So I'll just post it here. I got called for jury duty today. I absolutely do not recognize the governments inherent authority to prosecute crimes. This is an awkward situation. I spent thousands of dollars last year and put myself into quite a bit of debt to get myself out of a drug case and now I'm supposed to judge someone else? No thank you.

Anyone done this before?

You should appear (as crappy as that might make you feel). If you sit on a jury you will be able to vote according to your own values. It may not be fun but perhaps you can make a difference?

Go, and you may just have the opportunity to make a real difference in someone's life.

Not sure what you mean by not recognizing the government's authority to prosecute crimes? Who should be doing this? I think I understand that you feel you were unfairly prosecuted but generally I feel like law breakers should have to face some sort of justice ( murderers and rapists? ), but maybe I misunderstand your statement.

It’s not clear what you’re asking. Are you asking how to get out of jury duty? Or are you expressing a conflict you feel about your sense of obligation to serve on a jury?

you can tell them before hand that you favour drug users and dont view then as criminals etc..tell them your politcal stance and they may not want you anymore. Or, you can just go and vote honestly and maybe someone will be lucky to have you there.

This. If you want to get out of it. Also show up unshaven, disheveled, mustard stain on your shirt, etc.

Otherwise, just do it, and judge the person as fairly as you can. As people here have already said, you could make a difference in someone's life.

My basic belief is that the government has no legitimate say in the personal actions of any private citizen. I understand the police need to exist for violent crimes and the such but in the county I live in violent crime is pretty much unheard of.. it is also a pretty poor county with mostly minorities where a lot of people make some extra cash selling drugs. I don't recognize the governments right to tell a person what they can or can not put in their body.



Honestly I'm not even quite sure what I'm asking and I'm equally unsure while I made this post. I'm certainly not asking how to get out of jury duty because I know how to do that. I think I was more just posting about the conflict inside me at the moment.. I guess maybe I'm just venting more then asking a question?

I believe I'm probably just going to go through with it and not even express my opinions on the matter.. whatever case comes up I'll likely just vote on my personal belief rather then the law. I know this isn't the way juries are supposed to work but I didn't ask to be called in the first place.

Thanks for the comments everyone but I guess this is something I just have to work out on my own.

I have the same views as you and i would not go. It's like refusing to vote...

Ignore the government as much as possible.

Summons? What summons?

If you feel like being there, be there, if you don't, I'm sure there's a way out.

Well, that’s one way to look at it. Here’s another: A fellow citizen of your community has been accused of a crime (if it’s a criminal case – not all jury trials involve criminal cases). He/she may or may not be innocent. You are being given an opportunity to help make that decision. You are being given an opportunity to help your community.

(Concerning voting – if everyone voted, and if they all cast their votes in a rational, informed manner, we would all be living in societies we could be proud of.)

Well gibran, i could not disagree more, but please don't take it personaly that i won't participate in any political discussion, especially not on the nexus. I just replied to the threadstarter to support his opinion.

I'm sorry but i think the view that government has no legitimacy is idiotic.. If there is no government somewhere, that place will be occupied by some kind of gang and they will form a new government there. You could just wait for that to happen: the reward is too high.

Places that lack any form of government are all very dangerous places to live for exactly that reason: different gangs are fighting eachother to decide who's gonna be the big boss over there.

The first and primal responsability of any government is to offer basic security to it's citizens. That's the only thing that legitimizes any form of government. Governments that fail doing this are overthrown.

A simple prisoners-dillema matrix should be enough to understand why you need rules and rule-enforcement: if there are no rules you cannot trust anyone and if you cannot trust anyone you must assume everyone is your enemy because you must assume that all other people will assume you're their enemy... A spiral of hostility and animosity leading to a worse situation for everyone.

No matter where you live, if a taliban or FARC kind of organisation would take-over you'd be much, much, much less free than you're now.

Not participating in a political discussion is one thing but refusing to be a part of your community government in an area you really can make a difference makes no sense to me. Like Gibran says, we don't even know if it is a criminal case. That said, if one chooses not to take part that should be your own decision, but in a democratic society, if you don't speak for yourself, someone will speak for you.

It's part of being a citizen. It's your duty. Just show up and do what you believe is right. I just had this same conversation with my wife about a month ago...

I agree that in a jury you can make some difference, but I completely disagree with you on the voting thing. If everyone went out and voted in a rational, informed matter all it would mean is that everyone out there votes for someone..thats all. I dont see how that itself can lead to a society we are all proud of. What if I dont want to be forced to vote for 1 person within a group of people that doesnt even have 1 candidate I would want to support? How can my vote in that case be rational or informed?..it's sort of just forced and thats all. Doesnt fix anything. I agree if the system was set up differently then maybe everyone voting would make more of a difference.

"I'm sorry but i think the view that government has no legitimacy is idiotic.. If there is no government somewhere, that place will be occupied by some kind of gang "

...kind of like the situation we are in with our "governments"?

i hate to break it to you..but..the feds are the most viscous gang of thugs you can imagine

I say go. Especially if its a drug case. They can't force you to vote based on the applicable laws. If someone is accused of drug possession, you can vote not guilty regardless of the evidence.

And even if it turns out to be a case where you have no ethical qualms with the law, jury duty is still an important civil function. The only good reason to avoid it is if you don't feel mentally competent to perform the task.

I don't think "government" is the problem. In some way's government is a law of nature. Even most animals that live in packs or communities have "governments" of one sort or another. The problem is abuse of power IMO and abuse of power comes from a desire to foster one's personal agenda, which sucks but unfortunately is all too often part of human nature. If more people used psychedelics maybe this would change, but I don't know.

So, back to the topic. aloneits - I say go. I actually embrace the opportunity to serve on a Jury because like others have said here I view it as an opportunity to offer some rationale of my own. With that said, if you truly do not recognize the governments authority to prosecute crimes, just say that in your questionnaire and they will most certainly filter you out.


Peace,
-idt