Jury Duty in Corpus Christi (Houston: exemptions, living, move to)

[wehotex]

My 68yr old mother has been called to jury duty TWICE in the past month. I recently moved here and am reluctant to register to vote here for fear that they will call me too many times to serve on a jury. It's difficult for a self employed person to take that kind of time off when I ave to make a living. Anybody else had any experiences in being called so many times for jury selection?

[gabetx]

Originally Posted by wehotex

My 68yr old mother has been called to jury duty TWICE in the past month. I recently moved here and am reluctant to register to vote here for fear that they will call me too many times to serve on a jury. It's difficult for a self employed person to take that kind of time off when I ave to make a living. Anybody else had any experiences in being called so many times for jury selection?

That happened to me once. I got called to Jury Duty by the city and two weeks later by the county.

Haven't been called since.

[Marlow]

You'll get called even if you're not registered to vote. I think they do it by your driver's license. Once your mom turns 70 she'll be eligible for a permanent exemption. Was she called by two different jurisdictions? The city, county and federal courts all have juries.

I get called every couple of years. It's rare to be placed on a panel where you actually serve, but I did a one-day trial once and it was very interesting. In any case, it truly is a civic duty, so if you get called, try to remember that having a jury trial is a precious constitutional right and that it's a privilege to live in our society.

By the way, wehotex, welcome back. IIRC, you're from here, moved away and are now back? Try not to be too hard on poor ol' Corpus. It has its charms.

[wehotex]

Originally Posted by Marlow

You'll get called even if you're not registered to vote. I think they do it by your driver's license. Once your mom turns 70 she'll be eligible for a permanent exemption. Was she called by two different jurisdictions? The city, county and federal courts all have juries.

I get called every couple of years. It's rare to be placed on a panel where you actually serve, but I did a one-day trial once and it was very interesting. In any case, it truly is a civic duty, so if you get called, try to remember that having a jury trial is a precious constitutional right and that it's a privilege to live in our society.

By the way, wehotex, welcome back. IIRC, you're from here, moved away and are now back? Try not to be too hard on poor ol' Corpus. It has its charms.

Thanks Marlow. I don't know how long that I'll be here, but it's good to be back.

[Jessto]

I registered to vote for the first time ever about a month ago and last weekend I already received my first jury summons!

[Marlow]

Originally Posted by Jessto

I registered to vote for the first time ever about a month ago and last weekend I already received my first jury summons!

It's just a coincidence. You don't have to be registered to vote to be called to jury duty. I'm pretty sure they use drivers' licenses.

[ivyhoff]

Oh yes, I know exactly what you're talking about. The jury summons system in Corpus is absolutely horrible for some people. My entire family has been a target for them pretty much from time we moved there in the late 80's, when my sister and I were in our late teens, early 20's. All four of us began at some point receiving them nearly every year. It stopped for my sister only after she moved to Houston, but not before a few more came to her Corpus address. She's been in Houston for around a decade now and has received one there. It stopped for my dad only after he passed away, but not before he received a few more posthumously. It stopped for me shortly after I moved to to the middle TN area. I've been here now for 13 years, lived in two different counties, am a registered voter, and hold a valid driver's license and I have never gotten a jury summons in Tennessee. My mom is still in Corpus and just received her 20th jury summons! Yes, you read that right, 20! A few have been for federal court and the rest for Nueces County.

The thing is, we all were quite happy to do our civic duty the first few times we were called to do so, but this quickly became annoying and then infuriating. I still know a lot of people in Corpus who've lived there all their lives, meet all the eligibility requirements, but have never been summoned for jury duty. Whatever system is in place for selecting citizens to send summons to is so flawed it's pathetic! No one can convince me they just randomly select people. They send them to certain people over and over because they can and because the people do what they're told and show up. That is how law-abiding citizens are rewarded for doing their civic duty! That is abuse, pure and simple! The only silver lining is that Corpus has a maximum age beyond which you are not required to serve. That age used to be 65 and my mom was almost there when they changed it to 70. Now she's approaching 70 and can't wait to be done with the whole jury duty thing. Actually, in the list of exemptions on the summons, it says you have to be "over 70". So does that mean you actually have to be 71 before you're exempt? Hope not!

[ivyhoff]

Actually for anyone considering a move to the Corpus Christi area, one suggestion is possibly to live somewhere outside of Nueces County. That may prevent this from happening, not sure though.

[jbtx]

Now she's approaching 70 and can't wait to be done with the whole jury duty thing. Actually, in the list of exemptions on the summons, it says you have to be "over 70". So does that mean you actually have to be 71 before you're exempt? Hope not!

Once a person attains their 70th B-Day they qualify for the exception. I have been called twice since I turned 70 and each time I called and was excused, apparently it takes a while for that information to filter through the system.

[ivyhoff]

Originally Posted by ivyhoff

Oh yes, I know exactly what you're talking about. The jury summons system in Corpus is absolutely horrible for some people. My entire family has been a target for them pretty much from time we moved there in the late 80's, when my sister and I were in our late teens, early 20's. All four of us began at some point receiving them nearly every year. It stopped for my sister only after she moved to Houston, but not before a few more came to her Corpus address. She's been in Houston for around a decade now and has received one there. It stopped for my dad only after he passed away, but not before he received a few more posthumously. It stopped for me shortly after I moved to to the middle TN area. I've been here now for 13 years, lived in two different counties, am a registered voter, and hold a valid driver's license and I have never gotten a jury summons in Tennessee. My mom is still in Corpus and just received her 20th jury summons! Yes, you read that right, 20! A few have been for federal court and the rest for Nueces County.

The thing is, we all were quite happy to do our civic duty the first few times we were called to do so, but this quickly became annoying and then infuriating. I still know a lot of people in Corpus who've lived there all their lives, meet all the eligibility requirements, but have never been summoned for jury duty. Whatever system is in place for selecting citizens to send summons to is so flawed it's pathetic! No one can convince me they just randomly select people. They send them to certain people over and over because they can and because the people do what they're told and show up. That is how law-abiding citizens are rewarded for doing their civic duty! That is abuse, pure and simple! The only silver lining is that Corpus has a maximum age beyond which you are not required to serve. That age used to be 65 and my mom was almost there when they changed it to 70. Now she's approaching 70 and can't wait to be done with the whole jury duty thing. Actually, in the list of exemptions on the summons, it says you have to be "over 70". So does that mean you actually have to be 71 before you're exempt? Hope not!

Just to update: My mom just received another summons....only 10 months later, number 21! Way to go Nueces County! ...and she is now 8 months away from turning 70. Wouldn't be surprised at all if they sent her one last one right before her birthday too.