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Court's ability to get things right does not inspire confidence... - Nothing to See Here

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Nov. 21st, 2007

07:04 pm - Court's ability to get things right does not inspire confidence...

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I received a Juror Summons in the mail today.

Before I opened it, it amused me, because -- well -- since I'm not a US citizen, it would be illegal for me to serve on a jury, and it seems like it could be amusing to inform them of that fact. The fact that they got my name wrong (they swapped my last name and my second middle name) was really dumb too, but I didn't care too much because, well, I don't have to serve so whatever!

... but then I opened it and read it, and I have to send them frickin' proof (photocopy of passport or alien resident card) that I'm not a US citizen. I have to waste my time and money to correct their imbecilic mistake? *sigh*

Tags:
Current Location: 806
Current Mood: annoyedannoyed
Current Music: "Dare to be Stupid" - Weird Al Yankovic
(16 comments | Leave a comment)

Comments:

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From:maeglin73
Date:November 22nd, 2007 03:33 am (UTC)
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As long as the record keepers aren't put in charge of deciding verdicts, then there may still be hope.
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From:mavjop
Date:November 22nd, 2007 03:39 am (UTC)
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You mean as they don't become ..... the decider?
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From:wy
Date:November 22nd, 2007 04:06 am (UTC)
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I think you'll be okay to ignore it. I've always been out of state when I've been summoned, and well, half the time I get the mail forwarded to me after the court date.
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From:mavjop
Date:November 22nd, 2007 04:11 am (UTC)
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I'm not going to ignore it because the consequences for me of committing any crime are potentially much worse than for you.
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From:purpledrazi
Date:November 22nd, 2007 07:06 am (UTC)
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That's an interesting thought. Is it (would it be) a crime if you do not appear for jury duty -- when you are not eligible to participate?

IIRC they get lists for jury duty from DMV registration.

FYI -- if you were in San Mateo County, all you'd have to do is mark a check box :D
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From:mavjop
Date:November 22nd, 2007 07:34 am (UTC)
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I believe it is a crime for me not to respond to the summons, even if I am not eligible to serve.

It's odd that I just got one now, after having lived here for 6.5 years. I suppose it's just random chance, perhaps.

It's also odd that they got my name wrong! ... since my name's definitely not wrong on my driver's license, so DMV records are presumably right. Similarly, if they got it from the county clerk (licensing/certification of marriage), they would have the right name for me. I ... just don't understand how they could have my name screwed up like that.

Re just marking a checkbox, if I were to respond that I am ineligible for some other reason (e.g. not being a resident of Santa Clara county, not yet being 18, or almost any of the other reasons), I would not have to provide documentation! I would only have to check a box and (for some of them) fill in a couple of details.

If I were someone trying to lie ... would I not just check one of the other boxes? Why add extra security checks to the verification of one of them and not others?

Stupid, stupid, stupid. Oh well. Lame!
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From:kreggan
Date:November 22nd, 2007 11:06 am (UTC)
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The amusing thing is, holding a foreign passport doesn't disprove US citizenship. :>
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From:mavjop
Date:November 22nd, 2007 07:28 pm (UTC)
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Yes, I thought of that, but ... really ... who am I to disabuse them of that fantastically stupid assumption? :)
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From:lerryn
Date:November 23rd, 2007 03:25 am (UTC)
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Wait a second - they got your name wrong. Therefore, even if you don't respond, the person they would charge with a crime does not exist.
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From:mavjop
Date:November 23rd, 2007 01:42 pm (UTC)
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See my "reasonable doubt" comment. :) I suspect strongly that if your name is Raymond Super Luxury Yacht, and you get summoned as Raymond Super Yacht Luxury ... that if you tried to say, "Oh, well, it wasn't me. That's not my name," they'd say that a reasonable person would consider it obvious that they meant you, and that you were deliberately trying to evade the summons and hold you in contempt or something.
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From:urox
Date:November 22nd, 2007 11:12 am (UTC)
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Yep, they get lists from voter registration and from DMV so if you have both, you're in twice (I've been asked to serve 3 different times in the past 7 years to my knowledge) and they don't scrub the list until you get two notifications within a year. With those odds, it was likely that mavjop was bound to get one due to the DMV.

It is very odd that the names were switched.
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From:mavjop
Date:November 22nd, 2007 07:27 pm (UTC)
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Strange things are afoot at the Superior Court of California.

Edited at 2007-11-22 07:27 pm (UTC)
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From:wy
Date:November 22nd, 2007 07:29 pm (UTC)
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Was it really served to you if it didn't have your name on it? :P
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From:mavjop
Date:November 22nd, 2007 07:31 pm (UTC)
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I think I could reasonably expect to assume it is for me when it has all 4 of my names on it (first, 2 middle, last), just in jumbled order. I don't think I could say that I have reasonable doubt.
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From:lessachu
Date:November 22nd, 2007 05:26 am (UTC)
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I got a letter from the Selective Service at age 18, where I had to prove that I was female and therefore (for now, anyways) ineligible for the military draft.
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From:mavjop
Date:November 22nd, 2007 06:58 am (UTC)
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Hoo boy. :) Well, while I think such sexism is moronic ... I am glad that you didn't get drafted! =) ... and yeah, that is stupid as heck.

The fact that you can not be elligible for conscription to military service or jury service or what have you ... but can suffer legal consequences for not proving the incredibly obvious facts is pretty moronic. :) It should be up to them to follow up if they really want to, and then they should say "oops, we're sorry".
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