Legal opinions needed.

[Lylelovett666]

Not typical legal thing for here,but I hope to find some help. I live in Seattle & have been summoned for jury duty. You have to fill out an online questionnaire before showing up. The last question asked is”what is your sexual orientation” surely this cant be a legal question.  I answered “none of your dam business”but still find it hard to believe that they can legally ask this. Legal opinions wanted. Thnx. 

[tommag]

I'm not a lawyer and have never stayed in a holiday inn, but if you'd like to be dismissed,  the proper response would be "militantly heterosexual".

[TomJefferson]

To answer your question, yeah, they can ask you about anything.  What it is is a pre-screen to save time on questioning you in person but both sides will be limited to the number of challenges per your state law.  If your judge is pre-screening then your justice system is broken bad.  

 

BTW, I never make it on a jury.  I get as far as sitting in the box and taking direct questions but the defense, here anyway, always asks have you been impacted by a felony and when I say "Yes", that's it for me.  I guess they figure I'd burn their client to the wall. 

 

Tj

[GLShooter]

Just tell em yes if it's fill in the blank. . If it's a check the box check all of them. 

 

Greg

 

 

[pierceg]

I'd put "often". 

[specops56]

On 4/9/2022 at 12:38 AM, Lylelovett666 said:

he last question asked is”what is your sexual orientation”

 

On top.

 

Terry

[hkriflenut]

Tell 'em your pronouns are "Apache / Attack Helicopter"

[Qweevox]

11 hours ago, TomJefferson said:

To answer your question, yeah, they can ask you about anything.  What it is is a pre-screen to save time on questioning you in person but both sides will be limited to the number of challenges per your state law.  If your judge is pre-screening then your justice system is broken bad.  

 

BTW, I never make it on a jury.  I get as far as sitting in the box and taking direct questions but the defense, here anyway, always asks have you been impacted by a felony and when I say "Yes", that's it for me.  I guess they figure I'd burn their client to the wall. 

 

Tj

 

This.

 

They can ask anything, and disqualify you for any reason.   I should say deselect you for any reason.  

 

I was deselected because I have a Series 4, 14, 24, 27, 9, 10, 53.  All FINRA supervisory licenses.  In other words, I would have known the law, and I could only assume the attorneys didn't want that on the jury.

 

Another time I was deselected by answering in the affirmative, that I had taken undergraduate and graduate level legal classes.  I find it strange that in both cases council didn't want jurors educated in the law.   

Edited April 9 by Qweevox

[specops56]

I was disqualified once because I had worked as a Paralegal for one of the lawyers in the case years before.

 

Terry

[GLShooter]

They kicked me off twice when they asked where I worked in prison. Never got around to my formal education.

 

Greg

[Snake46]

Chief Adult Probation Officer will get you excused every time if it’s criminal..

[MontanaLon]

Giving the cops fist bumps when you report to the jury selection will get you tossed off a criminal case by the defense every single time before they can even ask you a question.

 

[towtruck]

I usually get excused for being in law enforcement. The last time I was called for jury duty I sat through the first day of selection without anyone speaking to me. It was discovered near the end of the first day that a bunch of folks new of the case or had heard about it in the news. The judge asked all of us that had knowledge of the case to be there at 8 am and the rest show up at 9 am. I was sitting waiting for my turn to explain how I knew of the case listening to folks say they read about it in the paper and such. When it was my turn to explain where I had heard of the case I stood up, looked the defense attorney in the eyes, and said "the father of the victim stood in my kitchen and told my wife and I the entire story the day after it happened". 

 

The look on that guys face was priceless. The judge said "Well, Mr. towtruck, it would seem you win the best excuse prize for the day and you are dismissed".  I eye f**ked the guilty party on the way out.......too much fun. 

 

The case was a guy that was pissed at his girlfriend (my friends daughter) so he killed her dog, cut it's feet off and fed them to the girlfriend mixed in with some other stuff........one sick dude!

[TomJefferson]

6 hours ago, MontanaLon said:

Giving the cops fist bumps when you report to the jury selection will get you tossed off a criminal case by the defense every single time before they can even ask you a question.

 

This had me in stitches.  Last jury I got kicked off of, after they questioned me about what crimes had been committed against me, the very last question they asked was "Do you blame the cops?" and I replied "Why? They didn't do it." 

 

Every cop in the place was bumping fists with me and patting me on the shoulder as I walked out.

 

Tj

[meh77gmc]

My mom got dismissed from jury selection in a capital murder trial in California decades ago for answering honestly.  When asked how she felt about capital punishment she answered, "I think every courthouse that handles capital cases should have a wall out back, stained red and pockmarked with bullet holes."