Jury Duty - What information is legally required of me?

[pbwalker]

So I received a jury duty notice...For 12/18. Not a big deal...but one thing bothers me.

Why do they need to know my religion, my occupation, my employer, how long I have been there, education, marital status, number of kids and ages, spouses name, spouses occupation, spouses employer, and how long she's been there?

Really?? Do they need to know all of this? I'm no conspiracy theorist, but I don't like providing this information if I am not legally required to. Besides, I am sure they already know.

So is there some law requiring me to provide this information?

[jmorris]

I go 11 days before you, assuming yours is a county summons. I thought they all started on Monday.

Anyway, GC 62.0132 says:
http://www.statutes.legis.state.tx.us/D ... tm#62.0132
(g) The information contained in a completed questionnaire may be disclosed to:

(1) a judge assigned to hear a cause of action in which the respondent to the questionnaire is a potential juror;

(2) court personnel; and

(3) a litigant and a litigant's attorney in a cause of action in which the respondent to the questionnaire is a potential juror.

So I can only assume that the information is used as a filter so that the court can avoid assigning someone to a jury pool they'd be eliminated from because of a conflict.

[Zee]

A lawyer can stack the deck by choosing a jury with certain characteristics. I don't know if a person is required to provide those details but by asking that question some information is divulged anyway.

http://www.trialtheater.com/wordpress/j ... selection/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[atxgun]

It's not jury selection. It's jury elimination.

[seamusTX]

There are many reasons that they want to know this kind of information.

The primary reason is whether you have a conflict of interest. Let's say that someone is suing the Catholic Church for some reason, and I am a Catholic. Can I be objective? Maybe, maybe not.

The same goes for employers. Your employer or a relative's employer may be a party to a case. That will get you dismissed straightaway.

In criminal cases, they want to know your attitudes toward law enforcement and the courts.

If the case involves complicated financial dealings, neither side wants jurors who can't do simple arithmetic.

Look at it from the other side: If you were a plaintiff or defendant, would you want jurors who were prejudiced against you, or unable to understand the complexity of the case?

I am sure they already know.

How?

There is no central database of this kind of information. The IRS knows a lot about you, but that information cannot be used for any purpose other than administering the federal income tax. A district court in Texas has little information beyond your name and address.

- Jim

[chabouk]

Does the jury duty notice actually request this information?

[ELB]

Does the jury duty notice actually request this information?

Some do, some don't. When I was in a smaller town, my jury notice came with a questionnaire. When I lived in Bexar County, where several hundred jurors are summoned on the same day, no questionnaire, the details got asked in the courtroom once the mob had been organized and sent to different courtrooms.. Handling the questionnaires for several hundred people was far too great an administrative nightmare.

[jmorris]

Does the jury duty notice actually request this information?

Some do, some don't. When I was in a smaller town, my jury notice came with a questionnaire. When I lived in Bexar County, where several hundred jurors are summoned on the same day, no questionnaire, the details got asked in the courtroom once the mob had been organized and sent to different courtrooms.. Handling the questionnaires for several hundred people was far too great an administrative nightmare.

Well, my notice was a Bexar County summons and it had the questionnaire. Don't remember if it did last time I went in (maybe four years ago) but I do remember the 10-15 page questionnaire I had to fill out for the jury pool I was on.

[5thGenTexan]

Just try not answering and let us know how that goes for you. My bet is not real well starting at the point where you ask the court clerk why you need to answer some of the questions. Judges even the ones that are good people out of the court house tend to be a bit narrow minded when it comes doing and providing exactly what is asked for in THEIR court.

[marksiwel]

when they call on you, they can ask you all those questions as well

[Dudley]

when they call on you, they can ask you all those questions as well

Is there a law requiring innocent people to testify about themselves in court? Do only the guilty ones have civil rights?

[seamusTX]

You're not being asked to incriminate yourself. It is not a crime to have a certain religion or employer.

- Jim

[frazzled]

Don't go.

[Purplehood]

I don't like the intrusion into my privacy, but I would imagine that it is the only "reliable" method of gathering a jury of your peers.

[Keith B]

You're not being asked to incriminate yourself. It is not a crime to have a certain religion or employer.

- Jim

Unless you are employed by the mafia or a drug lord.