Are you a scumbag if you escape serving on a jury?

[jakethebake]

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Capital punishment has *never* been proven to be a "deterant" to crime.

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I had my speech for a response to this comment rehearsed if it ever came up.

Death penalty isn't a deterrent... and it's not supposed to be. It's a way of permanently removing a dangerous criminal from society without a recurring annual cost to tax payers. A cold-blooded murderer is a useless piece of garbage that contributes nothing to society. Why should the taxpayers spend money on him year after year? Or risk him being paroled or escaping? Or killing a guard? Or finding some way to reproduce?

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Personally I just believe in punishment.

[Warik]

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If you're just going to try to get out of actually serving, why bother to show up at all. They really can't do anything if you just don't show up.

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Failure to go to court on the date you have been summoned for jury service is a criminal infraction. =)

Think of it as cheating on your taxes... the short term benefits are wonderful, but the potential long term hardships you may face in the unlikely event that you get caught far outweigh the inconvenience of showing up.

Besides... my employer is required by law to pay me for that day of absence... cha-ching!

[Warik]

For those who voted on Yes, I'm a scumbag for avoiding jury duty, how do you feel about the others who avoided jury duty? Not EVERYONE gets picked for trial. The other 5 jurors who didn't get picked all answered their questions honestly. If they are scumbags too, why? If they are NOT scumbags, then why am I if I also answered all of the questions honestly?

[spamuell]

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A cold-blooded murderer is a useless piece of garbage that contributes nothing to society. Why should the taxpayers risk... him finding some way to reproduce?

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Your points are reasonable (although I'm not sure I think they're strong enough reasons to kill someone) until this one. Is there a serial killing gene?

[Yeti]

Was the defendant a negro?

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For those who voted on Yes, I'm a scumbag for avoiding jury duty, how do you feel about the others who avoided jury duty? Not EVERYONE gets picked for trial. The other 5 jurors who didn't get picked all answered their questions honestly. If they are scumbags too, why? If they are NOT scumbags, then why am I if I also answered all of the questions honestly?

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You are not a scumbag if you answered the questions truthfully.

You are a scumbag if you make stuff up to get off of jury duty. Not only is it avoidance of a civic duty that falls on the rest of us if you don't do your share, but prospective jurors are generally sworn in before answering the questions, so you are violating your oath to tell the truth if you make things up.

[Warik]

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Your points are reasonable (although I'm not sure I think they're strong enough reasons to kill someone) until this one. Is there a serial killing gene?

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I don't believe there is, but that wasn't my rationale.

I believe that criminals become criminals as a result of their surroundings and influences, not necessarily because of their biology (though biology may come into play in one form or another).

However, what sort of surroundings do you think a child with a father serving a life sentence for murder is going to have considering he's going to be raised by a woman stupid enough to get pregnant by a convicted felon who will never breathe free air again? Recipe for disaster.

[Warik]

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Not only is it avoidance of a civic duty

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Wait... that was one of the questions I was trying to have answered. I got summoned for jury duty and I showed up. Does that meet my obligation for civic duty, or does it go beyond that? If you're smart enough, you can truthfully answer any relatively open-ended question asked of you in such a way that you appear to be an unfavorable candidate for a jury. Are you avoiding civic duty by being so candid knowing what the result will be?

That was my "problem," so to speak. I did not tell any lies, but I did intentionally volunteer information (truthful information) that would require the defense to be completely brain-dead if they allowed me to serve on the jury.