As a practicing attorney, I will most likely never serve on a jury in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Even if I choose not to exercise my right to an exemption, I can’t think of any attorney in his right mind who would let me serve. I certainly wouldn’t want a practicing litigator on a jury I was facing.
My buddy Raymond doesn’t have that problem and, while he wasn’t picked for a jury, he has a pretty interesting story to tell from the other side of the jury box.
He only made one mistake —- never eat anything from the Courthouse cafeteria.
July 11th, 2006 at 11:31 pm
Yes especially since all the antidote (Alka Seltzer) was at home.
July 11th, 2006 at 11:44 pm
See, this is the kind of thing you need to consult your attorney about
July 12th, 2006 at 12:22 am
Interesting post. Yours, too. I am not licensed to practice in the Commonwealth, but as a litigator, I agree completely with your assessment. I did once serve as a jury commissioner in PWC, so that is probably as close as I’ll ever come. It was somewhat surprising to see the number of attorneys who didn’t check the box for the attorneys’ exemption.
The only occasion I had to help pick a jury was in Rome, Georgia, as an intern in the U.S. Attorney’s office, on a murder case. Aside from the fact that our defendant (convicted of murder), our witnesses, and half of the jury venire looked like they had been extras in “Deliverance,” one of the potential jurors was a state court judge. Defendant ended up using one of his peremptory challenges to strike him.