Jury Duty Scam:

[James Jaragosky]

This has been verified by the FBI (their link is also included below).
It is spreading fast so be prepared should you get this call.

Most of us take those summons for jury duty seriously .
a new and ominous kind of fraud has surfaced.

The caller claims to be a jury coordinator.
If you protest that you
never received a summons for jury duty,
the scammer asks you for your
Social Security number and date of birth
so he or she can verify the
information and cancel the arrest warrant.
Give out any of this information and bingo,your identity was just stolen.

The fraud has been reported so far in 11 states,

including Oklahoma, Illinois, and Colorado
This (swindle) is particularly insidious
because they use intimidation over the phone
to try to bully people into giving information

by pretending they are with the court system.

The FBI and the Federal Court System
have issued nationwide alerts on their
web sites, warning consumers about the fraud.

FBI site: warns about the fraud.
http://www.fbi.gov/page2/june06/jury_scams060206.htm <http://www.fbi.gov/page2/june06/jury_scams060206.htm> (http://www.fbi.gov/page2/june06/jury_scams060206.htm)

[Ken Fitzgerald]

James...........I'm on jury duty this month in my county.

Here they mail you a form to fill out about 8 weeks before you are to serve.

Then 30 days before you serve, you receive a form in the mail stating you've been selected to serve and what your juror number is. Included is a telephone number to call on a specific date to see if your number has been selected for a given case. When you call that telephone number, if your juror number has been selected for a case, you are told to report on a specific date at a specific time. If your number wasn't selected, you are told to call this number again on a specific date to see if you have been selected for a jury on a different case. This continues through the month you serve.

And you don't need to worry about forgetting to call the number. If you forget and you've been selected, the county will send a car and driver out to bring you to the court house. Of course, the neighbors will wonder what the sheriff's car and the deputy were doing at your residence and you won't forget to call again!:D

[Bill Morrison]

My mother received a card informing her that she was selected for jury duty, with numbers to call, etc. I was going to call them to let them know that she was deceased but decided not to just to see if they would send someone out but so far no one has shown up. It just goes to show you how much the various city offices keep in touch, her death and estate were duly noted at the courthouse yet they still sent the card???hmmmm

[Bruce Shiverdecker]

They got me next month. Just received my notice, too.

Bruce

[Curt Harms]

In Bucks Co. PA. I got selected for a Jury Pool. You have to show up along with 50 or so others and if a case chooses to go to trial-not that common- both attorneys questions prospective jurors and can reject a certain number or percentage of the jury pool.

I've decided that if I get to go through that again, I'm going to make clear that my judicial philosophy is "Hang 'em ALL!!":eek:. That should make me real popular with the prosecution, horrify that defense and disqualify me.:D

[Jim Becker]

Curt, I actually enjoyed my one morning in the jury pool at Bucks County courthouse. Didn't get chosen for a trial (drug case where the dude was caught red-handed...) but it was interesting to contrast the experience from books and media portrayal of the same. Much more low key. Just watching all the people involved was quite interesting.

[Bob Moyer]

http://www.snopes.com/crime/fraud/juryduty.asp

[Jason Christenson]

...her death and estate were duly noted at the courthouse yet they still sent the card???hmmmm

Jury pools come from voter registration lists, at least they do here, maybe she's still registered to vote.

Jason

[Doug Shepard]

The one good thing about being on jury duty is that once deliberations begin, the jury is in the driver's seat to a degree. What? You have to come back for more deliberation in the afternoon and the judge suggests a lunch from 11AM to 1:30PM and you want to get done ASAP? You inform the bailiff that the jury will be taking lunch from 11AM to 12PM and they pretty much end up marching to your schedule.:cool:

[John Shuk]

Just give them that guys soc. sec. number from the commercials.

[Robert McGowen]

I went to jury duty once. I was asked in front of everyone by the defense attorney if I "thought that the person was guilty just because he had been arrested?" I said I was sure that he was guilty and that he was just trying to get out of the punishment that he deserved and I could not believe that he was wasting the court's and everyones' time trying to get out of it. He looked shocked and asked why I would think that. I told him I was a cop in the neighboring county. I lasted about 5 seconds and have not been called back since. :rolleyes: Anyone calls me, I guess I know it's a scam!

[skip coyne]

met my wife on jury duty 31 years ago

I guess you could say I was the one that got the life sentence ;)

[Joe Unni]

Curt, I actually enjoyed my one morning in the jury pool at Bucks County courthouse. Didn't get chosen for a trial (drug case where the dude was caught red-handed...) but it was interesting to contrast the experience from books and media portrayal of the same. Much more low key. Just watching all the people involved was quite interesting.

Jim,

I actually had to sit on a drug dealer case. I found it completely amazing that a room full of people, without any prior history have to sit and discuss the details of the case in front of them. Talk about interesting human dynamics...

I can understand not wanting to sit around a courthouse for an entire day just to get dismised, but for the life of me I don't understand why most wouldn't want to sit on a jury...it's what makes us American. Sorry.

To the original poster, thanks for the heads up - I'll pass it on.

Oh, the drug dealer was guilty - in a private meeting with the judge (we didn't get to do the sentencing) she said that he needed to graduate from a few house arrests to 7 years! See ya buddy!!!!

-joe

[John Schreiber]

I've been on jury duty a couple of times and each time it's been positive. I've really been impressed with my fellow jurors. Although there were inevitable disagreements everyone worked hard and cooperatively to reach a decision.

My new theory for government is that random people are called to serve and make decisions on behalf of their peers. That's based on the assumption that anyone who would want to run for office has shown that they shouldn't get it.

[Tom Godley]

I get called about every two years -- In NJ you only serve one day or one trial --- you call the night before to see if they even want you to come -- if not--you are free for another two years.

I was only "seated" once - many years ago for a child molestation case. The first day for the selection it was done blind - we could only see the judge. When we got to see everybody -- my first thought was -- he looks guilty!! Knowing that I should not feel that way - I tried to understand why did I feel that way. I was happy to be quickly told -- he was the attorney -- Now I understood!!

The case was thrown out later that day.

I would like to go through the whole process once -- I find it very interesting.

[Tom Veatch]

...My new theory for government is that random people are called to serve and make decisions on behalf of their peers. That's based on the assumption that anyone who would want to run for office has shown that they shouldn't get it.

It's not really a new theory, John, although you may very well have arrived at it completely independently. That's one of the "non-mainstream" political theories I voiced to my family doctor a couple of years ago. He didn't refer me to a psychiatrist so maybe he too thought there was merit in the idea.

Yep, bring back the draft to fill elected positions and get rid of the professional politicians!! I find it almost hypocritical to go to the polls on election day since I also feel wanting the job disqualifies them from having the job.

[John Schreiber]

It's not really a new theory, John, although you may very well have arrived at it completely independently. That's one of the "non-mainstream" political theories I voiced to my family doctor a couple of years ago. He didn't refer me to a psychiatrist so maybe he too thought there was merit in the idea.

Yep, bring back the draft to fill elected positions and get rid of the professional politicians!! I find it almost hypocritical to go to the polls on election day since I also feel wanting the job disqualifies them from having the job.
Yes, I shouldn't have said new theory, it's just new to me. Having looked into it, I believe it goes back to the Greeks or the Spartans.