor is out of control, trying to whip up his base with this crap. I almost want something terrible to happen at the border after the election when the migrants get near the border. Sending the troops there is an illegal act. Posse Comitatus anyone? https://tinyurl.com/lj8y6zr

You bet it's easy. Just go in numerical order, starting with ones. 10.

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HK, don't appear too anxious to serve - most lawyers don't like those who appear too anxious. Phil - as you point out, juries are much more extensively used in the US than elsewhere in the world, especially in civil litigation. But don't lay lengthy sentences at the feet of the juries - bad sentences are far more closely related to statutory minimums. Way too often, juries' - and judges' - hands are tied by legislation.

Jury Update: Sadness. Did not even get to the box to get questioned. Had all my answers prepared after the first round. I've served on juries before. I love it. Whenever I made it to the box, I've been picked. The judge, in which I thought was a really asshole-y move, said he was going to try to fill this jury as quickly as possible so we can all get out for Halloween. I thought that was very unfair to the plaintiff. By pure happen chance, I ran into the plaintiff and his attorney outside the building afterwards. I told them, I wish they hadn't caved with the second panel (took people who, ummmm, didn't speak good English, that kinda stuff). I told them I wish they had taken the 3rd panel, which would have included me. I told them that given what I knew about the case so far, which was not very much, and testimony might sway me, but even at the selection stage, I was for the plaintiff. I explained to them the 4 reason why - they stared at me kinda dumbfounded. I said I had a background in psychology. The lawyer immediately said, that was what he was thinking, and thanked me for a couple of the points I made, said he would try to incorporate them in his remarks. It was one cop, suing another cop & top cop, & the department for defamation & loss of wages. It's very unusual for officers to break ranks like that, so it must have been something rather serious. My father was a policeman in Warsaw, my mother's father was a policeman in Torun, Poland, my father was also an MP in Anders Army. This is part of the reason I have a very strong sense of civic duty. It is a privilege to serve on a jury. And then I gave out Halloween candy to 240 trick or treaters & had to close up shop as I ran out of treats.

After giving the kids their treats, I looked at the parents & said, "I have something scary for you too - Vote Blue or Die!" People loved it, but really preaching to the choir here. One gal said she didn't vote because she didn't like the drama (omg) and another guy said he wasn't voting because he lived in Colorado. What????