Do non-US citizens/non-US residents have to do US jury duty?

[Flubber]

I have never been called for jury duty in Canada. I think its much more rare here to be called as juries are pretty rare in civil trials and are not required for summary conviction offenses ( similar to misdemeanors in the US). So its only the serious criminal stuff that gets to a jury (and even then it is an election by the defense if they want a jury or judge alone).

I believe as a lawyer I may be exempted from jury duty anyway ( at least in some provinces)

[Dr Strangelove]

I'm pretty sure that a non-citizen can't legally sit in a jury in the US. Why don't you just call the courthouse and ask?

[KrazyHorse]

Too much trouble. You guys are closer.

Plus I hate dealing with bureaucracy.

I really hate it.

[Dr Strangelove]

Originally posted by KrazyHorse
Too much trouble. You guys are closer.

Plus I hate dealing with bureaucracy.

I really hate it.

Look up the phone number of the clerk of court that you've been summoned to. Ask him if someon who is not a US citizen can sit on a US jury, and if so, can he berequired to answer a summons to jury duty.

IIRC the US can draft non-citizens into the armed forces, but fof them it's not compulsory. If a non-citizen refuses military duty he can never be naturalized. I don't know if the same deal exists for jury duty.

[JohnT]

Re: Do non-US citizens/non-US residents have to do US jury duty?

Originally posted by KrazyHorse
I hope not.

I don't want to ****ing deal with convicting some 19 year-old for possession with intent or whatever.

Tell them your beliefs. They'll put you on a trial that you'll be more objective about.

My wife just served a 2-week stint of jury duty. The fact that her mother was killed by a drunk driver (and that Laura had to testify about it) was enough to keep her off every possible jury. This hints at two things:

1. There's a fair amount of alcohol use in Knoxville crimes.

2. They don't like having people who have testified against defendents judging them.

[Kuciwalker]

The fact that her mother was killed by a drunk driver (and that Laura had to testify about it) was enough to keep her off every possible jury.

Frankly, I wouldn't call that a fair trade

[JohnT]

Originally posted by Japher

It is quite likely that the defendant will be black

Anecdotal evidence don't mean ****, but all the potential defendents in Laura's JD stint were African American, even though Knox County as a whole is 8.6% AA. (2000 Census)

[KrazyHorse]

Baltimore City is 70% black.

[JohnT]

However, the overall county is 20.1% African-American. Is this a City of Baltimore summons or a County of Baltimore summons?

[KrazyHorse]

city

county does not include baltimore city

[JohnT]

It doesn't? I should've looked it up, but I just figured...

Stupid Marylanders.

[Kuciwalker]

Originally posted by JohnT
Stupid Marylanders.