Comment Re:Never chosen (Score 1) 528
Software engineer here. Served two and a half times. Half means I was on the panel, but the defendant entered a plea bargain just before trial began.
First trial was civil (personal injury) and ran 20+ court days over 6 calendar weeks. The plaintiff was never in court; he was (as we learned only after the trial ended) in custody in another state for armed robbery. Found for plaintiff, but at considerably lower damages than his counsel sought.
Second trial was criminal (spousal battery), a junk case that state law required to be prosecuted even when the nominal victim (atypically here, the man) did not want it. Took maybe 3 days: not guilty.
A couple of weeks ago I was almost on another criminal trial jury (drunk driving). The back of the courtroom had a sign with several questions regarding personal background that prospective jurors were asked to answer. I faced the sign, not looking at counsel at all, and read my answers in a near-monotone at breakneck speed. Whether it was that performance, or my stated profession or degree (physics), defense counsel kindly dismissed me on a peremptory challenge.